Exercise: August Sander

In this exercise we are to review the document that describes the work of August Sander and to write a reflective commentary of 200 words.........

Augustus Sander (1876-1964) was a German Photographer known for his project “People of the 20^th Century. In this project Sander categorised people into groups based on their trades or social standing.

Most of the work was photographed before the Second World War in the early part of the 20^th Century but Sander continued to work on this project until his death in 1964. During the war this “unherioic” work was despised by the Nazi Party, this led to a blanket ban on such work and the destruction of 1,000 or so negatives. This loss was though nothing compared to the loss of Erich, his son, who died in 1943 after 10 years in prison as an anti-Nazi protester.

Sander influenced an entirely new generation of documentary practitioners. In particular Diane Arbus who I have always admired. Perhaps the last group on Sander’s list, ironically called the “Last People”, would have influenced Arbus in her work photographing the circus freaks, giants, dwarfs and of course trans-genders. The following examples are synonymous with Arbus’ work.

Augustus Sander

Augustus Sander

The “Last People” interests me the most too. Whilst the other categories are self-explanatory the “Last People” I believe was originally intended to be of old people, but then extended to a group of people that had no category – they too were the 'last' to be categorised. So last in years and 'last' as a defacto definition.

It was a fitting tribute that Erich would be recognised in this group too.
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/114431/death-mask-erich-sander-1944

Exercise: People Surveys - Daniel Meadows

In this exercise we are to Listen to Daniel Meadows talking about his work at  http://vimeo.com/28349336# and then to read Guy Lane's essay ‘The Photographer as Recorder’

In past modules of the OCA course I have covered Daniel Meadows at some length and have most likely listened to this video recording before. Sadly it is no longer available at Vimeo. In previous modules I was also very interested in Meadows story telling videos, constructed of still images that moved using panning techniques in video editing software. Many of these videos were about his work on Green Street and the Photobus Tour. I even made contact with Daniel Meadows via email and he encouraged me to make my own story telling video for the course, which I did.

Lane's essay was interesting and took me on a slant that was unexpected. Rather than concentrate on the work of Meadows he looked at how Meadows presented his work, canvased for funds and the image he wanted to give about his photographic project. This interpretation I found a little presumptuous and some of the conclusions far reaching.

For a student in his early twenties I never drew these conclusions from my observations. Lane's vision was that of someone who wanted to present himself as a photojournalist recording facts with images of a society and a time, namely the working class of Northern England. I understand and agree with this principal. Lane extracts words from the leaflet Meadows published to indicate his intentions  of this but I wonder if these words were soley fir this purpose of raising funds? In the early 1970's this would have been an appropriate thing to do. Likewise the comments on the accompanying photograph of Meadows and the bus was quite business like, in full portraiture and formal and "an appropriate practioner". Whilst this may have been the intention I know that Meadows is extremely tall and the full portrait with a narrow tall bus just works well in a proportion showing off a similar build of photographer and bus.On first seeing this image some while ago I though he was mimicking a bus conductor. Interestingly enough on Meadows website specific to the Photobus he has a much more casual image taken from the same period, likewise in the book published in 2011, "The Bus" he has again a much more casual image in the first few pages of the illustration. This leads me to believe that it was not intentional for commerce but part of the creation of art in photography.

The Bus - Daniel Meadows 1973 -2001

Exercise: Information and expression

This is a two part exercise. First to read John Marz's essay on Sebastiao Salgado and secondly to research into the work of Salgado and give evidence of this in our learning log.

Salgado was a highly intelligent person, gaining a Phd in economics that would have given him a handsome salary. Instead of this path he chose the world of photojournalism, to his love of photography and its use to document the poor and unfortunate of the world. Coming from Brazil, a poor country in itself would have given  Salgado  a compassionate understanding of what it is like to be in such a position. As Marz points out his photography is "pictured through Latin American eyes".

Salgado's first published work was the "Other Americans" in 1985.  This work demonstrates well the interest in Latin American, its title reaching out that there is more to the America's than just the USA, a direct play on Robert Franks work no doubt. The images are well staged and capture an atmosphere of neglect, perseverance and struggle. All taken in black and white they are crisp and well defined. The do not demonstrate war or violence just poverty but in a kind and sympathetic way reporting back to a wider community of the everyday struggle of the Latin Americans.

A great source of the images can be found at http://monovisions.com/sebastiao-salgado-other-americas/. I found the image of half naked children playing with bones for toys quite disturbing, whereas the following image could be taken for a modern "photo-bomb" and I wonder if it was staged this way or not. The contrasts between the sad and happy faces cause tension in the image and I cannot fathom it out; perhaps this is the intention.

The Other Americans - Sebastiao Salgado 

Marz calls out individual images and questions why they are all so dour. The girl though in this image gives a light heartened smile to liven things up.

Salgado's other publication of note was "Terra" in which he documented the native's of Brazil and Ecuador in their struggle to gain land that was taken by historical colonisation. This would be similar to that of the native North Americans.

Salgado is also renowned  for the work in worn torn cities and spaces of violence and destruction. There is a very good article that I have read from the guardian on this with the title "Viewer or Voyeur" ref: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/mar/08/world-press-photo-sean-ohagan

This is an interested piece that discusses Salgado's world of photography and whether we look at the gore of such images with disdain or with a lust for more?

The following statement from Salgado sums this up very nicely.

In the course of my various reportages, I had witnessed so many tragedies that I believed I was now accustomed, but I hadn’t expected to encounter such violence, hatred, and brutality.” – Sebastião Salgado 

Exercise: Symbols

This exercise is in two parts. Firstly using our own research we are to find 5 images from Robert Frank's Americans and show where symbols are used and how they function.

The second part is to read the introduction written by Jack Kerouac to the Americas highlighting symbolic references.

I have always admred this work since I first discovered it on the OCA courses and have made several blog entries already. This exercise will hopefully help me to understand why I admire it so much.

1.  In this image the symbols are the American flags and hidden faces. This symbolising American people may not want to reveal their identity and remain anonymous. Is this an America they can associate with?

Robert Frank - The Americans

2. The Contrast of skin colour, symbolising class divides with a black nanny caring for a white child. Frank's was always looking for images that illustrated he social divide of post war America. This symbolises a new generation in which perhaps little will change.

Robert Frank - The Americans

3. Another Symbol of social divide here is the champagne and associated wealth

Robert Frank - The Americans

4. Taken at a Hollywood premier. Symbolic that the actress is the largest part of the image but not the focus. In focus are the women admirers and followers, the normal Americans that are perhaps kept in the shadows of America.

Robert Frank - The Americans

5. I really like this image. For me the symbols are the mundane look of the elevator girl. Stuck in this job with no movement, whilst people around move about. The use of both blurred moved and a sharper static people emphasises this.

Robert Frank - The Americans

Kerouac's introduction into this book really does wet the appetite and goes a long way to planting the seeds of symbols. He makes a clear association of his past with the image taken in a Backyard in Venice California. This image has symbols or defiance, being sheltered by America yet in a run down old yard where the old car is left to rot (another symbol).

I believe there is a hidden symbol in the quotation from Shakespeare, here referencing Frank's work to true art. Other symbols called out are the rattlesnake and the gopher, meant for evil and perhaps the general population in a level and low world, symbolising low morals with no change.

A photograph of kids staying in the car could be a symbol of conformance, of danger is the taking of the image a form of defiance?

Throughout the passage Kerouac also uses a play on words, for example "pitchers" which may mean pictures or the way in which the pictures are presented (pitched). His language also has echos of the slang that many black or underprivileged Americans would have used at this time symbolising their differences.

Exercise: Comparing Shields' image to the actual article

This is a very interesting exercise in that we are to read the newspaper article from which Shields' image of the previous exercise was taken. This article gives us the full context of the image and we are to compare our initial deconstruction of the image and how it changes our perception.

The article is quite boring and relates to a housing association taken over the housing estate in the image. The image shot in Glasgow could be anywhere but I did pick up on the only relevant denotation of the site being a housing site.

The article spoke of much discussion and now an agreement has been made to move forward. This could be taken by the two boys embracing each other as an agreement. This is further endorsed by the shirt teams being Rangers and Celtic, opposites at loggerheads [ I missed this but given the location of Glasgow it is now obvious ].

So yes the text does change my perception of the image. What is shown with the text shows agreement, a way forward over the progression of the housing estate in the background. Without the text though I would find it hard to believe that anyone would have read this.

Exercise: Connotations & Denotations

Analysing Martin Shields' photograph of two young footballers we are to write a descriptive pose of the connotations that the image infers to us and the denotations or what the image shows us.

This is a simple image that is full of context. We see two boys dressed in football clothing walking arm in arm on a housing estate. The image infers that the boys are friends as they have their arms around each other, or this could be a mutual appreciation for the football they have just played. As the boys are walking away from the camera in also infers that this is the end of the game, but perhaps not.

They are dressed in different kit which implies that they either support different teams or have been playing for different teams. They also each carry a football perhaps suggesting equality. These are all inferences or connotations.

In terms of denotations we can see the background of a housing estate with a large amount of grass, perhaps this is their playground or football pitch. The boys seem happy or contented, not rivals but friends.

(c) Martin Shields

Exercise: Marcus Bleasdale

The exercise is to read an article published in Eight Magazine on the photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale [b. 1968]. Although not strictly instructed to do so I have made short notes on his views below.

Marcus Bleasdale

Originally a banker with a keen hobby of photography. Resigned from his post at being disillusioned on how banks ignored the human aspect of war over currency fluctuations. Two days later he was in Kosovo.

Finance was an initial problem. Views that conflict and photojournalism do not go hand in hand quoting the work of Eugene Smith.

References Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness as inspiration in words of what the mind describes. Bleasdale's book One Hundred Years of Darkness follows in these footsteps through the Belgian Congo with each image taken referencing a part of the original novel.

Strong views on areas that the media ignores where genocide may have taken place, almost certainly over the mineral wealth of the country. Cites Dafur where Bleasdale visited off his own back, not able to get any commission. From this he created the work "Human Rights Watch" that earned him Best Photography Book in 2010 by POYi (pictures of the year international)

Took the work HRW and forced this onto audiences that were directly responsible for the conflict mining in the Congo, namely a Swiss Bank. Blames many organisations including the UN for failing the people of the Congo.

This has lead to success in organisations no longer trading gold with Uganda as it was also coming from the Congo. This leads to less money being available to finance war in the Congo.

Feels a strong responsibility to report the helplessness of Africa over war, famine, and disease.

Has published just three books but a raft of awards from 2004 to 2015 for his work.

Marcus Bleasdale - Human Rights Watch

Exercise: Discussing Documentary

This exercise is to read the article ‘Discussing Documentary’ by Maartje van den Heuvel 2005 and write a short summary.

I found this an interesting and easy to read document that gave many examples of where documentary has been used and assigned to past and more recent photographers. The document also talks at length about documentary being used as an awareness mechanism for social reform. I have to question a lot of this as "social reform" seems to be a very common theme amongst many of the documents presented so far in this course. Yes it is an important fact but I am not convinced of the real intent. All artists want their work to be recognised and understood, the concept in Heuvel's document of "visual literacy" clearly enforces this. Do photographers therefore concentrate around subjects and visualisations in areas that will question the viewers morals and self-views to gain popularity? I for one admire such documentary as it humbles me and makes me feel lucky to be where I am. Although I would not categorise this as sensationalising I have to wonder why so much of the notorious documentary is associated with social reform.

Heuvel does though include other genres of documentary and addresses a very important change in how media is used and influences our lives connected using the Internet. I was interested in how the face of documentary has changed in various countries at various times to suit political gains and the development of social reform. e.g. Russia pre-Soviet Union, occupied Netherlands during WWII following Hilter's banishment of Vereinigung der Arbeiter-Fotographen etc. I also found that the references of reenactment of critical events in time were very interesting, examples such as the hijacking and murder of Israeli athletes in 1972 by Christopher Draeger. Is this really something new or is this always been a trend of documentary throughout time, even before the first photograph was ever taken, e.g. The Last Supper - Da Vinci 1495-1498.

Christopher Draeger - Black September

Exercise: Bill Brandt’s Art of the Document’ by David Campany

This exercise is to read David Campany's article on Bill Brandt to leave comments and also comment on why Black & White has become so respected in documentary.

I was not aware of Bill Brandt before reading this article, I was though reassured that he was a distinguished photographer of documentary in his earlier life. Being German and coming to England would have amused him to see our strange social culture and how we stand within it. Being from a wealthy background gave him the opportunity to exploit this - Campany cites that many of the images would have had great forethought and staging.

Nonetheless Brandt's book "The English at Home" has some brilliant contrasting images that certainly do call out the social divide and the oddities of such a social system. A divide that Campany calls out "is not ready to be received". The book at the time of publishing was not a success, but like so many works ahead of its age it gets recognised in the future.

It is right that this work is finally attributed with the word Art and is recognised  as a piece of documentary calling out the social divide of the time. I sometimes wonder if this enigma ever leaves us. Are we not now still searching for information on those at the top of the social scale, the rich, the famous, the royals, the celebrities.... this divide never leaves us it just morphs from one for to another.

In his later life Brandt turned to more "artistic" images of the body and landscapes and carried on with B&W photography. Here he captures the body of the landscape alongside the landscape of the body; the two mixing well. Strong tones and contrast are used here to great effect to draw clearer lines of distinction which would not have worked in any other way. B&W is an intrinsic part of this art form.

It is no winder that many documentary photographers prefer B&W. Although less information is presented it also draws the viewer deeper into the image, examining in detail the artefacts that are sometimes overlooked.

Exercise: Survival Programmes

Reading the article "Survival Programmes" showed some marvellous photography by the three collaborators Nicholas Battye,Chris Steele-Perkins and Paul Trevor. The images were taken in the early 1970's and republished twenty fives years later, still looking very fresh yet with some nostalgia and a marker that times have indeed improved.

The work captured poverty and social injustice in the inner cities of the UK&I. It also combined a literal narrative of comments, thoughts and views of those living in the photographs which I found intriguing. The concept on breaking free was one of those thoughts, so not so much a form of "survival" but of one escape as well perhaps.

The images are all shot in black and white, this gives the timeless age of documentary and keeps them both in the past but also in a time that could be anytime.

Being put together by a magazine I have to wonder if the editor has manipulated the message of the images. Many of them are about oppression not from each other through gangs but oppression by the state. Does this distort the real message or poverty and social injustice and use it as a political message that may have a wider audience and cause more awareness? Why did the state have to intervene? This has not been answered in the short number of images available but does demonstrate how documentary can easily be manipulated.

Survival Programmes

With that said though the images do also show survival of a more personal nature and I really, really liked the following image. It has so much going on in it, you would think that it was staged. A truly wonderful image showing a time of relief perhaps through the hardships of life.

  

Exercise: PhotoNotes

This exercise involves reading an online article written by Elizabeth McCausland, published in January 1939. We are then to write short notes and a single paragraph on why this is important to this course.

1. Written in 1939 this is a very fresh approach to Documentary.
2. Documentary has a documented history of development and rapid growth with strong impulses producing intense work.
3. Documentary is described as a "New Function" of the direct and realistic for the "profound and sober".
4. References are made 35 years prior to the article of practitioners such as Lewis Hine's child labour images, giving evidence that documentary is nothing new.
5. Two types (new and old) of practitioners that are "continents "apart"
6. The article challenges the concept of the "honesty" of photography quite rightly. 
7. McCausland repeatedly references The Farm Security Administration and capturing social injustice. This would have been very prevalent at the time of writing and I wonder if this has led to many photographers at the time shaping the modern face of documentary, giving an element of truth and form.

This article separates documentary from other genres of photography as well as establishing documentary as an art form. The concept of interpreting the unseen in an image is discussed at length; for example the social divide messages and how the photographer uses the physical to describe social injustice. It is these two points that help to progress the art of documentary and for practitioners to develop skills and recognise not only their immediate surroundings but how the image will be interpreted.   

Exercise: A Decisive Moment

The aim of this exercise is to read Simon Bainbridge's article on the 2011 Hereford Photography Festival, in which he presents five artists on the theme of Decisive Moments. Taking one of the artists we are then to write a 200 word reflective commentary.

I chose to look at the work of George Georgiou, born London 1961. Bainbridge presented Georgiou's work The Shadow of the Bear: Georgia / Ukraine. This is a piece of work to demonstrate the effect that Russia has on its neighbouring countries. I found this piece of work hard to follow, the images were small on the PC screen but I imagine in a gallery these would look more impressive. I do see how these images string together to form a basic documentary but do not feel that the decisive moment is strong.

Looking at Georgiou's more recent work, Last Stop, did resonate with me. All of these images are taken from a London bus and carry a great theme: a documentary of a bus ride in which the outside literally does appear as another disconnected world of moments of time, some captured in great decisive moments. 

There is an air of continuity carried by the bus ride that takes the viewer to different parts of London, occupied by very different people in many circumstances. There are too many images in this collection to show but I really admire the way many of them contained more than one decisive moment.

George Georgiou - Last Stop

[200 words]

The exercise continues with listening to Jon Levy on the subject of The Intent of Documentary, making reflective comments.

From what I could extract the focus on this interview revolved around photo-journalism. Levy makes an important point that the intent of the photographer defines whether or not it falls into the genre of photo-journalism. This intent often being deciphered after the event has taken place. Could this 'intent' be to report, to shock, to confuse (propaganda), promote? I am trying to think of an intent that would not or could not fall into the category of photo-journalism. After all isn't this just 'Story Telling' as Levy points out in his opening statements?

In the past Levy points out that photo-journalism was largely a western view of life but rightly rejects this claiming that it is the view point that is all important and not the origins of the photographer. A good point was also made about how much easier it is to connect with remote photographers to get varying viewpoints making the world of photography a much more broader.


 

Exercise: The Myth of Objectivity

This exercise is to write a article of 250 words in response to two comments made 52 years apart with contrasting views on the genre of photographic documentary.

When comparing the two comments, and within the context of the original articles, I tend to reject Andre Bazin’s concept of a clinical documentary. In contrast Allan Sekula’s views seem more modern, literally.

In 1945 when Bazin made this comment the world of photography was quite different and the views of photography, especially documentary were more of a science and modern technology. Bazin alludes to the photograph as an accurate record that cannot be argued with. I cannot fully accept this, even in documentary. Yes, an image is an accurate record of what happened but it is the photographer that creates it, it is not “formed automatically” as quoted.

Thomas Hoepker, a German born photographer took this image of 911 but for fear of criticism did not publish it for five years. When published it still came under widespread criticism, when the subjects responded they replied that they were “in a profound state of shock and disbelief”. Clearly first impressions are otherwise.

Thomas Hoepker - Published 2006

Even early documentary of the Western States of the USA, such as Timothy H. O'Sullivan, faithfully recorded what they were requested to, but neglected the cost to the Native American. There is so much more than just one still to record a moment – that moment that is recorded is defined by the photographer – the interpretation that they alone form.

Allan Sekula interprets photographic objectivity as accepting that information (the image) is the “outcome of a culturally determined relationship”. This I interpret as the relationship between the photographic image and the creator.  This I feel much more comfortable with and believe that this also underpins all photography, including documentary, as an art form.

[274 words]

Exercise: "Around and Afterthoughts"

The aim of this exercise is to read Martha Rosler's article "around and Afterthoughts (1992) published in "The Contest of Meaning" Richard Bolton (ed.) and to make notes here in the learning blog.

I found this quite an interesting read, in general it questions the genre of photographic documentary in society.  It discusses the work of some of the great photographers that took images from their own perspective, yet Rosler suggests that this perspective is sometimes re-interpreted commercially in the art galleries and museums of an elite. Rosler argues this point a couple of times suggesting that this is to keep the status quo yielding towards liberalism.

Rosler quoted Jacob Riis [1849-1914] over a comment made when he heard of the invention of the flashlight  "The darkest corner might be photographed that way".  A brilliant play on words suggesting that documentary can also been seen as the darkest corner of photography.

The article describes many practitioners and forms a commonality of  documentary aiding social reform by bringing these darkest corners to light. A common theme being the Bowery district of New York City, where 'bums' lived between the street and the shop fronts in a constant state of drunkenness. Although not mentioned in this article, through it, I have discovered Leland Bobbé [b. 1948], an American Photographer renowned for his work covering fringe elements of society. Being brought up near The Bowery he captured images in the 1970's that really are quite disturbing by today's standards.

The Bowery - Leland Bobbé

Rosler makes a comment that in some cases the images are more unsettling than "the argument enveloping them". By this I read that as still images the viewer is left wondering, in a state of flux and is more unsettled than the actual event. This is repeated  in the article where the viewer may ask the question of what happened to subjects in the image. For example Dorothea Lange's migrant mother, (Florence Thompson), the twins of Diane Arbus, all of which have been re-photographed later in life. Personally the most disturbing and brutal image of documentary is that of Robert Haeberie "People about to be shot" . In this image we know what happened to the subjects but nonetheless I still have a small piece of my mind that lives in hope of their survival. Is this a evidence that we may not always accept or want to accept extreme forms of documentary?

Rosler makes a really great point that this disturbing nature of documentary can lead to sensationalism or 'trophy hunting'. Furthermore she addresses concerns that commercial organisations have promoted such work in order to make capital gains, such as the work of Edward S. Curtis that was bound in gold-decorated volumes and sold for enormous amounts of money.

Martha Rosler makes an important point that documentary has two moments [1] the immediate and [2] the aesthetic-historical. This is very true and I was hoping that she may address this further as I have often wondered at what point does an image move from [1] to [2], what are the triggers and how fast is the transformation? I suspect that this is largely down to the individual image or set of images. For example the images of 911 would have traversed into the aesthetic-historical faster than most, is this because that is where we want this event to live?

Exercise: Captions

This exercise is to select up to five images from our personal library that depict events that are relevant on a personal level. These are to be posted on OCA forums with an invitation to provide a short caption for each one.

The purpose of this exercise is to understand that photographs are mute and do not explain context, they are taken in, John Berger describes this as discontinuity or more plainly "ambiguous".

It is open to interpretation by the viewer.... Here were my five...

The Results / Feedback

I received some good feedback from these five images and I was surprised to find that some of the images had the same viewpoints. This would indicate similar interpretations which suggests a good focal point to the images.

In the first image a reference to "eye tests" was common, or "I can see better with this eye", although my favourite was "behind bars". The second image concentrated on the weather which is not surprising. However I was glad to see one comment "Kings of the Mountain", this was true as it was taken on the top of Scafell Pike in truly awful weather, and yes we did feel like Kings at the time.

The third image picked up on more than one occasion pointed out that two people in the photo didn't have a bike. One comment was "Reservoir Dogs, Iron Man Edition". This I thought was a great description and one that was also made on Facebook. There was no reference to the setting sun, except perhaps for one comment that was "End of a long day". Indeed it was a long day, it was a challenge to ride from dawn to sunset in an aim to "Chase the Sun" from the East Coast of Southern England to the West Coast, some 205 miles. So the fact that the sun is still shining is proof of our success and obvious tiredness.

The fourth image was a basic Grandson and Grandfather picture taken in the early 1970's and this was picked up on well.

The final image had descriptions that used the word "contemplation" multiple time, and that is exactly what was happening. Other comments were a bit darker with the possibility of something much worse, with one comment detailing the mobile phone on top of the bag as if a last call had been made.

Exercise: What Makes a Document?

A quick yet interesting exercise exploring a blog entry made by Jose navarro, the course author. We are to read the article and post back on our reflections on the article and the responses...

Ref: https://weareoca.com/photography/what-makes-a-document/

Here was mine.....

A thought provoking article with excellent responses... all 78 of them. For me a photograph is always a document, but as pointed out its relevance changes over time. The image of Jose’s grandfather is a remarkable one, the contrast of military and religion question the viewer immediately as to what could possibly be going on? For me it has an air of peace and reconciliation but perhaps that is what I want to believe.

Many responses are triggered around time and context and the two initial examples given will continue to change over time. Recently Fidel Castro passed away, you only have to look how his images have been portrayed overtime to see how their relevance has changed. This is what makes documentary so fascinating in that we do not know what today’s images will reveal or be used for in years to come. In many cases evidence of our failings.

For example images of the unsinkable Titanic, which in themselves are rare, were taken as a record of its magnificence, yet in time they are used as a record of its astonishing failure. Images of the first atomic bombs being dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War may have had the intention of demonstrating military supremacy, or recording the event as a ‘first’. Now they serve us well detailing the unyielding horror and trauma inflicted by so many as a stark reminder of man’s brutal potential.

Often we record not knowing the relevance of the moment, perhaps every image has a future secret to reveal?

Exercise: Realism

We are asked to read section pp 1-8 of the easy "Transparent Pictures: On the Nature of Photographic Realism" by Kendall L Walton, and write a reflective commentary of 200 words.

Walton’s paper got off to a really great start cutting to the chase that photography excels in realism when compared to other forms pictures. This is hardly surprising to anyone, ultimately it is an object’s reflected, or generated, light that is captured and it should be near perfect. Walton makes the observation that there is margin for error, in an incorrect exposure, shutter speed etc., but surely this is a skill that the practitioner and equipment develop. Walton also makes a very important observation in that a traditional artist can create images as realistic as any photograph and is limited only by material and skill.

I remember buying my first large format book by Crewdson, when I opened it I initially believed that the images were artists impressions. Here perhaps is a common example where photography has adapted to take the edge of realism; Walton did not explore this. He did however comment on its authenticity and applications of evidence such as the courtroom where the “camera does not lie”.

Walton spends time to discuss how close we are to the photograph holding it as memories set in time, recalling past relatives. Here the important distinction is that we see our past relatives in our mind-set and not literally. I often wonder though if past images install fake memories or embellish them where our memories are hazy or older? One of the best articles I have read so far….  [240 words]

Exercise 1: Review of Miranda Gavin speaking about documentary

This exercise is to review Miranda Gavin's online video and give a reflective commentary giving our reactions of 200 words.

My initial thoughts to this interview are that of agreement. I have often struggled with the classification of photography, so much bleeds over between genres and Miranda has revealed probably the most complex of genres, that of documentary. The comparison was mainly between documentary and fine art, it could have easily also been between portraiture and documentary though. In the case of Steve McCurry, one of my favourite photo journalists, his work although strictly documentary, can also be viewed as fine art art, especially Boy in Mid Flight, a brilliant piece of work, that to me is certainly fine art.

Steve McCurry - Boy in mid flight

Miranda also comments about the changing face of photography. We know that the mediums are changing rapidly with more work being placed online, and she rightly questions that validity for this, especially for fine art. However the accompanying comments regarding more female students is quite astounding with up to 80/20 split in education favouring women.  This as Miranda points out will change and question past working methodologies, I suspect that this is down to women seeing and interpreting art differently. I have always greatly admired Diane Arbus for breaking the mould of documentary.

I liked Miranda's initial definition that Fine Art is commissioned, and documentary comes from the photographer's vision. This is a generalist view and to some extent is a good start but even she conceded that this rule is often broken,

Does it really matter that much then that we feel a need to place varying types of work into boxes? I see all great photography as creating something new that makes the viewer think, its just that documentary tends to be more provoking.

[276 words]