A few weeks ago I was walking home from a shoot with my sister and her family, I decided to walk home and instead of just going straight home with my camera in my bag I kept my camera out and made photographs as I was walking just as an experimentation of the light and how the camera picks up different light in the evening compared to in the day time. I also made images of the people walking past me to see how it looked and whether or not they were in good lighting for silhouettes. I liked this experimentation as it has helped me come up with some more ideas to add to my Film Noir inspired project. The photos I have made aren’t meant to look great or anything special I was just trying out different lighting at to see whether or not it was dark enough for the light to really stand out when it actually comes to making the Film Noir inspired night images that I want.
I think that these images look a lot better in black and white and the lighting is perfect for the experiment that I want to do. I like the idea of this shooting and making images during the night as it brings a sense of mystery and allure which is the kind of images that I want to create when my Femme Fatales are introduced. I want to experiment further with different locations for this shoot before actually going out and shooting it as I think that this will make it a lot easier when actually shooting as I will know exaclty where, how and what I want to shoot.
This is my favourite image out of all the images that I made that evening as the lighting is great and is very film noir with more of a chiaroscuro lighting feel towards it. I think that when it comes to actually shooting this might be a possible location or more likely I will definitely be using a lamppost to light my images and to make harsh lighting so that the silhouette of the Femme Fatale really stands out in the darkness and looks mysterious. This experimentation worked well for me and has given me a chance to have a look at what kind of images that I am able to create when it actually comes to making the images.
John Divola is a contemporary visual artist, who works primarily in photography. I like his work because he takes a different approach to the theme of community. Instead of photographing portraits he has captured environments or settings. I think this idea is very clever and unique because it offers another perspective of community. I particularly like this photographer because he focuses on environments and settings opposed to people and landscapes. In my previous post I wrote about the idea of environments having an effort on our memory. Simple objects it being a sofa or the material of a curtain can bring back memories we once had forgotten. I think this is very powerful and influential, therefore the photographs Divola’s produces show a different and unique approach to the idea of community and memory. I like the rawness of the image it shows destruction and anger in the way it has been composed. But then the elegant and peaceful scenery of the sea makes it calm, which confuses the photographs with mixtures of emotions. This is very clever because it invites the viewer into seeing the image as a typical room but there is so much more going on then what appears making it intriguing.
The second image also has the same effect, it has graffitied walls yet in the centre of the image is a beautiful coloured sky. I think the colour of the sky contrasts with what looks like red shattered and broken glass. I think the environment and minor details are incredibly important for an image especially one which is a narrative.
Thilde Jensen is a photographer from Denmark, in 1997 she moved to New York, six years later her life changed as she got a sudden development of severe Environmental Illness and her documentary and editorial photography was cut short. Thilde decided to make a series about Environmental Illnesses called ‘The Canaries’ these were published in The New York Times and other magazines. Thilde’s first monograph ‘The Canaries’ was published in 2013. http://thildejensen.com/ These are a set of images that Thilde Jensen took when she had Environmental Illness and she went around and photographed others who had the same to see what their lives were like. Throughout Thilde’s books there are little A5 slips of paper that have been slipped in throughout, these have writing in which shows what the people in some of these images were saying when she met them at the time she was taking the photographs, these notes of paper give an insight into the conversions that Thilde was having with these subjects but also into the mind of someone who has Environmental Illness.
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In this image this man is in his bedroom where he has a foil barrier. This man has Environmental Illness which is why he has covered his room in foil, this is to protect him. To this man, this room is his safe place. On Thilde’s website and in her book it does not say what illness this man has, so i am unsure of his condition. However, the man has no shoes on which can arguably show that he is living in some sort of state of poverty. This image documents this man’s life in this one photograph and implies the struggles that he faces on a daily basis. I think that this image is interesting because of the reflection that is on the foil, it shows the a glimpse of the outside world, which it looks like the man is missing, as you can see the sun that is coming through the windows.
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In this image this is Thilde Jensen herself, as she got Environmental Illness she had to stop taking her normal photographs that she liked to take. Instead she began taking photographs of others who had Environmental Illness while she tried to tackle it herself as well. I think that this image is interesting as Thilde’s face in this image shows the pain that she is in, and how hard it must be living with Environmental Illness.
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I think that this image out of all of the ones from the series ‘The Canaries’ this one is the most shocking as the women looks violently ill in this image. This image is of a lady called Jen, she is stuck in the bath tub as she is too fatigued to move. This portrait image is striking because of the the lady Jen’s bags that are under her eyes, they imply that she has not had sleep in a while and shows the stress that Environmental Illness is having on her.
What is communitarianism? What’s the origin of communitarianism? How do religions form communities?
Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasises the connection between the individual and community and the importance this has on political life. It arose in the 1980s as a criticism of two philosophical schools. There are many strong communitarianism aspects in several modern and historical political and religious belief systems. For example, the Hebrew Bible, the Christian New Testament, Roman Catholic thoughts and social democracy. Religion involves the idea of community massively, religions become a community because they share common interest, thought or belief.
The Catholic religion has key aspects of community within it, it is about being a family and following the law of God. The foundation for Catholic social thought is the proper understanding the value of a person.
The Catholic community
Religious art
Religious art
I wanted to research into this particular study because I wanted to link the idea of community with religion. Family, community and faith are themes which can all be linked together fairly easily because all of them share qualities and similarities. Religion and in this example the Catholic faith, community is an extremely important aspect of the religion.
” He is gone. He has left orange peel in the wastebasket,the fresh eggs on the windowsill and the remains of a croissant which I polish off. I shall miss him.”
Sophie Calle who was born in 1953 is a French writer, photographer and conceptual artist. Her work often shows human vulnerability, identity and intimacy. She is well known for her ‘detective’ ability to follow strangers and investigate a photograph their private life. She is known to be strange in a good way.
One of Sophie Calle’s projects is called ‘The Hotel’, on Monday 16th February 1981 Sophie was hired for three weeks as a chambermaid in a Venetian Hotel she was assigned 12 bedrooms during this time she examined the personal belongings and observed through details the life’s of the people of who she didn’t know within the hotel rooms. She published photographs of what she found in room 26 and room 47 and what looks like a diary entry of everyday she was in the room in her book’ Sophie Calle’, she also included two smaller photographs of work being exposed in a New York museum and in a National photography center in Paris. In the book only the guests beds are in colour were as there belongings are in black and white, I think transmits their personality.
I chose to look at Sophie Calle’s project the Hotel because she incorporated work into her photography, which is linked to what I am going to do however in a different style, I am going to photograph my mum in her working environments and like Sophie Calle the belongings and surroundings within her workplace.
There are certain boundaries that define what photojournalism is. With documentary photography, the photographers have to be moral and stick to the ‘Code of Ethics’. Whilst not law, they are generally the rules people would abide by just going on moral instinct.
Documentary Photography is meant to be an honest representation of what is happening in the world, it’s meant to document it, and so dishonest photojournalism, whilst may be believed by some, is not proper photojournalism. They are meant to be impartial on situations, not showing a biased view, but the whole view of a situation.
In a way everyone sets the standards of Photojournalism, because we all have our own choices of what is and isn’t morally right or wrong.
The main, or most important points from this code of ethics for me are (to simplify the text below from NPPA):
Accuracy in representation;
Being complete and providing context;
Avoid Stereotyping;
Treating ALL subjects with respect;
Not manipulating images to alter the viewers perception of the image;
Not paying sources;
Not accepting compensation from sources;
Avoiding political involvements;
Being unobtrusive.
CODE OF ETHICS
(https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics)
Beaccurateand comprehensive in the representation of subjects.
Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.
Be complete and provide context when photographing or recording subjects. Avoid stereotyping individuals and groups. Recognize and work to avoid presenting one’s own biases in the work.
Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.
While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events.
Editing should maintain the integrity of the photographic images’ content and context. Do not manipulate images or add or alter sound in any way that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.
Do not pay sources or subjects or reward them materially for information or participation.
Do not accept gifts, favors, or compensation from those who might seek to influence coverage.
Do not intentionally sabotage the efforts of other journalists.
Ideally, visual journalists should:
Strive to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in public. Defend the rights of access for all journalists.
Think proactively, as a student of psychology, sociology, politics and art to develop a unique vision and presentation. Work with a voracious appetite for current events and contemporary visual media.
Strive for total and unrestricted access to subjects, recommend alternatives to shallow or rushed opportunities, seek a diversity of viewpoints, and work to show unpopular or unnoticed points of view.
Avoid political, civic and business involvements or other employment that compromise or give the appearance of compromising one’s own journalistic independence.
Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects.
Respect the integrity of the photographic moment.
Strive by example and influence to maintain the spirit and high standards expressed in this code. When confronted with situations in which the proper action is not clear, seek the counsel of those who exhibit the highest standards of the profession. Visual journalists should continuously study their craft and the ethics that guide it.
One example of not abiding to the code of ethics is Giovanni Trioli.
Giovanni Trioli entered the World Press Photo awards, and won. However he was later revoked this award after controversy over some of the images.
One of the photographs that was part of a winning package at the World Press Photo awards. This image, and a few others came under scrutiny over whether they broke contest rules.
“The World Press Photo Contest must be based on trust in the photographers who enter their work and in their professional ethics,” Lars Boering, the managing director of World Press Photo, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We now have a clear case of misleading information and this changes the way the story is perceived. A rule has now been broken, and a line has been crossed.”
Some of the photos, for example the one above with the intimate scene within the car, were staged photos, (“staging is defined as something that would not have happened without the photographer’s involvement.”) which goes against the rules, as they are meant to be Contemporary Issues, photographed in a photojournalistic way, following the code of ethics etc.
“Mr. Troilo had photographed his cousin having sex with a woman in the back of a car, using a remote-control flash to illuminate the steamy back seat. By putting a flash in the car, critics had said, Mr. Troilo effectively staged the photo, violating the rules of the contest.”
It also went under scrutiny as to whether it violated the privacy of those in the images, but Trioli had said “This is not a stolen photo of a couple caught unawares” that he followed his cousin on a night when his cousin had planned to have sex and that he had his cousin’s consent.
“The decision to rescind the award came a day after a leading photojournalism festival, Visa Pour L’Image, said it would not show any World Press Photos this year to protest what it said were staged photos.”
“If they stand by what they say, that you cannot stage events in photojournalism, then this set of pictures should be disqualified.”Greg Marinovich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from South Africa who has served on the World Press Photo jury twice.
