1.6 The Real and the Digital

Read the section entitled ‘The Real and the Digital’ in Wells, L. (ed.) (2015)
Photography : a critical introduction. (Fifth edition.) London, [England] ; New York,
New York: Routledge. pp.92–95. At:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=196
8918
Does digital technology change how we see photography as truth?
Consider both sides of the argument and make some notes in your learning log.

What was your idea of documentary photography before you worked on
Part One? How would you now sum it up?

What are the differences between documentary, reportage,
photojournalism and art photography?

Reflection:

The idea that photographs provide irrefutable evidence of reality has long since disappeared from our social consciousness, thanks in the main to the ubiquity of mobile phone camera apps and photo editing software. Such is the expectation that celebrity portraits or fashion model images have been “photoshopped”, that such images are seldom if ever accepted at face value.

Social media has helped to expose “photography fakes” where social media bloggers have been caught out using “faked” backgrounds to their travel blogs. There appears to be a momentum to these exposé stories, possibly because people feel cheated or deceived by such posts. This would suggest an underlying belief in the truth of the photographic image (when not obviously manipulated) which is betrayed by the false claims of the photo editors.

We live today in the age of “fake news” society is becoming ever more doubting of news stories and associated imagery. This move to the denial or questioning of all photographic images is not necessarily positive. Rather like the fable “the boy that cried wolf” we now face the situation where genuine photojournalism is questioned or doubts cast by unscrupulous agents that devalue such images. An extreme of such behaviour being that images of the holocaust are denied or denounced as fabricated by holocaust deniers.

Not withstanding the herd cynicism highlighted above, before working on part one of this course I saw the terms photojournalism, documentary and reportage as having roughly the same meaning. I would have grouped all under the genre of “straight photography” meaning that the images would have recorded events accurately, truthfully and stand as a genuine record of moments in time. Oh foolish me!

Part one has introduced to me the subtle differences between between such terms. I say “subtle” because these terms are often used interchangeably, even by the photographers themselves. Additionally the “photographer’s voice” whereby a photographers image will to some extent expose the motivations or priorities of the photographer whether conscious or not will affect the “truth” of any image.

Of the three terms above Photojournalism has the closest links to accuracy and authenticity. The inclusion of the “journalism” is the clue here. Described in the Cambridge dictionary as “the work of collecting writing and publishing or broadcasting news stories and articles” photojournalists provide images for the news media. These images are often captured close to action or incidents, providing evidence or information to support news stories.

Documentary photography is a term often used to cover some or all of the other genres above, however significant differences between documentary and photojournalism photography will include; Documentary photography is often a step removed from the immediacy of “front line” journalism. Documentary photography often follows a predetermined agenda and is selective in the images captured to support that agenda. It may be social reform or raising the profile of important subjects. If photojournalists photograph the immediate impact of a natural disaster in another country whilst newsworthy, documentary photographers would be the people continuing to record the struggles of the people affected long after the journalists have left.

Photojournalism and documentary photographers are concerned with objective photography, whereas Reportage offers the photographer the opportunity for subjectivity in the presentation of their message. One famous exponent of reportage photography is Henri Cartier-Bresson who’s “decisive moment” work demonstrates how an image captured at the right moment may conote more than it denotes. Reportage photography provides the means for visual story telling and today this style is overy popular when used to capture the both the feeling and the actuality of weddings or other social events.

Bibliography

Wells L (ed.) (2009) Photography: a critical introduction, Routledge, Oxford; New York. pp.67-99

Clarke G (1997) The photograph, Oxford Press, New York. pp.207-208.

Bate D (2009) Photography the key concepts, Berg, Oxford. pp.53-65.

2.4 Photographing the Unseen.

Exercise:

Research the following three case studies from Level 3 OCA students who have chosen to explore themes that are not necessarily visible. All use metaphor to portray their ideas rather than a more straightforward method of representation.

Peter Mansell – Paralysis

Pete suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of a traffic accident when he was 20 and has lived most of his life as a paraplegic. His projects deal with how his injury has affected his life.

Dewald Botha – Ring Road

As a South African living in China, Dewald often felt like an outsider. He found the busy-ness and intensity of life in China smothering so began to use his camera to explore this personal issue. Ring Road is the outcome of this visual exploration and the resultant images portray a searching for beauty or relief in a place of difficulty.

Jodie Taylor – Childhood Memories

Jodie Taylor’s work deals with nostalgia, which at first may seem like an un- photographable subject. She got around this problem by revisiting her childhood area and photographing it in a way that marries her memories and family history with her present interaction with those formative places. The outcome is a visually consistent and poignant view of her childhood. The subject drove her photography, not the other way around. The final presentation consisted of 6×4 photographs presented in the sort of flimsy plastic family album she’d have had at home. Read more about Jodie’s work here:
www.weareoca.com/photography/photography-and-nostalgia/

All three of these projects are examples of personally driven work but they become universal when we can relate to the feeling they present by visiting our own personal histories.

1. Which of these projects resonates most with you, and why?
2. How do you feel about the loss of authorial control that comes when the viewer projects their own experiences and emotions onto the images you’ve created?

Research

Peter Mansell – Paralysis

Presented as a photo book and a website. powerful, thought provoking, images of the individual items that make up Mansell’s world. Some of the images are difficult viewing. The titles of each chapter of the act as a relay which steers the viewer to an understanding of what they are looking at and the context within which they should be considered. As I viewed the images and read the associated text Mansell’s images conjured the feelings of frustration, loss of freedom, of planned future and the bitter sadness and concern for the future that I can only assume disabling conditions bring in waves.

Mansell has an extensive portfolio online over several individual websites. They are all navigable from a central landing page (listed below) The images in his photographic essay can be expanded by clicking them. Each expanded view provides explanation text below. I felt with this work that the metaphorical message of the image was better served by not reading the text.

Mansell P. (2016) Peter Mansell Imagery (online), Weebly.com website, available from: https://paralysed.weebly.com/#, last accessed 09/04/2020.

Dewald Botha – Ring Road

Botha’s extensive portfolio is available in part on his website

Botha’s images tend to be, rather like Mansell’s, images of multiple individual elements that fit together to make a whole. It is the sum total of the images that give rise to the understanding of the work and the feelings they convey. I spent some time viewing several of Botha’s projects, in them he questions what places mean by showing us so many versions of the place that I initially questioned how they could possibly fit together other than by being located in the same geographic location. I noted that Botha treated these urban images in a similar way to which a landscape photographer captures a scene in that all that is captured is landscape. There are signs of man’s mark on the world but no sign of man, or beast for that matter. No distractions from Botha’s aim of capturing the essence of the place.

Botha D. (2013) Ring Road [online] DEWALD website, available from: https://www.dewaldbotha.net/ring-road.html,last accessed 09/04/2020.

Jodie Taylor – Memories of Childhood.

Taylor’s work resonated with me more than the examples above. Not because of the powerful subject matter, if it were merely subject matter then Paralysis would be my choice, but Taylor’s work resonated most because she took me back to my childhood.

I first came across Taylor’s images whilst completing the “Expressing Your Vision” module. The photographs, which Tayor cleverly presented took look as if they were taken in the 1970s, immediately took me back to my childhood and with that evoked memories of days spent out on my bicycle with friends, exploring new neighbourhoods, endless panel fenced and walled footpaths and garage blocks with “up and over” metal doors. Memories of my parents, since departed. Memories of friends that I have lost contact with, and memories of the freedom that existed for children of the sixties and seventies.

Taylors work inspired me to go back to the village of my childhood. I went back there in 2019 to reminisce and whilst there to visit old neighbours who had stayed. I spent the remainder of the day wandering the nostagia steeped footpaths and pathways of my youth. Much had changed in the sleepy village that I called home for so many years but it’s essence remained. Obviously, I took my camera and recorded images for my personal collection. Many had similarities to those of Jodie Taylors. I remain grateful to her for inspiring me to return.

Lomas M. (2015) Jodie Taylor [online], Open College of the Arts website, Available from: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/photography/jodie-taylor/, Last accessed 16/04/2020

n.k. (2013) Photography and Nostalgia [online], Open College of the Arts website, Available from: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/ photography/photography-and-nostalgia/, Last accessed 16/04/2020

Lack of Authorial Control?

When I started learning with the Open College of the Arts, working on the first module of my course “Expressing Your Vision” my tutor questioned my choice of adding titles to all of my images, suggesting instead that it might be better to allow the viewer to find their own meaning. I had never considered such a option until that point. In fact I had added titles because I wanted to direct the viewer towards my way of thinking, to the meaning that I had intended.

Since then, and thanks to my tutor, I have allowed the viewer the opportunity to read into my images whatever their past, their current circumstances, social or political views or their environment suggest. Dictatorial messaging has its place, in news media, adverts, government messaging etc. But I do not need or want to dictate meaning for my images. Images that allow the viewer to have their own emotional or intellectual response are far more powerful and are meaningful to many many more people than those that are closed and heavily anchored. My preference would be for the lightest of relay text where necessary.

2.3 The Poem

Exercise:

Choose a poem that resonates with you then interpret it through photographs. Don’t attempt to describe the poem but instead give a sense of the feeling of the poem and the essence it exudes.

Start by reading the poem a few times (perhaps aloud) and making a note of the feelings and ideas it promotes, how you respond to it, what it means to you and the mental images it raises in your mind.
Next, think about how you’re going to interpret this visually and note down your ideas in your learning log. (You may choose to develop this idea into creating a short series of images reflecting your personal response to the poem or another poem).
Write some reflective notes about how you would move the above exercise on.
The number of pictures you choose to produce for the exercises and assignments in this course, including this one, is up to you.
Try to keep in mind the following tips for knowing when you have done enough/not done enough:
• Are the images repeating themselves? Are there three versions of the same picture for example? Can you take two out?
• Does each image give a different point of view or emphasise a point you want to make?
• Do the images sit well together visually?
• Have you given the viewer enough information? Would another picture help?

Response:

I chose poem which has been very important to me for many years. The poem Reason, Season, Lifetime (anon) has helped me to rationalise the many moments of sadness, and of course happiness in my lifetime. I have found solace in its words and it has enabled me to Find calm and emotional acceptance when times have been difficult.
When I read the poem I remember those people in my life that have come and gone, some with my blessing others with sadness or regret. Some have been incredibly painful losses of loved family members. There is an underlying narrative to this poem about our life journey and the rich experiences that it brings.
The poem is widely available on the internet under a google search or on Pinterest.

Reason, Season, Lifetime.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

Developing my work.

When I read this poem I instantly and unconsciously recollect the faces of those who I have lost over my lifetime. The positive side to this poetry is that I am also encouraged to reflect upon all of the wonderful people who have come into my life as it has moved along.

I recognise that my main photographic interest is the photographing of people. People are immensely important to my life and happiness. I have fascination with social interaction, friendships and how we humans relate to one another, both positively and negatively. I found myself therefore drawn to describing my feelings with images of both the individuals that I have lost contact with over the years and those whom I have found.

In describing these feelings I wanted to avoid a linear narrative. Feelings are seldom linear and I felt it important not to lead the viewer but to let them dwell on my images and ask themselves questions about them. My initial thoughts of images of current friendships and images of some of those that I had lost I discounted because of the obviousness of the approach and the boring imagery. I eventually distilled my concept down to a small number of images of people who were important in my life but now lost, printed onto paper and then photographed being held by some of the most important people in my life now.

This approach was somewhat flawed in that my geographical location meant that I was prevented from reaching some of my most important family members, but I have been happy with the selection that I ultimately made.
once selected I spoke to the friends and family that I wished to photograph to ask their permission and to arrange a date to capture the moment. I asked that they remained deadpan when photographed. I took inspiration from Diane Arbus in this respect and also placed the subject in the centre of the frame. Additionally, I have found that people who are uncomfortable being photographed generally find it much more comfortable being told not to smile. It seems to take away some of the pressure, and in my experience produces a more natural result.

I feel that there is a sombreness to the images. They are simple images but there is a lot going on. I wanted the viewer to wonder who these individuals were, to reflect upon the positive and negative story within each image. The poem acts as an anchor to this work, setting the scene and encouraging reflective thinking which is essential to the viewing experience. I had considered also using “relay” text with each image to hint at the identity of the lost person, but discounted this approach as it was far too prescriptive and moved away from the objective of trying to describe the feeling of the poem.

I recognise that, contrary to suggestions not to repeat similar imagery in the guide above, my images deliberately repeat themselves in terms of their style and to some degree their content, but that is the point here. The poem is about the continual cycle of loss and gain and the images being similar elude to the nature of this cycle. The cycle is the same but the individuals change.

I considered adding additional images to tell more of a story about loss of friends or family or new friends recently met. I decided against this move, my reasoning that simplicity is more powerful and the “feeling” of the poem is about internal reflection not about external narrative. Because of the current Covid-19 restrictions I have been prevented from adding more than the four images below. This project has inspired me to continue adding images and I hope to add further images to the collection thoughout the remainder of the course.

Reason Season (HK)-3 Reason Season (HK)-1 Reason Season (HK)-10 Reason Season (HK)-4

2.2 Image and Text (Anchor Vs Relay)

Cut out some pictures from a newspaper and write your own captions.

How do the words you put next to the image contextualise/re-contextualise it?
How many meanings can you give to the same picture?
Try the same exercise for both anchoring and relaying. Blog about it.

In his 1967 essay ‘Rhetoric of the Image’, Roland Barthes gave us two terms that help
define different ways of using words with pictures:
• Anchor – In news stories the text that accompanies pictures is usually there to
control meaning – to stop the image from being interpreted in a manner that isn’t
in keeping with the political views of the newspaper, for example. In advertising this
type of anchoring text is used to fix the meaning of the image into one clear and
distinct message (i.e. why you should buy this product).
• Relay – In the second definition the text has equal status with the image. Image and
text bounce off each other to create a fuller picture that allows for ambiguity and
various interpretations. This is more in line with a postmodern view of narrative.

Examples of Anchor Text

Image 1

SOUTH BEDS NEWS AGENCY

Examples of Anchoring

TROLL TRIAL Mum-of-two who branded a transgender woman a ‘pig in a wig’ is convicted of sending offensive tweets
Mum of six wins £6 Million on the National Lottery and vows to “spend spend spend!”
First Female MP convicted of fraud escapes Jail sentence!
Comedienne Denise Daventry signs up to enter the Big Brother House.

Anchoring with text enables the publisher to completely change the way in which an image is understood by the viewer. The examples of anchor text given are very different yet they are all believable. I realised when creating the examples that for the anchor to be believable it helps to have something within the image that supports the story, but this is not essential. Image 2 is an example where some of those same anchor examples do not work as well, because the image does not support the story. The lady in question does not look like she just escaped a prison sentence.

Image 2

Erkek

CLICK HAPPY I’ve splurged £1.6k in 2 weeks on lockdown buys – I even bought nappies despite my son being potty-trained

I have not made up any further examples of anchoring for this image as I found several ready made examples on Google which demonstrate how an image can be reused time and time again for different stories.

Examples of Relay Text

Image 1

SOUTH BEDS NEWS AGENCY

Walking to work
Getting about London
At the library
Volunteering
Thursday

Image 2

Erkek

Ed’s Gym
Hot Tub?
Success
Black is the new Black
I said “Yes”!
Two more weeks to go

The relay text examples leave the images far more open to interpretation, but it relies on the image to support the story. The suggestion of a Gym with image 2 invites the viewer to regard the image as that of someone who is physically fit or exercising, but the image does not specifically show that. What makes it a believable suggestion is the subjects attire, the shine on her skin and her age. The relay text can influence what the viewer sees but it cannot add more meaning to the combination of image and text than the image itself will allow. I noted that these relay texts are not at all interchangeable between images, whereas the anchor text, with minor exceptions, are.

References.

Image 1: Iorizzo E, 2020, TROLL TRIAL Mum-of-two who branded a transgender woman a ‘pig in a wig’ is convicted of sending offensive tweets [Online], The Sun website, available from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10967156/mum-branded-transgender-woman-a-pig/, accessed: 03/03/2020

Image 2: Roberts A, 2020, CLICK HAPPY I’ve splurged £1.6k in 2 weeks on lockdown buys – I even bought nappies despite my son being potty-trained [Online], The Sun Website, Available from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/11309551/lockdown-online-shopping-addict/, Accessed: 03/03/2020.

2.1 The Dad Project vs The Country Doctor

Linear storylines have often been used in photo essays, telling a story chronologically from an insider’s point of view. In 1948 W. Eugene Smith made a photo essay for LIFE magazine. Country Doctor chronicles the ups and downs in the life of general practitioner Dr. Ernest Ceriani from Colorado over 23 days: http://time.com/3456085/w-eugene-smiths-landmark-photo-essay-country-doctor/[last accessed 27/08/2019]

The chronological picture or photo essay is something that is often repeated in contemporary photography and can be very compelling, like Bryony Campbell’s work documenting her father’s death from cancer, The Dad Project (2009) http://www.brionycampbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ The_Dad_Project_Briony_Campbell.pdf [last accessed 27/08/2019]

Both photographic essays have been presented as chronological studies of the life, and in the case of the The Dad Project death, of an individual but they are very different works.

Viewing images from The Country Doctor feels you are looking at stills from an old black and white film. The camera positioning leads the viewer to feel like a spectator, in a similar way to a television programme or film appears as a window through which you are watching the action unfold. The close up images bring you closer to what is happening but you remain separate from it. Contrastingly, the Dad Project manages to shrug of that Journalistic style. The work feels intimate and conveys feelings. Each image communicates far more information and emotion than is presented in the frame.

When photographing The Country Doctor, Eugene Smith did so as a 1948 documentary photographer for Life magazine. This period in time would have affected the style of the photography and the magazine’s requirements would have affected the presentation of the images. It is likely that the images would have been edited by the magazine to create the story that they wished to portray, so there is no guarantee that the final essay was chronologically accurate. Some of the images work together to create short stories. These groups of images could be presented out of sequence from Smith’s original chronology without really damaging the context of the essay.

Finally the work in its entirety captures a 23 day snapshot in time. It conveys to the viewer that there would have been time beforehand. I.E. The doctor was a well established professional in a community the he knew. The viewer is also aware that there would be time afterwards in which the doctor would continue to treat his patients and potentially they could revisit in the future.

The Dad Project differs from this as it presents a finite work. There is a chronological ending and the viewer is taken on a very intimate and sensitive journey to that end. In this case the viewer is not left with the feeling of the opportunity to return to the story but is left contemplating and reflecting upon the profundity of the event.

Bryony Campbell’s use of metaphors such as the stain on the carpet or the glass and straw convey meaning beyond the frame. They achieve this because they are positioned within a context already created by earlier images in the series. The viewer mentally places the image within this context and assumes the circumstances surrounding it. The inclusion of herself in the frame helps to create intimacy, the viewer witnessing her vulnerability and pain.

Campbell’s comment about an ending without an ending is open to the interpretation of those who have viewed her work. I took from it that she meant that her life would continue, the grief would eventually diminish and she would carry on with both the void which has been left by her fathers passing and her cherished memories of his life.

As someone who has lost both parents I recognise that my perception of the work will have been affected by my own experiences. I found it a very moving work and at times I was reduced to tears.

1.5 The Manipulated Image.

https://holliwomble2.home.blog/

Brief:

Instead of using double exposures or printing from double negatives we now have the technology available to us to make these changes in post-production, allowing for quite astonishing results.

Use digital software such as Photoshop to create a composite image that visually appears to be a documentary photograph but which could never actually be.

To make a composite image you need to consider your idea and make the required amount of images to join together.

Upload the images and decide which image you’ll use as your main image and background. Use the magic wand to select sections of an image from the others you wish to move into your background image. Copy via layer and drag into the background. Do this repeatedly until you have all the pieces of your puzzle in place. In order to make it more convincing, use the erase tool on each layer to keep the edges soft and to create a better illusion. Be aware of perspective and light and shadows for the most effective results.

Approach:

This exercise came about at a time when I have been looking carefully at alternatives to Adobe CC. I used Affinity Photo on an Apple iMac some time ago before moving to Adobe and I have a fondness for it because it was the first of such applications that I had ever used. So when I purchased an iPad and pencil last week I wanted to use it, together with Affinity Photo. to work on this exercise.

I felt that this exercise came at an extremely early stage in the degree course as to successfully fool the eye with a composite image is quite a skill and one that is perhaps honed over many years. The online tutorial videos make the manipulations look easy but clearly, the presenters are experts in their art. I, unsurprisingly, am not! Be prepared to be underwhelmed.

For me, the obvious choice of subject matter was the current political protagonists in the latest elusions and delusions being presented by those that feel they know what is good for us. The latest theatrical event being the election of a new Prime Minister which brought me to my choice of candidate.

I selected just one figure for my composite image but in creating it I had to apply rather a lot of manipulation. I chose a background as far from the nature of this individual as I could find, that of a Buhdist Monk. I intended for the image to have a level of contextual humour that could be supported by any number of backstories.

My opinion of this work is that I do not show any kind of flare for image manipulation . But I enjoyed trying, enjoyed attempting humour and caricature and if I have more time later in the course I might try and improve on this one.

Images:

1.4 Sarah Pickering – Public Order

https://holliwomble2.home.blog/

Exercise

Look at some more images from this series on the artist’s website.

How do Pickering’s images make you feel?
Is Public Order an effective use of documentary or is it misleading?

Findings

Images from Sarah Pickering’s work “Public Order”

Pickering’s images evoke complex emotions. At first glance they remind me of the lesser successful of 1960s and 1970s urban constructions. The streets are eerie, possibly because they are unpopulated or perhaps because we subconsciously notice the small indicators that all is not as it appears. The areas of scorched buildings and scorched ground suggest the aftermath of rioting or civil disorder. This generates a feeling of foreboding.

The images where the detail of the fabrication can be seen, for example the top lefthand picture above where the viewer can see the scrubland through the open front door, are strangely less eerie. Once we see the nature of the constructed reality our subconscious concerns evaporate.

Pickering’s Westworld-esque compositions are enjoyable viewing because they present as both documentary, in their straight representation of the police training ground and artistic, through their toying with our emotional response. External context is, I think, intrinsic to how these images are viewed. If viewed without this knowledge some of the images may be considered misleading. However, the longer I have viewed them the more I have been amused and delighted by the subtlety of Pickering’s clever compositions.

1.3 Reportage

Brief:

Find a street that particularly interests you – it may be local or further afield. Shoot 30 colour images and 30 black and white images in a street photography style.

In your learning log, comment on the differences between the two formats. What difference does colour make? Which set do you prefer and why?

Approach:

I chose Sandown’s Esplanade and High Street as locations for this exercise. It is not an area that I frequent but I felt that it may be busier than my home town of Ventnor. The towns on the Isle of Wight are often rather quiet. As it transpired it was a good choice with a wide variety of subjects.

Equipment was a Pentax APS-C DSLR with a 50mm f1.7 vintage lens. This required manual focus and a calculated exposure. The Pentax DSLR keeps the lens aperture wide open to aid focussing, until taking the shot. I therefore had to calculate the exposure in full stops based upon the difference between the aperture set on the lens aperture ring and the the lens aperture when wide open (f1.7) then adjusted the exposure compensation accordingly (AV mode, Manual ISO) This is a slower process than with a modern lens and is complicated by the large dynamic range we get on the coast. I shot in RAW which gave me greater flexibility to recover details and post processed in Adobe Lightroom.

When composing, I looked specifically for situations where colour would add interest and also situations where texture and context might be more. important. This may have been less spontanious than composing without thinking and deciding on the format later, but I feel that it made for a better comparison between the differences.

Unfortunately my mobile parking app wouldn’t work on Sandown Esplanade and the parking meter only gave me one hour. So this exercise was also a test of what I could achieve in a fixed timeframe. (Hence the very similar images towards the end)

Images:

Reflection

I have tried to arrange the images to give a direct comparison between similar scenes so that it is possible to look at how colour changes the way in which we see the image.

I enjoyed the challenge of looking for images that suited both format but on occasions I was unable to see what would work best and just took the picture. To my eye, both presentations work. The last two images demonstrate this quite well. The security guard image on the left benefits from the colour pallette. The colours complement each other and add interest without overpowering the subject. The elderly lady image looks beter in monochrome. The colours of the shop front and the vehicles, in what was already a busy scene, distracted from the subject and clashed in an uncomfortable way. In monochrome there is still interest in the background but it does distract.

I found that the colour images allowed blurred images to still be pleasing. The one image that is completely out of focus was a mistake, but when I reviewed it I found the colours and abstract nature pleasing (that might be just my personal taste)

I enjoyed the way that similar or complimentary colours could be used to guide the viewer’s eye through the composition, whereas monochrome images relied more on depth of field, leading lines or other composition rules.

I cannot say that I have a favorite presentation. However, prior to this exercise almost all of my street photography was processed in monochrome. From now on I will be actively looking for opportunities to use colour as I really enjoyed what was for me a new way of seeing.

I have a few favourite images, each for different reasons. My least obvious favourite is the image of the woman in the green top passing by the green construction fence. This image made me feel good because I saw her walking down the street saw the fence and moved into position just in time to take the shot. I also enjoyed the irony of the “kitchen closed” signs on the fenced off demolished building and monochrome. And loved those amazing reds in some of the colour images and how they lead you in.

1.1 Eyewitnesses?

https://holliwomble2.home.blog/

Brief:

Find some examples of news stories where ‘citizen journalism’ has exposed or highlighted abuses of power. How do these pictures affect the story, if at all? Are these pictures objective? Can pictures ever be objective? Write a list of the arguments for and against. For example, you might argue that these pictures do have a degree of objectivity because the photographer (presumably) didn’t have time to ‘pose’ the subjects, or perhaps even to think about which viewpoint to adopt. On the other hand, the images we see in newspapers may be selected from a series of images and how can we know the factors that determined the choice of final image?

Think about objectivity in documentary photography and make some notes in your learning log before reading further.

Research:

The Shooting of Walter Scott.

This terrible incident received global media coverage, it captures the moment just prior to a police officer shooting dead a black man as he is running away from him. The fact that this was a black man is important to the context of this image as it captured “violence inflicted on Black communities by the state” Black Lives Matter (2013)

I researched this image using several sources. I found that the context subtly changed depending upon the publisher. In general, the context of a “terrible crime being committed” (my words) ran throughout. The published image is a still taken from a video filmed by a bystander Feidin Santana a Dominican immigrant who was walking to work and observed the incident as it unfolded. Is the image Objective? I believe that the image is objective because the photographer captured it surreptitiously without the knowledge of the participants and could not have influenced the scene in any way. However, the image, and indeed the video from which it is taken is technically not entirely objective in that it didn’t show the lead up to the event. It is not clear whether this was through photographer choice or just being absent at the start. These considerations take nothing away from the fact that this image depicts a terrible event, which has since been recognised as murder, which shows the last few minutes of this young man’s life.

The image and video were later accepted by a court as incontrovertible proof that the accused’s account of events was highly inaccurate. So, in this case, the camera did not lie but the perpetrator did! The photographer cited for the video was Feidin Santana a Dominican immigrant who was walking to work. Without his evidence in the form of this video, it is highly likely that a grave miscarriage of justice would have ensued.

The context to the image on the CBS News website (CBS News (2015) was unsensational and balanced in its approach to the incident. A similar article on another website “Mother Jones” (mother jones 2017) couched it within a detailed and highly, in my opinion rightly, emotive description of the events and the trial. The Mother Jones article recounts the event and the subsequent trial from a different but no less valid perspective, I personally see her perspective as more valid.

2. Glenn Mills Attacking his Wife.

PAY--Knife-wielding-main — Paul Hooper (2015)

The images shown here are again taken by the publisher from a video of the incident. Rather different to the previous image which depicts an abuse of power by the state, these images depict a man violently assaulting his wife. Are these images objective? Yes, I believe that the images themselves are because they came from a fixed camera which recorded the images automatically without human intervention. The presentation of the images, however, may not be objective. In this case, the images appeared in the Irish Mirror Newspaper, Irish Mirror (2015) and the description of events uses emotive language for sensationalism. Notwithstanding this, it was a serious incident and the images served as evidence in court for the prosecution of the offender.

3. Mentally ill man being Restrained.

8bbd19dc5e72fed5f40d782db7856d60cbfdd891-2 — Nick McKenzie (2018)

This image appeared on the Australian news media website “The Age” The Age (2015). Again showing abuse of power by agents for the state, that being six police officers violently restraining a mentally ill citizen. Again this image came from a video of the incident. Is the image objective? I have to say yes because, again, they came from a fixed camera which recorded the images automatically without human intervention. The external context for the image, that is the text or reported story, is not objective in that it uses very emotive language and for a newspaper, where you would expect balanced reporting of facts, I found the reporting to be biased. Nevertheless, the video is extremely hard to watch and it is obvious that unnecessary force and incidents of physical abuse took place. Interestingly the still images of the incident are easier to view than the video footage because they do convey in a single frame the violence of the event or the demeanor of the police officers involved.

Reflection

I found it harder than you might think to find still photographs taken by citizen photographers. I thought that with the ubiquity of mobile phones encouraging people to photograph incidents there would be lots of examples. However, these citizens who are both unfortunate enough to witness and brave enough to stay and record the event prefer video to stills capture.

The use of mobile phones to capture abuse of power on the part of the state spawned the use of “body cameras” for many services such as the police, fire service even traffic wardens. Is this big brother in action? or beneficial use of technology? The use of devices to capture images of events on both sides or any dispute or incident feels like digital imaging warfare with footage used for proof of guilt or innocence. It is yet to be seen if the use of such devices or knowledge of their use will reduce abuses of power by those that can. Only time will tell.

Whilst the video footage has a very strong narrative the still images are entirely flexible in their’s and are dependent upon the context of the accompanying text for the viewer to make sense of them. For example here are three fictional headlines that would completely change the narrative of the image:

Violent Offender Brought Down by Brave Wounded Cop!
Psychotic Woman on Rampage Disarmed by Brave bystander!
Violent Robbery Suspect Finally Felled by Victoria Police!

Using these images for such stories would be morally intolerable, but the point is that the photographer is not in control of the image once it is released into the media and it is possible for it to be used in very different contexts to the original intention.

Bibliography

Crimesider Staff. (2015).S.C. police officer charged for shooting caught on tape. [online]. CBS News. Available from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mayor-south-carolina-police-officer-charged-with-murder-in-shooting-after-traffic-stop/ . Last accessed 16/05/2019.

Black Lives Matter. (2013). Black Lives Matter Website. [online]. Black Lives Matter. Available from: https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/herstory/. Last Accessed 16/05/2019.

Michael Sokolove. (2017). What Does It Take To Convict a Cop?. [online]. Mother Jones. Available from: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/michael-slager-trial-walter-scott-police-shooting-north-charleston-south-carolina-3/.Last Accessed 16/05/2019.

Nick McKenzie. (2018). Beaten, abused, humiliated and filmed by Victoria Police. [online]. The Age. Available from: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/michael-slager-trial-walter-scott-police-shooting-north-charleston-south-carolina-3/. Last Accessed 16/05/2019.

Paul Hooper. (2015). Drunken husband caught on camera holding knife to wife’s throat as she fights for her life. [online]. Irish Mirror. Available from: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/world-news/drunken-husband-caught-camera-holding-5198491. Last Accessed 16/05/2019.