Joel Meyerowitz is an American street, landscape and portrait photographer. He is considered one of the greats of street photography, and a pioneer of colour in photography as a serious form of art. After discovering photography at the age of 24 in 1962, he is still actively photographing 53 years later, at the age of 77.
Meyerowitz was born on March 6th 1938 in New York City. He began photographing seriously in 1962 after becoming inspired by witnessing photographer Robert Frank at work, and after some consideration he quit his job as an art director at an advertising agency to become a full time photographer, taking to the streets as a black-and-white street photographer.
Over the next 10 years although enjoying some success, Meyerowitz had little critical-acclaim for his work. He experimented in both black-and-white and colour, but by 1972, he decided to photograph exclusively in colour, a medium that was not highly respected nor acknowledged in the art world at the time. Meyerowitz’s first book Cape White however shot him to worldwide acclaim as a photographer, was one of the first photography books of colour photographs to be given serious worldwide recognition.
Unlike Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank who are also viewed as greats of street photography, Meyerowitz is very different in his approach. His style more so reflects the work of another renowned photographer, William Klein; producing lively photographs full of suspense, drama and action in a direct close-up manner, separate from the distant, observed style of Frank and Cartier-Bresson. Meyerowitz likes to photograph his subject whilst they are engaged in a particular movement or action, with his images telling a story. Meyerowitz believes that it is important for his photographs to tell a story about the humanity on the street. His photographs focus heavily on human interaction, usually two or more people engaging in a physical game, communication or moment. He photographs in colour, which is rare for a street photographer to do as street photography is traditionally viewed as a more appropriate in black-and-white. His style has drawn both praise as well as criticism, viewed by some critics as a cheap mockery of the work of some iconic street photographer. Meyerowitz use of colour relates greatly to his willingness to change and push the boundaries of photography, and criticism does not affect him greatly.
Since the initial success of Cape Light, Meyerowitz has since produced over 20 books, including ‘A Summers Day’ (1985) and ‘Bystander: A History of Street Photography’ (1994). As well as photographing, Meyerowitz also gives lectures on a regular basis around the world. His working methods were subject of a 1981 documentary presented by Robert Gilgberg.
September 11th: In the aftermath of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, Meyerowitz was granted unlimited access to photograph the ruins of ground zero, recording the immediate effects of the event and also the 9 month project to repair it. His work was made into a series entitled Aftermath: World Trade Centre Archive.
I find Joel’s work to be very interesting because of the way that he greatly immerses himself in his subject matter. His dedication to street photography is impressive and inspiring
Here is the 1981 documentary of Joel Meyerowitz. Gilgberg follows him working on the streets of New York, as well as talking to him more formally in his studio. Although an old documentary, I nevertheless found this to be very insightful and interesting.
This is Joel’s official blog. He has a list of all his past and current work. I would recommend it as a good read.
Tableau photography is a form of narrative documentation which involves the photographer creating a story through a series of carefully staged images that are decided beforehand. Tableau photographers usually create a series of images that link together, progress and expand a particular theme or story.
Tableau has a diverse meaning and is not limited entirely to photography. Any form of conceptual art which is deliberately planned beforehand can be considered as tableau, and many photographers involved with tableau will venture into other forms of art to express the story they are trying to tell. Although tableau is a documentation of a particular theme or idea, it cannot truly be considered documentary because the work produced is based on interpretation, whereas documentary photography is all about the photographer observing the world.
Re-creating old photos is a fun and popular way that has been and still is used as a form of tableau photography.
Tableau is often used by photographers and conceptual artist as a crossover with documentary photography. It is very hard to create a story based solely on tableau because staging every image can take away the raw meaning of what the photographer is trying to show. A lot of photo-books which include tableau therefore will either use tableau to strengthen the meaning of their documentation, or documentary photography to help convey the narrative expressed through a tableau piece.
Tablaeu very often allows for the exploration of surrealist viewpoints
The advantage of tableau photography is that the photographer has complete control over the how the photograph is created. This is very helpful if the photographer wants to produce surrealist styled images because it allows for the manipulation of events which would not otherwise be realistically possible. Tableau photography is often used by photographers who want to explore personal themes, such as family, because it is easier to stage photographers from an insider perspective, and there is a more subjective viewpoint, which makes the staging of images more appropriate.
Photographer Phillip Toledano explored elements of tableau in his photo-book series ‘Days With my Father’, documenting his elderly father’s battle with dementia.
This brief interview explores to work of tableau photographer Jeff Wall. He talks of his preparation for his upcoming exhibition, and expresses some of his views regarding his own work and ideas.
“What is remarkable about the photographs is the special way in which they make the intimate something public”
Nick Waplington born in 1965 is a artist and photographer who is based in New York. He studied art at West Sussex College of Art & Design in Worthing, then Trent Polytechic in Nottingham and at the Royal College of Art in London. He has many publications his first one being ‘Living Room’ .In the late 1980’s England was under the Conservative government for now 10 years there was a collapse in the industry and a rise in poverty and unemployment. Photographer Nick Waplington decided to spend 4 year photographing the everyday life of middle class families in a council estate in Nottingham rather that photographing contemporary photography. He photographed family’s intimate moments in their living room by capturing physical and emotional dysfunctionality of everyday families.
Inaki Domingo is a Spanish photographer who made a book called Ser Sangre which is a photographic project that was made by Inaki Domingo in collaboration with his family members on their summer vacation. The title means ‘being blood’ which suggests that this book looks to explore what it’s like to be related and exploring the family flow whilst doing normal daily activities. Inaki’s idea was for his family members to be part of his final project and take part in the decision making that goes with it. Each family member contributed to the project in a way that they thought was relevant for example: paintings, recipes and illustrations. Inaki combined these contributions and the photographs he had taken throughout the holiday to make his final project.
‘When I was six’ is a book produced by Phillip Toledano based on the remembrance of his sister who died when he was six years old. The project is a work of memories, sadness and silence based on a profound absence of a family member. The book combines words and images, photographs that are new, old and found. Lots of the photographs are of items found in a box from the attic his mother hid away but still cherished, which he discovered after her death. Little momentoes that belonged to his sister such as; a lock of her hair, a fan letter written in crayon and a personalised pencil. All of these items create a narrative of remembrance, each photograph has an intense personal meaning attached to it. Toledano photographs them in an almost forensic way, as if it were evidence that she was alive. He is included photographs of planets and space travel, this is symbolic of his feelings regarding the absence of his beloved sister. Toledano wanted to represent a vast and empty world which his life became, possibly an untouchable and distant world much like death.
I think Toledano’s ‘When I was six’ project has been influential when researching family themed photographers, he takes a different approach compared to other photographer and experiments with a difficult topic to photograph. I found the idea of memory inspiring as you are able to photograph memories that represent the individual that you no longer have.
Another project of Toledano’s is ‘Days with my father’, a simple journal of intimate photographs of his father after his mother died in 2006. The images taken were of his father in his final years, focusing on their relationship and the importance of family. There were funny, sad and loving observations, an honest and emotional documenting of excepting and coming to terms with an aging parent. ‘I like photographs to be unfinished sentences’- Phillip Toledano.
Julian Germain
Julian Germain’s body of work ‘For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness’, is a detailed, honest and earnest portrayal of an old man’s life. Germain photographed Charles Snelling in the early nineties, photographing this elderly man was the not the main premise to begin with, the companionship was the primary reason. Despite this Germain still managed to fill two third’s of a book with the images she produced. The other third Germain used scrapbook albums, the design of the pages reflected a true representation of the actual albums for example yellow pages and dog-eared covers. The scrapbook allows an insight into Snelling’s life before Germain began photographing him, his beloved wife Betty who died was the central figure. The authenticity of the book is one outsiders are not able to capture. The snapshots have a cinematic feel to the image and through using scrapbook images a sense of time shifting is brought to the project.
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that employs images in order to tell a news story. They’re still images that tell a story usually to exploit news to across the world. Photographing news for an assignment is one of the most ethical problems photographers face Photojournalists have a moral responsibility to decide what pictures to take, what picture to stage, and what pictures to show the public. The public is attracted to gruesome photographs and dramatic stories. A lot of controversy arises when deciding which photographs are too violent to show the public, but ultimately it gets their attention.
There are 3 types of photojournalism:
Timeliness – The images have meaning in the context of a recently published record of events.
Objectivity – The situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in both content and tone.
Narrative – The images combine with other news elements to make facts relatable to the viewer or reader on a cultural level.
Examples of Photojournalism:
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE, MARCH 2003: A male amputee victim of the R.U.F rebels stands with his wife and 3 children. His hands were removed as part of a terror campaign against the civilian population by the rebels. PHOTO BY BRENT STIRTON/GETTY IMAGES
A Pakistani man carrying a child rushes away from the site of a blast shortly after a car exploded in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. “Bomb Attack”
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer. He has had around 40 solo photobooks published, and has featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide.
“He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world.”
His work caught my eye as some of the photos he has taken are a similar kind of style to what I would like to do with my project. Although this is not the focus of his photography, some of his photos show places where people have gathered for some reason, which interests me a lot.
HONG KONG. Diamond Hill Cemetry. Yeung Festival. 2013.
Some of the photos show places where the people are all there for their own separate needs. For example, the Diamond Hill Cemetery, as shown above, and the Ferry below. These people are here by themselves, but they are all their for similar reasons.
HONG KONG. Star Ferry. 2013.
Then there are places where something has been organised, so people are purposely all gathered in that place for the same thing.
HONG KONG. Happy Valley Racecourse. 2013.
This is the kind of thing I would like to explore within my work, places people accidentally gather, and places people purposely gather for specific purposes and events.
“Martin goes to Benidorm and explores further what is possible with the telephoto lens.”
“Over the summers of 2013 and 2014, Martin explored life on the Amalfi Coast, Italy.”
Family photography isn’t necessarily your immediate family. It could be about a specific lifestyle or a group that you are involved in everyday. Family photography doesn’t limit you to only being able to explore your own family but as an insider the shots may come out more natural and real as the people in them will be more comfortable with you and won’t be phased by the snap of the camera. You have complete access to your own family all of the time and you are able to make images whenever you want, at an event or even when you are just hanging out with one another and sharing normal everyday experiences’.
Richard Billingham [Ray’s A Laugh]
Richard Billingham [Ray’s A Laugh]
Laia Abril [The Epilogue]
A film: The Genius of Photography Episode: We Are Your Family
– images are more raw and real to grab spectators reactions making them think more widely
– photographs in the 1930s were about making celebrities look ‘devine’. Here some photographers rebelled against this, it was becoming outdated. Tony Vaccaro, an American photographer, took photos to show his own opinions and not to express the thoughts or opinions of the celebrity or the model he photographs. 0
– photographs should be about the person’s personality and characteristics not the face or visual aspects of a person.
– photographs are made to tell a story, true to the person’s life
Tony Vaccaro
Tony Vaccaro [born 1922 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania]Vaccaro is an American war photographer during the Second World War and between the years of 1944 and 1945, shortly after becoming a renowned fashion and lifestyle photographer for US magazines. He spent the early years of his life living in Italy.
Vaccaro tended to take action shots while doing documentary photography as he saw them to be the most raw. He did not like when subjects would try to pose for him essentially staging who they actually are. Only when the wall has gone and the subject actually allows Vaccaro in to a piece of who they actually are will he make a photograph. All of his documentary images were made using a film camera as at the time of when he did documentary photography digital cameras had not been invented yet.
“I’m gonna buy a camera, learn how to use it, and show the world the real pictures of the war.” -Tony Vaccaro
This film is about what Vaccaro went through during the war. It is a documentary film with guest appearances who comment on what he went through. The film itself has not been released yet.
Larry Clark
Larry Clark [born 1943 in Tulsa, Oklahoma]Clark is an American photographer. His photographs are natural. He does documentary photographer as an insider and is part of the community he is photographing and so has an insight to reality within their group of people and those in his images wouldn’t shy away from the camera or try to be anything other than themselves. His book ‘Tulsa’ was very personal and showed his community of friends and family as who they truly were and did not fabricate a lie of who they all wanted to be portrayed as.
“Once the needle goes in, it never comes out” – Larry Clark
Nan Goldin [born 1953 in Washington, D.C.]Goldin is best known for her images of her friends and her self portraits. She would often make images with herself in them showing her life as a victim of physical harm from her partner as well as making images of a lot of her transvestite friends. Goldin only ever makes images of her dear friends as she knows them and allows them to pick which images they like and those that aren’t so good. Photography is very personal to her and having an insight to her friends lives, as well as her own, is one of the best ways to make real images. Goldin does confession photography, photographing real people within her community of friends. She calls trans people the “third gender”, they are treated as outcasts in the way they are treated and by the way they act.
“You can only really photograph your own tribe” – Nan Goldin
Family photography becomes more like a diary and is very personal. Goldin was inspired by film with how she presents her work, which she does through slide shows of her images put together with music in the background. She believes in being “fully present in the moment” but at the same time to “be there and get lost at the same time”. She also used film cameras to make her photographs making the images raw and real to the time and the actual events.
[Nobuyoshi] Araki
Araki [born 1940 in Tokyo. Japan]Araki is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. He has created over 350 books and is still going. Araki often created work of a very sexual nature with some even calling it pornography. He made a book called Sentimental Journey while on his honeymoon with his wife, this is now a very famous book.
“taking these photos does help me to remember” – Araki
“The very private became the very public” – anonymous
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Sally Mann
Sally Mann [born 1951 in Lexington, Virginia, VA]Sally Mann is a documentary photographer that focuses on her family and often collaborates with family members in order to make her images. Here they will pose for her and allow her to make images of them whenever she needs to. She would large black and white photographs of her young children and then later making images of landscapes representing decay and death within the environment.
“unless you photograph what you love, you are not going to make good art.” – Sally Mann
Larry Sultan [born 1946 in Brooklyn, New York City]Larry Sultan is an American photographer with exhibits of his work across the U.S. making images of his family. A lot of his work is very personal but is also staged as he would often ask the subject to dress in a certain way and look at the camera in a specific way to portray them in the way that he wants them to be portrayed.
” photography is instrumental in creating family” – Larry Sultan
Often images reflect the photographer rather than the person being photographed. It tells the spectator more of their own personal views and experiences allowing them into more of who the photographer actually is themselves. I like the idea of documentary photography as it brings more of a real experience to the spectator, as humans I think that we are naturally curious especially to see what everyone else is doing. I think that I would want to photograph my sister and the life of being a new mum and working at the same time. I want to show the more difficult side of bringing up a small child rather than the glamorized perfect lifestyle people are let to believe mothers and fathers have shown of TV and films.
Street Photography relates to study of people in public places, usually, but not always in an urban environment. The person is usually photographed without any awareness, or only half-awareness of such. Street photography is a form of social documentary which aims to capture interesting moments of people, in ordinary settings. Because street photography is spontaneous and candid, it is very difficult to properly frame a photograph. Therefore street photography takes a great deal of patience and practice, because the photographer must develop an intuitive sense of knowing exactly when to take a photograph.
Street Photography began in the 1950s and 1960s. During this period of history there were great social and political changes around the world as a result of the end of WWII, triggering Cold War and accelerating the collapse of Empire around the world, leading to many people changing and questioning the outdated conservative views of societies all around the world. During this period technology was also greatly advancing, and people’s perspective of the world was rapidly changing as a result. The lives of everyday people was altering rapidly and photographers needed a way to reflect this. Photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank took to the streets during this time, exploring how ordinary people went about their everyday life, undisrupted. Street Photography was a protest against the belief that photographing people had to have a particular focus or genre (War Photography had dominated Documentary Photography during the time). Instead, street photographers would literally photograph anything that interested them on the street, and so would work very spontaneously.
Street photography can be seen as quite controversial due to the fact that the people being photographed usually do not consent to the image being taken, regardless of whether the subject is happy with it or not. In the UK photographers have a legal right to photograph members of the general public, permission is however needed to publish photographs. Nevertheless many people view this as an invasion of personal privacy. I find it interesting how over time this idea has become more extreme, as the possibilities technology and social media has grown to an extent that people are often fearful of being photographed by complete strangers.
Finding the right moment to take a photograph is a common ambition and theme that many street photographers strive to achieve. Street photography is very much about the element of luck and chance, being in the right place at the right time. I addition to this, street photographers are also required to know exactly how to frame the photograph right, as an effective street photograph is the balance of effective mood ad composition.Henri Cartier Bresson termed this as the ‘decisive moment’
This YouTube video is a tutorial by Magnum Photographer Bruce Gilden, himself a famous and suucesful street photographer. It is a very honest and blunt insight into Gilden’s opinions of what makes a good street photograph
In class, we began to watch an episode from the various that were created. The name of the programmer was “The Genius of Photography” and it aired on BBC. From that film I have made the following notes, linked to family. I’ve also incorporated some relevant photographers and their views on ‘family’ photography and the tips they gave.
In the past, photographing the subject of family was described as being a very introspective and subjective topic. However, as it evolved, it began to turn into a more public subject.
Duane Michals, a famous photographer spoke upon some of his ideas in this film. He stated that the person in control should be the photographer. Before, in the olden days, photography used to make people appear perfect and ‘divine’. They were always depicted in a soft and traditionally beautiful manner. However, Michals wanted to rebel against this in his pictures. He aims to create a more interesting and updated way of capturing families. He saw the other past versions as ‘outdated’ and ventured for a more modern outtake. His goal is to encapsulate people in a candid state. Duane wants to see what’s ‘behind the mask’. Also, the picture should reflect the photographers views. Michal’s photograph’s are very different from any of the the older versions, in that, he likes to reflect the people’s inner beauty. He believe’s that it’s more about the beauty of their personality, rather that their physical aesthetics. Duane also states that portraits don’t depict the true side of people. He says he found it easier to photograph celebrities, as they already have a ‘prepackaged’ personality which they transmit to the world. Michals actually photographed Pablo Picasso, which had a great variety of skills, himself. When Picasso arrived to the set, Michals claimed that he started posing in very generic and definite ways. His stances were unnatural and seemed forced. Duane told him to ‘drop his mask’ and after Picasso relaxed, he captured the most amazing portrait. The picture was raw and real. Duane Michal’s work was normally presented in a Tableaux style. Here’s an example:
Duane Michals, Dr. Heisenbergs Magic Mirror of Uncertainty.
Another photographer that appeared in the episode, was Larry Clark. He described himself as an ‘insider’ and not an ‘outsider’. His culture was very different due to the way he grew up, and this impacted the way he viewed things. His work is usually described as a ‘diary’ where he includes a lot of personal and what is called ‘confessional’ work. An example includes:
Larry Clark – self-portrait
Nan Goldin, also works similarly to Clark, with a ‘confessional’ photography style. She mainly focuses on subjects that most people would label as ‘outcast’. Her photographs are on drugs, transvestism and transsexuals, which she refers to as ‘the 3rd gender’. She shows a sense of ‘humanity’ and shows these people as being a part of normality. Goldin says that she always see’s them as their visual gender and doesn’t just see them as ‘a man dressed as a woman’ for example. Nan photographs people over many years and at the end of specific projects she may create a slideshow with music playing in the background. Goldin got her inspiration from film-making, where lots of loops are made. Her pictures, to a professionally trained photographer appear to be amateur. Nevertheless, it’s more about the feelings and emotions, rather than the normal conventions. Her images were Vernacular, which is defined as purely amateur.
Goldin’s body of work is all about relationships between her and or others. She wants to show what it’s like ‘maintaining them’. This project contains a few self-portraits. An especially striking one, is where she’s showing bruises from her abusive boyfriend, In this one, she’s laying in bed next to him. This is what she means when she talked about ‘maintaining relationships’.
Goldin and her boyfriend
Nan said that the fact that she’s ‘present in the moment’ and that photograph’s can ‘hold the moment’, is what motivates her to shoot.
The famously crazy, Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki has become known for his very promiscuous work. He became recognised when he published a book of his honeymoon, that contained sexually explicit images of his new wife. The phenomenon book was published in 1971 and he soon got noticed. Araki usually publishes one new book every month, he’s constantly taking pictures. He stated that ‘my photographs help me to remember’. He also gave a tip on how to show the real side of someone, saying ‘you have to be in the mind-set, that you’re going to reveal the person’s emotions’. Araki said that he can capture the past, present and future of a person. A very interesting debate to look at is Japanese VS American photography. In the image below, his wife had fallen asleep in the foetal position:
Nobuyoshi Araki – sentimental journey – his wife sleeping
Richard Billingham used to do art in University and then suddenly changed to the medium of photography. The reason why he did this, is because his work got discovered by an editor. His art, in fact, was rather appalling. But, what gave him the upper-hand of the situations was that he had an artistic eye. During his art degree, Billingham only started to take pictures so that he’d create more ‘detailed’ art drawings. He quoted that: ‘all photography is exploitive’. He does add though, that ‘you should make them (the pictures) so good, that they over-shadow this’. Richard photographed his family, revealing deep and personal moments in their life. He gave the viewers a ‘backstage pass’ to situations that nobody would normally, ever want anyone to see. His poor surroundings and disfigured environment created a very chaotic ambience. Example:
Richard Billingham
There was a photographer called Sally Mann. She spent her whole motherhood photographing her three children. The main reason why her outcomes were so good, was due to Collaborations. Her kids would have to make the effort and work on their expressions. Essentially, working together with their mum, the photographer.
Sally Mann
Finally, Larry Sultan focuses on souvenir work. His photographs are instrumental. He is the complete opposite to Richard Billingham, in that Sultan grew up in a very lavish lifestyle. Sultan always told his customers ‘don’t smile’. It makes the pictures have a ‘different body’ as he described. He also made a point to say that taking pictures of others, may actually reflect you as a person. It’s like a projection of the photographer onto the people, as they’re controlling the situation.
Standards and ethics are a set of codes that photojournalists should strive to follow. Basically, it discusses the difference between two views: if the cameras being used as a mere tool by the photographer, or if the photographer alters the scene in other ways. To apply to the rules, the photographer must not alter the situation in anyway, expect for his camera. Although, it’s a fact that the camera is always going to give the photographer some level of control.
Recently, an Italian photographer called Giovanni Troilo caused a great amount of controversy when he showcased his photojournalism pictures in a French gallery called ‘Visa Pour L’Image’. He was bashed by the country, as their mayor claimed that Troilo had shown very negative connotations in relation to the place. Unluckily, they also found that Giovanni had broken the code of standards and ethics. He didn’t photograph the situation in a real state and he altered the scenes.
‘Maitre Doberman and Klara la Chienne, his wife, receive guests in a building that at glance appears abandoned.’ – Giovanni Troilo
He was questioned on a very particular image, which showed a car in the darkness. A couple seem to be engaging in sexual relations together in the car. Viewers said that they felt mislead by this portrayal, as the man inside the car was Troilo’s freind. It appeared to be brighter because he’d actually utilized a bright remote controlled flash light.
Giovanni Troilo
Here’s a two links to webpages talking about the ‘Visa Pour L’image’ incident with Giovanni Trioli :
This image was captioned: ‘Philippe lives in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the town.’ But Magnette said the man was in fact a well-known local figure who ran a wine bar. – Giovanni Troilo
This massive incident was what caused many questions to be asked. Such as these, that I found on a Visa Pour L’Image website from above:
‘Who sets the boundaries of what defines photojournalism? What are industry standards when some of the techniques accepted in magazines are generally forbidden in news pages, and when such distinctions are increasingly blurred online? When technology makes it so easy to manipulate images, how much manipulation is acceptable? With viewers more sophisticated and skeptical than ever before, how can photojournalists preserve their integrity and maintain trust?’.
Visitors at the Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France, where a searching debate about the ethics of photojournalism is unfolding.
All of these assumptions and queries is what sparked people to really ask themselves about the principles of photojournalism. It caused an uproar and what normally was ignored, was now being discussed. Pierre Terdjman, a French photojournalist described the event, quoting ‘It’s like in big families, when you have a secret history inside the family, and nobody wants to speak about it, and finally one night at dinner, everybody talks about it. That’s what happened’. A little after this controversy, a man from the World Press organisation Amsterdam and his team began to write official and updated codes. They did make sure, however to get as much knowledge from other countries whilst writing them.
The photojournalism of works of the Turkish photographer that I talked about in a previous post, helped to reinforce their Standards and Ethics. She merely used her camera as a form of ‘bearing witness’ and recorded the situation in an un-retouched manner.
An exhibition space at the Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France.
Here’s a link to the official World Press Photo website: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/
But World Press were worried that as a consequence to these new changes, that photojournalism could turn into a ‘cliché’. Never the less, the rules have increased in strictness and both at WPP and in the VPL festival have been working to make sure that every picture is a true representation.
Considering what happened with the incident at World Press Photo, I’ll be responding by answering three short questions:
Who sets the boundaries of what defines photojournalism?
According to this article, the director of the World Press Photo Foundation called Jean-François Leroy competed in a heated debate. The debate erupted after the controversy from the festival. Against him, was Lars Boering, which was the managing director of the company. Predictably, the director, Leroy was proud of his success and stood by his decisions. Meanwhile, Mr. Boering, was said to do the following, as stated in the article:
“Lars Boering, the managing director of the World Press Photo Foundation, working hard to restore the contest’s credibility, announced that officials were writing a code of ethics and revising their rules to make clear that staged images would not be permitted”.
2. When technology makes it so easy to manipulate images, how much manipulation is acceptable?
A direct quote made from Jean-François Leroy, on the issue of manipulation is: “World. Press. Photo,” he said. “To make a long story short, maybe they should change their name.” Mr. Leroy said he defined photojournalism as “witnessing the world.” The company has made it crystal clear that absolutely no staged images can be exhibited. As Mr. Leroy stated, the camera should be used as a witness to the situation.
However, a member of the jury called Donald Weber views the subject differently, saying that Leroy’s point was ‘outdated’ and ‘risked becoming cliche’. Instead he stated that photojournalism’s “lost the point that it’s not a language, it’s about reflecting on contemporary society,” He also commented: “The more that we shy away from alternative forms, or other norms or other ways of visualizing the story,” he said, “we’re only killing our own profession.”
When it comes down to it, it’s about being honest. You shouldn’t ‘misrepresent’ anything.
Here’s a link to some interviews with Donald Webber. In them he talks about his judging role in the World Press Photo contest: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/people/donald-weber
3. With viewers more sophisticated and skeptical than ever before, how can photojournalists preserve their integrity and maintain trust?
As Alison Morley, the chairwoman of an NYC photography program says, photojournalists should keep this tip in mind: “If you’re afraid to tell your editor you did something to a photograph, something is wrong.” That way, the photographers will portray the whole truth. Adding to that she says: “They want the list of rules of what is O.K. and what is not, and there is none.” Nowadays the standards of photography are very high and it seems more difficult to impress people. Nevertheless, it’s seen as a misdemeanor to taint the viewers thoughts with false representations. Therefore, as long as photojournalists feel like they are being true to themselves and the scene, then this should preserve their integrity and maintain their trust with everyone around them.
Visitors look at photos at an exhibition of World Press Photo 2012.
The NPPA, which stands for National Press Photographer’s Association has a very different Code of Ethics than these one’s. The NPPA has got very high standards and therefore, their standards are also precise. They are all about depicting the whole truth and say that it’s wrong if a picture is edited or manipulated in any altering way.
You can begin to compare the differences in the code of ethics between the festivals above and the one’s in the NPPA.
I copied that code of ethics that was presented on their website (https://nppa.org/code_of_ethics) and pasted them below:
Standards in their daily work:
Be accurate and 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.
