Since its introduction to The Guardian at the time of the 'Berliner' redesign four years ago next month Eyewitness has set new standards in newspaper photography.
It is preferably a single photograph or occasionally a spread of pictures occupying the entire centre spread of the newspaper, giving prominence to a piece of photo-journalism in a very large space.
Mark Porter, The Guardian's creative director, who masterminded the redesign and champions the use of photography in the paper, explains the thinking behind the concept. "We wanted to create the visual equivalent of a piece of in-depth written reportage: something the reader could spend time with and lose themselves in. The original intention was not just to have strong images but to choose pictures with a lot of detail, that would reward sustained examination," he said.
The centre spread design was used to play to the strengths of printed media. Its impact it partly due to the lack of a gutter that occurs when two pages are put together. "When a picture like this fills the reader's frame of vision, it has a cinematic quality" Mark explained. David Levene's photograph of people bathing at the Ahilyabai ghat steps on the river Ganges in the city of Varanasi, India taken in April 2007 is a striking example of a detailed image that gets even better when enlarged as does the rarely photographed Grand Hall of London's Central Criminal Court, with its intricate murals and glass work taken by Graeme Robertson.
The scale of Eyewitness can really give the reader a chance to feel personally involved in an event or moment of history. The space gave great display to Barack and Michelle Obama dancing on a replica of the presidential seal at the Commander-in-Chief's ball on inauguration day. While this birdseye view of the proms at the Albert Hall allows the onlooker a unique perspective.
In our daily search for the right image it is particularly satisfying if it comes from a live news event and sometimes the effect can be very dramatic. When used with such commitment Reuters photographer David Mdzinarishvil's image of a Georgian woman oustide her destroyed home in Gori during the conflict in August 2008 has a powerful impact and the picture taken by David McNew of the remains of Oakridge mobile home park in California following the wild fires that swept the state in November last year is seen in all its apocalyptic wonder.
Alternatively, Eyewitness can be an opportunity to provide some levity in a news run that might be heavy with grim stories of death and destruction. A chance to delight with a gorgeous scene of the natural world or to entertain with a quirky observation of daily life.
As its reputation has grown so has its popularity. A pastor serving with a British regiment in Iraq wrote to tell us that Guardian eyewitness spreads were decorating the walls of their barracks. Another reader said each morning he opened his paper and wondered where in the world we would be that day. A member of an art appreciation society in Edinburgh regularly brings the spread to her group for discussion and recently I spotted a witty image of the fighting Cholitas in Bolivia lining a neighbours hamster's cage.
I'm the first to admit that not every image works well in the space. It can be a big disappointment to look at a spread where the photograph simply hasn't had sufficient resolution or focus or may have reproduced poorly. A successful picture could really do with being at least 40mb with a resolution of 200dpi - quite a stretch for some news pictures taken in a heartbeat where the moment outweighs the technical merit.
Although we usually work on the basis that less is more and that the power of Eyewitness is in showcasing a single photograph we sometimes play with a mosaic of images like the recently published set of rare tigers or a medley of pictures like those by the renowned photographer Eve Arnold to announce her latest exhibition.
Either way, I hope readers and contributing photographers alike enjoy the variety Eyewitness continues to bring to the news pages. Perhaps, like me, your heart sinks a little on the odd occasion you discover an ad not a photograph across the centre spread.
