Photography & the Environment

For a photograph to be influential it must be appealing to the eye? Right? Sometimes this just simply cannot be the case. What makes a successful photograph for me personally is not how well put together it is, nor how beautiful the subject is, but rather how well it portrays its final message.

An image like this one below for example is very beautiful and extravagant, but there is no underlying message, besides a relaxing and very tempting holiday.

http://jonathanpang.files.wordpress.com

/2008/10/esperance-beach.jpg

This image below is slowly getting the point. It combines both the skill of a good photographer to make it look appealing, yet there is this amazing message about drought and its impact not only on nature but on humans as well. Everyone struggles when there is a drought.

http://www.picturecorrect.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/landscape-preparation2.jpg

I guess in the end though, it does come down to what the context is. The first image could be being used to advertise how beautiful the beach is and how much locals do not want to loose it to pollution. Who knows. With photography and art, it is the creator who has a vision and there should be no room for judgement except the willingness to understand, interpret, and cause action.

Narrative & Photography

There are many ways to tell a story or recall an event. The greatest aspect of photography for me however, is its ability to convey these stories to those who are witnessing them. It is interesting to think about the way humanity has previously shared stories, around campfires, by reading a book, or over a meal. This time for sharing has been taken over by the technology age, where instead of gathering together, we video chat or network with each other instead. Photography is a big part in this technology age. It is one of the strongest ways of obtaining audience attention and then getting the apparent message out there for the world to see.

The artists I found intriguing in the Chapter by Cotton, was Sarah Dobai and Wendy McMurdo. Both of these ladies create such surreal photographs, pushing the boundaries of what I know to be a photograph, and something that has been edited beyond belief.

Sarah Dobai "Red Room"

Dobai's work is very similar to McMurdos. They both use locations where there is no room for personal effects, they seem to almost want you to avoid getting to know the person being photographed, and focus on the story being told. The images force you to become the character and imagine what you would be feeling in the situation at hand. "Red Room" for me personally, is almost uncomfortable, the way they are lying is awkward and it appears that the girl is doing her best to please him. The insane red walls suggest passion at first, but at the same time I would feel endangered, pressured by society to go for it, rather then plan ahead.

Wendy McMurdo "Backstage..." 1996

This image above by McMurdo places you in the shoes of one of these young girls. Is it all an act? Are they really twins? An imaginary twin perhaps? She seems almost puzzled by the idea. This image similar to Dobai's takes away that feeling of she is a singular being, and rather suggests that she could be any troubled or curious kid. McMurdo has a similar style to Sally Mann, utilising her children as a way to make a statement or tell a story. They are useful as subject matter in art and photography as a tool to represent parts of the human condition. They are simple beings.

Wendy McMurdo

This image is another image by McMurdo I came across in my search. It is of a young girl being confronted by big scary bears, but yet hardly seeming fazed by it all. This image is once again stripped of its personality. She is curious and careful. The bears however could simply represent scary bears, however for me they are a metaphor of society and the trouble you can run into once you reach adulthood. The girl is representative of how we sometimes turn a blind eye, and stop watching where we are headed, but she also has the ability to look through the glass if she wants.

Sarah Dobai "Emily"

"Emily" carries out the same style as "Red Room". It it simple crafted, basic lighting structure and an uninteresting setting. She is almost consumed by the boring grey walls. You want to get to know her though, the human reaction is to reach out and help her, but at the same time it feels as though you can not, or you should not.

image references:

http://thomaslcummins.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/mcmurdobear.jpg

http://www.artsway.org.uk/images/sized/assets/uploads/events/photos/Sarah_Dobai_-_Emily-434x0.jpg

Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson is one of those photographers whom you hate to love. The way his images are constructed sometimes either merge or push the boundaries of realism and surrealism.

His work I would classify as an art piece rather then as a documentary photograph. They are precisely constructed, taking away what is real, and replacing it with something with real "in mind".

Gregory Crewdson, I also found it interesting to know, was that he was apart of a band in the 70's. He's had the chance to do alot of things before he even thought about being a photographer. Here below is a youtube video of his band called "the speedies" and ironically their hit song was called "let me take your photo".

Assignment #3

The decision on which side to choose in this never-ending debate about the innocence of children and artistic interpretations, is way to hard. If we look at this issue from the perspective of demoralising children and misusing innocence, then the final choice is easy, children, especially young girls, SHOULD NOT be used in any creative way, for advertising or art puposes.

There are many arguements found through all the sources provided, that suggest that there are a few loopholes in this fairly one sided debate. Melinda Tankard Reist, in her blog she uses examples from other blogs that give reason to believe that these images are inappropriate when selling consumer goods, for advertising, or selling themselves, yet it is fine when being used for "artistic" purposes.

But the definition of "art" itself, is really unstable. That is why it's art. Anyone can create something, in any medium from painting to sculpture, to photography, with a justifiable reason, which classifies it as an "artwork".

If the same advertisments where painted or scultpted, it would be socially acceptable. The defintion of a photograph is what makes this debate so overwhelming. A photograph can be anything, it can be for documenting or for a creative purpose, but for many, seeing a real human child in a picture, they see that child as a person, not as an artwork, or an idea. They personify the image and give it an emotion, which then brings out a humanitarian side of society to protect the innocent and those who cannot defend themselves.

Photographs of this nature, similar to Bill Hensons work, are designed with a concept in mind, just like an art piece. The thought process is long and well maintained. They are not designed to demoralise or "demonise". The photographs are a fantastic use of the medium. They criticise everything that is wrong with modern culture and the fashion industry.

Assignment Two (ethics and photojournalism)

Some themes that arose regularly through the text are:

Socially aware/conciousness.
Open mindedness.
They follow ethical guidelines.

Is there always two sides to a story?
In the case of genocide, there is only one.

Honesty through photographs.
Capturing truth.

Observer of the human condition.
Representation of truth must be truthful.

When we consider these things above we go through stages of sympathy, anger, regret, faith, most likely anger again and then hope, that there is someone out there in those parts of the world that wants to fix the world as much as you do. When you stop and take time to look at this image below it is hard to imagine a totally healthy photographer just standing there in amongst all this famine and disease just easily taking pictures. This is one of the big themes in ethics of photography. When is it taking pictures too far? If you were in those children's shoes, would you like to photographed? If you even knew what a photograph was. Imagine not even knowing about the wonders of photography and to understand that your face will be shown to millions of people around the world.

In africa, according to the studies from the UN, someone will die every 5 seconds from starvation. These children, much like the indigenous photographs that are found in the national library, are faces but no names. Because of that rapid rate of death in africa, these children are most likely not alive anymore.



(this image was taken from: http://momiqazi.wordpress.com/)


BAGHDAD, IRAQ - APRIL 8: Blood is seen as Iraqi women cry for their relatives killed in an alleged U.S air strike on April 8, 2008 in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq.

(this image was taken from: http://www.life.com/image/80560156)

Inspirational Photograph

title: unknown
date: unknown
photographer: unknown
url: http://drunkinabeautifulgarden.tumblr.com/post/2068687508



This image shown above was something I only came across last week. So I type in my usual search in google images: guitar, boys, live, music. But this time i ended up looking at girls and guitars, there's something quite alluring and magical about a woman who is nude and holding a musical instrument, it's a known fact, just ask any male. This image is just one of those you'll never forget you came across. It's different, spunky, has a cat in it and it somehow all ties together into one very strange yet amazing image. All I can say is that "I wish I thought of it...!"
It's inspiring for me as a photographer because its as "far out there" as I one day hope to be. Music Photography is one of the main paths that I would love to pursue ALOT further. But I want to be able to explore not only what music is like live but what it is like when you play it, when you live it, and when you feel it.

These other images below are just some more I want to remember for later.

title: unknown
date: unknown
photographer: Sarah Lee
url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clashed/3383298077/sizes/l/



title: unknown
date: unknown
photographer: unknown
url: http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldn2npFnCq1qerjlho1_500.jpg

Welcome to Contemporary Photography!

Page is working?

Check!