When looking more in depth about the exam booklet, a lot of interesting concepts were addressed. Documentary photography and staged photography could be an interesting way to approach the exam theme and could be concluded in a way that uses representation as well as visual aesthetics to portray them. Focusing specifically on the Documentary aspect within photography, it could be interesting to conclude a project that documents something, whether it be documenting everyday life, to social media and more.
Documentary photography essentially follows a single topic or story, and is conducted in depth. By gaining a deeper understanding and connecting emotionally to particular stories of injustice, documentary photography can capture and sustain public attention, and mobilise people around pressing social and human rights issues. A lot of the time, documentary photography can be emotionally difficult, especially when documenting issues like War and famine. Frequently, the question of whether to help or just photograph what is happening are inquired to many documentary photographers. By putting the camera down and help in whatever situation is occurring, you might help a few people but in the end, there is not really much that they would be able to help with in an overall perspective. However, by photographing and documenting the situation, it’s broadcasting what is happening all over the world and is allowing the world to see what is really happening in the present day. It gives thousands of people the truth about the struggles that many are going through every single day, and is a way that makes people want to help. This way is probably more effective in the fact that it’s bringing awareness to issues people don’t necessarily think about, and emphasises how far we still need to go to stop specific issues.
Why is documentary photography important to an open society?
By telling a story visually, it allows photographers to expose and highlight unseen and ignored realities, and thus is a way in which provides evidence to show people the negative occurrences taking place all over the world everyday, and exemplifies ways in which human rights are being violated. A photograph is such a powerful tool, it has the power to address and emphasise issues that aren’t gaining sufficient attraction and it also amplifies a diverse range of perspectives. By doing this, by producing one image that highlights authentic situations and struggles of life many people face, it brings awareness and encourages people to want to help bring social change.
How do photographers document difficult situations while also respecting the dignity of the people they portray?
Over a certain period of time, photographers build trust with those they are going to photograph and represent. They normally develop strong bonds and relationships with their subjects and by establishing their intentions and effectively engaging with the community and its people, they show a more enthusiastic and authentic attitude towards the issue and build even more trust within the community.
By creating this bond with the community, it allows the photographers to acquire a deeper understanding which enables them to ignore generalisations and stereotypes. Furthermore, this bond between the photographer and the people means that the photographer becomes more sensitive to the cultural and political context in which they work. Good Photographers document people or issues as a whole and do everything in their power that doesn’t risk the safety of those who have allowed him to capture their stories.
A photographer I found particular interest in is Christian Holst. I came across his work on the Open Society Foundation website and found that his work contextually and visually interesting. Here are a selection of his images:
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This image produced by Holst is particularly interesting when observing and analysing certain elements within the frame. When focusing on concept and authenticity, it is evident to state that this subject in the image is a monk who is dressing himself in a bright red robe. This body of work that he has produced is entitled “Life Under the Military Regime of Burma” and when doing more research on this particular image, it was stated that there was a protest in 2007, and although the precise number of how many monks were killed are unknown, it was suggested that there were many deaths and that over 250 monks were imprisoned and sentenced(because of their political activism), some for up to 65 years because of their alleged participation in the protects. It is said that many monks have fled and are unlikely to return because of the current political situation.
This image is powerful due tho the fact that considering what has happened, there are still monks who openly practice and continue with everyday life. When conducting a bit more general research about monks, I found that on average, they will study for 10-13 years before they are able to advance and be ordained as monks. The fact that this image shows a young and practicing monk perhaps suggests a refute attitude.
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/moving-walls/17/quiet-land-life-under-military-regime-burma