Friday, January 31, 2014
Big anniversary today
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Documentary Photography
Carl De Keyzer
CHINA. 1998. CHINA. 1998. Xincheng. Chinese soldiers eating.
I chose this photograph because of the motion De Keyzer was able to capture in his photograph. If this image was just a simple still shot of these two soldiers eating it wouldn't have nearly as much emotion. The presence of motion allows for the viewer to feel as if they are on that street watching these men eat in person. Having that connection and feeling with a documentary photograph is very important.
Magnum photograph
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| ALBANIA. Kosovo refugees. 1999. Kukes 30/5 1999. Refugee camp of "Médecins sans frontières" (MSF) Doctors without Borders. Young member of UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army). |
Nikos
Economopoulos
For my magnum photo I decided to focus on a photograph by
Nikos Economopoulos.
Nikos Economopoulos is a Greek photographer who was known
for his magnum photography in the Balkans and Greece.
I love this photo and I found it very interesting. What I love about this photograph is that you
are immediately drawn to the eyes but then quickly drawn to the boy in the
background. I think the way that the
photograph was framed is extremely beautiful and striking. I love
the symmetry that Economopoulos creates with the metal bars and how they frame
the hat. Everything from the small
details in the hat and the tents, mountains, and children in the background
hold my attention for a long period of time.
When I look at this photograph I can not stop staring. My guess is that the person in the hat is a
doctors without borders volunteer and we are looking at his impact through his
eyes.
I thought this quote from Platon Rivellis explains the power of Niko
Economopoulos photographs.
“In Economopoulos' photographs, a smile, a tilt of the head, an unusual
leap, a look, from being insignificant details from the second level of
everyday life are re-evaluated and transformed into major photographic events.”
In this photograph he makes something as simple as eyes extremely moving and
powerful.
Platon
Rivellis, "Nikos Economopoulos: Insignificant Events in the Service of
Visual Poetry", introduction to Economopoulos: Photographer, p.25.
Magnum documentary photograph
Gay men on Dumaine and Bourbon Streets, 1975.
Original caption on ARTstor: USA. New Orleans, Louisiana. 1975. French Quarter, Dumaine and Bourbon.
By: Bruce Gilden
I searched for "New Orleans" in the Magnum collection on the assumption that I would find some photos to which I could bring my own background knowledge, above and beyond simply describing what is visually apparent. The image I selected came from a series of photos from the late 1970s by Bruce Gilden, most of which documented in-your-face transgressive behaviors. This image documents the existence and the aesthetic of the gay male community in the late 1970s, and can even give a sense of their exact location (this photo was taken just one block away from what I understand to be the present French Quarter locus of the gay community, implying continuity).
The photo is framed to capture four individuals, each of whom is having a different interaction with the photographer, while leaving out any other people. The man at the front looks directly at the photographer and, taking up between a third and a half of the image, he blocks out the people behind him while still allowing the viewer to sense that there are additional people there. The man in the background (in the hat) isn't interacting with the photographer but with someone or something out of the frame; he may not even be aware of the photographer. Finally, the two men on the right are aware of the photographer, but are more directly interacting with one another.
Magnum Post-Piazza del Campo...
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Piazza del Campo with shadow of Torre del Mangia, viewed from above. Siena, Italy.
Credit: Bruno Barbey, 1984
Artstor: Italy. Tuscany region. Italy. Sienna. 1984.
Bruno Barbey. 1984
I chose this photograph because of its visual
appeal and a personal attachment to the subject depicted. When analyzing the photograph with
Szarkowski’s elements of photography we can see the documentary elements of the
photo.[i] “The
thing itself” is a photograph of the Piazza del Campo. This is not in the ARTstor caption, however
this is a well known landmark in Italy (where Il Palio takes place) and with
complete confidence I can say that the Piazza del Campo is the location. “The detail” is part of Piazza del
Campo. We do not get the whole image of
the square, but most of it is represented.
It is a snapshot within the city of Siena. However, the focus of the photo changed for
me when I began analyzing “the frame” element.
At first I thought that the photographer, Bruno Barbey, chose to incorporate
most of the Piazza del Campo. But as I
started to really look at where he decided to crop the frame, I notice that the
image includes the entire shadow cast by the Torre del Mangia and the Palazzo
Pubblico. Now I realize that the
photographer’s intention is to focus on the shadow of these historic landmarks.
This leads to the important element of “time” in this photo. At no other time of day will the shadow be
the same. The “vantage point” also plays
an important factor in this photo. It is
an aerial view and is likely taken from within the Torre del Mangia. At no other place can the photographer have
this shadow and this perspective of the Piazza del Campo. This photograph can be described as
documentary of two landmarks in the city of Siena; the Torre del Mangia and the
Piazza del Campo on a specific day, at a specific time, a particular frame, a
certain focus, and the subject itself.
[i] Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn, Diane Vogt-O’Connor, and Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler. Photographs: Archival Care and Management. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2006. Print.
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Store front Churches Series
There is a blurred line between documentary photography and other genres based in producing works of art. In a way both can be considered art, but with documentary photography there is something particularly mechanical about the relationship between the photographer and their subjects. But this mostly has to do with how the photos are classified. In the case of documentary photography the intent is to use the image to share information - to provide a format where the viewer can learn something about a particular place, person, or thing. A documentary photographer captures an image to create a physical object that is shown and used as evidence of something. However, like any other photograph, the use of framing and light is a conscious decision made by the photographer and should be taken into consideration.
The Store Front Churches series by Milton Rogovin features photographs that can easily be classified as examples of social documentary or works of fine art. There is something almost cinematic about the photograph above. But in a way, it feels as if we (the viewer) are almost intruding on this moment as she rejoices. To me, this is why the photo is more like an example of a documentary photo - we are not a part of her experience or are asked to be. We're just watching it take place.
Women Without Men
Title: Women Without Men. 1965. GB. ENGLAND. Surrey. Brides of Christ - nuns on the day of their wedding to the Lord.
By: Eve Arnold
This photo jumped out at me from a page of colorful scenic thumbnails. I clicked on it because I thought it looked like spooky 19th century ghosts. It looked mysterious and unusual to me, and I was intrigued. When I first looked at the larger image, I thought, boring, it’s just brides. Then I read the caption and could not believe what was actually going on. I had heard of this concept before but I had no idea that nuns actually dressed up in a wedding gown and held a ceremony. I think this is a great documentary photo because it documents something that not many people are aware of. It does so in an intriguing and even misleading way. It is pleasing to the eye but also informational.
Using John Szarkowski’s five elements, I will break down this photo:
“The thing itself” is a group of nuns in wedding dresses. “The thing itself” is what is documented, but the photographer provides context, commentary, and detail using the other 4 elements.“The detail” that the photographer recorded is not the ceremony itself, but just this specific group of women in this hallway. “The frame” places these women facing each other in the middle of a dark hallway. It is interesting that they are framed so that each woman shows one angle, making a whole; front (face), back, left side, right side. The white of their dresses is also almost blinding compared to the dark hallway. And they are standing in a tight circle talking amongst themselves. This could be symbolic of their sisterhood, their purity in a dark world, perhaps how each one is part of a larger whole. The exact moment that this photo captures was also a specific choice on the part of the photographer. “The time” shown here is a private moment amongst the “brides,” instead of the actual “wedding.” Finally, the “vantage point” influences the reading of this photo. Here the vantage point is relatively natural, like someone standing a few feet away, except slightly higher. The viewer is looking slightly down at these women, and is shut off from the group. I think this perspective emphasizes the youth of these women and also the viewer’s outsiderness. As a viewer, I feel removed from the scene and slightly judgmental.
Documentary Photography
This photograph is a representation of documentary photography because it captures the spirit of a time period. What drew me to this image initially was I recognized this street from my travels. It's in a fairly busy, but average street. This image of it was taken at the end of German occupation of the Netherlands, which was a chaotic time in Dutch history. The group of German soldiers rushing around wearing gas masks are coming in with a furious blur and making everyone stop and look at them. But the subject of the image is the people watching the soldiers, trapped until they pass. Both groups of people represent the strange juxtaposition of this point in history, between absolute war and everyone else frozen trying to get out of its way. For me, documentary photography should try to combine the various forces behind a moment or conflict and this image is successful in bringing these elements together.
20th Century Magnum Documentary Photograph
"The Climb"
[Original Artstor caption: "Soldiers Climbing Poles"]
By: Lewis W. Hine
[Original Artstor caption: "Soldiers Climbing Poles"]
By: Lewis W. Hine
The photograph I chose to analyze was taken by well-known
documentary photographer Lewis W. Hine in 1917.
Hine famously used photography as a tool for social commentary to raise
public awareness about various issues plaguing the United States in the early
20th century, so this photograph struck me as being quite
different. Instead of interacting with
his subject by posing them to face him--and thus the camera, and the viewer of
the photograph—in this case he is merely an observer. He creates a very geometric image with the
harsh lines of the barren landscape, the simple buildings, the telephone wires,
and of course, the pole that is perfectly centered within the frame. However, this centerpiece appears unexpectedly curved compared to the sharp lines found throughout the rest of the image. Even the shadow cast on the ground appears as a straighter line than the pole, which strangely seems to bend away from the soldier as he mounts it.
For a documentary photograph of a soldier taken during World War I, I was struck by the qualities of the image that verge on pictorialism; from the clearly deliberate composition, to the strangely serene sense of calm communicated through the starkness of the landscape, and most obviously, the unusual lightness that dominates the left side of the photograph like an apparition. It is difficult to determine if this is the result of something that occurred as the image was captured, during the development process, or if it is an example of damage that the photograph sustained at a later date, though I suspect it is not the latter. Whatever the case, Hine has created an example of War photography that is equally as haunting as images that more bluntly depict the horrors of war. There is not a weapon or a dead soldier in sight, but the photograph makes the viewer ponder the possibility, which is undeniably Hine's intention.
Magnum Photograph Writing Exercise
Caption: Washington Square roller skater
Credit: Thomas Hoepker
As the caption suggests, this is a photograph of a man roller skating in Washington Square. I chose the picture because I was impressed that the author seemed to be able to capture the movement of the roller skater, despite the lack of blur (which, in my mind, is usually a telltale sign of movement in a picture). The roller skater is the focus of the photo and appears graceful and off in his own little world, seemingly unaware of the people watching him. I'm also interested in the photographer's choice of vantage point. The background features a number of people, some watching the roller skater while others are not. The presence of the Washington Square Arch would tell us that the photograph was taken in Washington Square Park (if the caption didn't already tell us this). The lack of leaves on the tree and people in the background wearing jackets tells me that it's probably towards the end of winter. There appears to be another roller skater cut off on the right side of the photograph. This makes me think that there was some sort of show or exhibition going on. Or, perhaps, it was just a bunch of people that got together to roller skate in the park. My favorite par of this photograph is the angle of the roller skater. He's slanted at an angle while the rest of the photo is not. I think this helps to immediately draw the viewer's eye to the skater. It makes him stand out and I think also helps to make him appear to be in motion. Overall, I think this picture effectively documents life in motion - the goings on of Washington Square Park on this particular sunny day.
Magnum Photo Assignment
France, Var departement. Town of St. Tropez.
I chose this particular photo because at first glance it only appeared to me as a group of men stand with their backs to the photographer. But as I continued to look at the image I noticed the small dog seated between the legs of his owner. That particular detail really makes the image unique. This image, taken at the back of the crowd, does not immediately portray what is happening in this scene. What struck me about this image, besides the details, is the vantage point that Erwin used to capture this photo. You can see how engrossed the men are in watching or participating in the game. On closer inspection one can see the bocce balls lined up on the ground and more of the crowd gathered around. The photographer has snapped an image of a game of bocce being played, one of the major pastimes enjoyed by the French.
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