From previous projects i have found that a lot of my ideas, inspiration and final pieces have come from researching on Instagram, pinterest and looking at books for images that stand out to me. i began looking for inspiration on the styles of images that linked to environmental documentary photography and the idea of third world issues on the internet just googling photographers which have photographed social/cultural issues. I began to come across a variety of images which started to inspire me and widen my imagination and understanding of photojournalism ad capturing images in these harsh environments which have powerful connotations and stories behind them. Below are a few initial photographers i have come across:
- Gideon Mendel
- Steve McCurry
- Guy Martin
- Alec Soth
- Guy Tillim
- David Goldblatt
- Panos Pictures
- Sebastiao Salgado
- Florent Mazzoleni
These photographers are a mixture of professional photojournalists, amateur photographers as well as local African photographers. I’m purposefully looking at a variety of photographers with different experience and styles to inspire me as much as possible so my head is full of ideas of the types of photographs i want to create. As i am also in africa on the aid trip for a significant amount of time i will have lots of time where i will be able to capture photograph with different shoots focusing on different aspects. However with looking at different leveled photographers i am noticing significant differences with the quality of the images and it is becoming apparent that some images are more manipulated and staged than others. Steve McCurry produces some of my all time favorite environmental portraits however he is becoming to be known as a photographer which puts propaganda use above the truth of his images. This is something i want to avoid in my images. Although i may end up planning and staging individuals in specific areas, this will be truthful and with the purpose to create good photographs. Documentary and the truth has become a huge topic of discussion when it comes to social issues including both wars and poverty. A question is left over many archival images of what is the truth anf the reasons why they have been adapted. is it to cover up something, exaggerate and use the image for propaganda reasons or just to make it a better photo.
Documentary and the Truth // Contextual study
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/napalm-girl
The story behind the famous image may not always be as it seems. Many famous images of tragedy, loss and pain often have an even deeper and more sorry story underneath, but sometimes the story does not always portray the truth. One photograph which changed the view of millions of Americans during the Vietnam war was an imaged captured on the 8th of June by Nick Ut. His award winning photograph portrayed the terror which the war was bringing to innocent civilians. The image, showing young children fleeing from a napalm bomb which had just been dropped on a small village in Vietnam, shows the true horror of the events that were occurring during the war. in the center of the image Nick Ut captures with his camera a year old girl running from the explosion as her clothes have been burnt off by the gas and her skin is being burnt as she runs from her village, terrified. Ever since this image was released she has been known as the ‘Napalm girl’. The extraordinary photograph which i can only assume Ut captures by chance of being in the moment at the right time shows the destruction of the napalm bomb which was deployed from the US warplanes.
The image had the biggest impact of american citizens who were utterly shocked by what their country was doing to these innocent children and therefore changed the way Americans viewed the was which was occurring at the time. Nonetheless their thoughts has already been changing and in October 1967 ‘46% of responded to the survey said it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam’. Whereas in 1965, only 24% believed that it was a mistake to send US troops. With a 22% increasing in Americans believing that American troops should of not been sent to Vietnam. When Ut took the image in 1972, in 1971 61% believed it was a mistake to send US troops to Vietnam. The war ended in April 19745, three years after the Napalm girl had been captured and shown to the world. There is a myth associated with the photograph that it was in fact the image itself which hastened the Vietnamese war to an end, no the less this is thought to also not be the case as Americans were no longer involved in the war by 1973.
The truth behind the image and what really happened to the ‘Napalm Girl’, is that she suffered third degree burns which covered 30% of her body. Significantly Ut who captured the image was actually the one to take the young girl to the hospital where she was then transferred to a facility in america where she was to recieve life saving treatment.
The impact which the image captured showed that the war was inflicting more harm than good. The destruction which occurred due to the conflict between Vietnam and America undercuts the horror which had to be endured by many innocent civilians. The image found it difficulty in publishing as to the AP policy of showing nudity. As explicit content was unable to shown in many magazines in America. The AP of Saigon said to Nick Ut after developing the image “We don’t think we can use the picture in the paper, because she’s too naked.” Later the image was sent to New York who published this image on the front of the magazines as well as having it published over the television. This lead to an uproar of protesting in America, Japan London Paris,m the main protest happened outside the White house, Washington DC.
Questions began to emerge, one of which was from the American president Nixon who proceeded to question whether the image was fake. Nick Ut the photographer of the image replied with “the horror of the Vietnam war recorded by me did not have to be fixed”, emphasizing that the image was truthful to what it was showing and there had been no manipulation to the image the true horror of the events are shown through the truth of the image.
There are many images that have been documented over the years that have had their purposes questioned for if they were truthful. I chose to research and study this particular image as i felt that it had significance to my personal investigation, as it is all about showing the truth of tragedy around the world. therefore i was interested in studying this photograph because i had heard about it before but never really researched it enough to have an opinion on the topic. I didn’t know much about the american influence on the war going on in Vietnam and thought this would be a good opportunity to look deeper into the events which occurred. Whats so shocking about the events which occurred are that the Americans were the one to bring to horror to these innocent villagers. The bomb which was released had horrific consequences including many deaths of innocent young and old people living in the Vietnamese village which was brutally targeted. It is known that the impacts of chemical warfare are truly horrid to both the people and the environment. The reaction that Americans showed when it was released that this was what american troops were deploying shows how horrified they were as people were saying it was fake. This emphasizes the disgrace people had that this was happening as they didnt want to believe that it was true.
After reading this interview with Nick Ut, it is obvious and clear that the horrific images that he both saw and captured that day are the ultimate truth and maybe people didn’t want to believe it because it was so horrific. “The girl was running all naked, and when she passed me, I saw her left arm burned and her the skin peeling off her back. I immediately thought that she was going to die. She was very hot even after the bomb. She was screaming and screaming, and I thought, “Oh my God.” That’s when I stopped taking pictures of her.” The that Ut captures is only a snapshot of the story he has to tell that goes with it and during the interview where he talks about how he felt when he realised what was truly happening before him highlights the truth of the image and that this was an unavoidable true tragedy which did happen.
The photograph is a form of documentary photography as it was taken purely in the moment and nothing was staged about this image except maybe where the photographer placed himself. The image itself is a snapshot of the emotion and action of the events which occurred during the war. the image really portrays the fear which young children must have been going through. In relation to documentary and the truth in photography, this is a truthful image of what these children where really experiences and that there was no escape for them from this harsh reality. This was also a way for Nick Ut to show to America the devastation which is occurring in Vietnam. As well showcase the fear which many innocent civilians would of been experiencing. The fact that the young girl was able to receive life changing surgery so she can live , allows her to authenticate the image which was taken.