This is one of the most iconic images in history. This is an unidentified man standing against a line of tanks in the middle of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in defiance of the entire government.
Reuters photographer Arthur Tsang visited there in 1989 and watched from the balcony of a nearby hotel. At the time, he had no idea how important and iconic that moment would become.
“When I clicked the shutter, I didn’t think, ‘Wow, this is a great shot,'” Tsang told the South China Morning Post many years later. “We could not predict the impact of the image.”
Tsang’s reporting on this historic week is one of the pieces featured in his new book, In the Moment: 40 Years of Reuters Photojournalism. This book captures the memorable stories and moments captured by the news agency’s photographers since the company began its photography service on January 1, 1985. Reuters has been reporting news for nearly 175 years, but its photography department is relatively new.
“It’s a real honor to be able to reflect not only on the history of Reuters, but also on reporting and how it has evolved,” said the book’s editor, Alexia Singh, who spent 20 years at Reuters, managing photo desks in London, Paris and Singapore.
It’s a lot different than it was 40 years ago, but it all starts with technology. In 1985, everyone was still shooting film. On-site photographers had to develop prints in portable darkrooms and send them over analog telephone lines using specialized drum transmitters. It can take up to 8 minutes to send a black and white image (3 times longer for a color image). This is under ideal conditions. If there is static electricity in the line, the image quality may be affected and the photo will have to be retransmitted.
Now, thanks to digital cameras and the Internet, Reuters can send tens of thousands of images to the world in the same amount of time.
The staff has also changed significantly. Photojournalism has historically been male-dominated. Currently, a third of the news photos published by Reuters are taken by women. And more different nationalities and cultures are represented than ever before. When Reuters first launched its photography service, it started with 50 photographers. “We now have teams covering news all over the world, and those teams are made up of nationals, locals, both photographers and editorial centers,” Singh said.
Kevin Coombs, a global photo production editor, spent 35 years at Reuters and saw the company become an industry powerhouse, publishing more than 14 million photos and winning numerous Pulitzer Prizes and World Press Photo Awards.
“Digital has changed things, and digital just keeps getting better and better,” he said. “But at the end of the day, photojournalists today still approach their jobs with the same authority. They still have to get there. They still have to get into their position. They have to get to the destination of the story so they can pick up the camera and press the button. And that hasn’t really changed. And I love that.”
“I like the idea of a character with two legs and a camera around his neck standing in a position to take great photos.”
Editor’s note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.
