The Ninth Floor

After looking at both stories from "One in 8 Million" from the New York Times and from MediaStorm, it was difficult to choose just one story to focus on. I was reminded of why I was interested in journalism to begin with. Simple, raw, and beautiful, these stories exist everyday yet rarely make newspaper headlines. By just using still photography and sound, the series "One in 8 Million," brings light to people that would normally be overlooked. "The ninth floor" by Jessica Dimmock, which features young addicts living on the ninth floor of an apartment in Manhattan, was just a story that I couldn't turn away from, despite how disturbing it was. What struck me most about watching this was the courage the photographer had. Looking at it, I didn't even care if the pictures were good, I just couldn't believe the images the photographer was able to capture. Being on the outside of the realm of drug abuse, I could never fully grasp it or understand it, let alone ever be able to immerse myself in that world. It was so difficult for me to look at some of the images, I don't know how the photographer had the strength to get so close and personal with such a twisted, painful and real issue. In class, we joked about feeling awkward snapping away at students on campus, how do you go about photographing someone putting a painful substance into their body, or a couple's sexual relationship, or a person sticking a needle into their arm as they lie in a hospital bed. It made me wonder where it is to draw the line as a journalist, you are first-hand watching someone so violently inflict pain upon themselves, how do you set yourself aside from being a person of good morals to want to call 911 and help this person. I was so impressed by the photographer in this. There didn't even need to be words, although it made it that much more powerful, each picture told the story itself. You see gruesome images of the effects druge abuse has on people and their surroundings. The images were so real, it made me grasp it, it made me feel for these people and for this issue that would never effect my life, but I was able to understand it even for just a few minutes. The images captured expressions and emotion of people and the non human objects represented their lifestyle and its effects. I liked how some of the images were blurry, I am not sure if that is part of the photographers style or if it was used to further enhance the issue that was being told. When I think of drugs, I think of this blurry and warped vision. It was really moving to see images of some of the drug abusers from when they were younger, it reminds us that they are everyday people who at one time probably said to themselves, "that will never be me," and then here they are today. To sum it up, this piece had everything a journalism story should encompass. It had an issue that needed to be addressed, it had real images and quotes and told a story from beginning to end. I couldn't stop watching it, something that set it aside from the other stories I had viewed. The photography was breathtaking. It was a beautiful mess of images.