Photographer Research Project By: Evan Fields

Jeff Widener He is most famous for taking the picture “Tank Man” shown here.

His Early Life He grew up in Southern California, where he attended Los Angeles Pierce College and Moorpark College majoring in photojournalism. In 1974 he received the Kodak Scholastic National Photography Scholarship, beating out 8000 students from across the United States. In 1978 Widener started work as a newspaper photographer in California and later in Nevada and Indiana.

“Tank Man” This is a photo taken near the end of the Cold War, when Chinese tanks were on their way to the Tiananmen Square protests. The picture was taken from the 6 th floor of a building a half a mile away, through a 400mm lens, but the quality is quite good. In the picture we see four Chinese tanks, lined up in a row, stopped only by one man, whose identity is still not known for sure. The picture is probably one of the most famous of the 20 th Century, and truly defined a generation of protest. If you have seen the video of the man standing in front of the tanks, he is doing his best to keep them from advancing. When they try to turn around him, he sidesteps in front of the lead tank.

His Work His work appears in the “Associated Press” which he is a photojournalist for. He is also a staff photographer for “The Honolulu Advertiser”, which is the largest newspaper in Hawai’i. He has won many awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, and won second place in the National Press Photographers Association awards in 2004.

Some of His other Photos Student protesters at Tiananmen square, (1989) one with a camera, fighting with Chinese soldiers. We see all the soldiers in the background, compared to the tiny amount of student protesters, and it really gives an idea of just how much China hates protesters.

More of His Work Here we see more protesters at Tiananmen Square, 1989, this time swarming over a captured tank. The light source is coming from behind the photographer, so the subject is well lit against a dark background. The composition doesn’t seem obvious, but it’s there.

Another Photo by Jeff Widener This one is of some students finishing up their “Goddess of Democracy” statue in Tiananmen Square, The light source is very obviously outside, since the sun is clearly visible, which is also the light source. The composition isn’t very conventional, as the photo is a lot taller than it is wide, but the rule of thirds is still very visible. The main subject is, of course, the statue and the people working on it. I selected this photograph because of the title, and the image it portrays. The Chinese protesters want democracy, which is obvious by the name and appearance of the statue, which is similar to the Statue of Liberty in NY.