insights into photography
Stephen Shore’s work has been widely published and exhibited for the past forty years. He was the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since Alfred Stieglitz, forty years earlier. He has also had one-man shows at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; George Eastman House, Rochester; Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Jeu de Paume, Paris; and Art Institute of Chicago and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His series of exhibitions at Light Gallery in New York in the early 1970s sparked new interest in color photography and in the use of the view camera for documentary work.
Books of his photographs include Uncommon Places: The Complete Works; Essex County; The Velvet Years, Andy Warhol’s Factory, 1965 – 1967; American Surfaces, A Road Trip Journal, and Stephen Shore, a retrospective monograph in Phaidon’s Contemporary Artists series. Stephen also wrote The Nature of Photographs, published by Phaidon Press, which addresses how a photograph functions visually. His work is represented by 303 Gallery, New York; and Sprüth Magers, London and Berlin. Since 1982 he has been the director of the Photography Program at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, where he is the Susan Weber Professor in the Arts.
Lightstalking is a good place to spend an hour or so when you need to recharge your photography batteries. Sure it has a number of tedious articles about how to do the basic stuff but at it’s best it opens up debates. This article by Rob, he started Lightstalking, is one of those that you should read and consider and then add to the debate with your examples of images that have changed things.
When we started Light Stalking, it was for no other reason than that we liked taking photographs and learning how to do that in a better way. While we always appreciated the role that photographers played in keeping a vibrant democracy informed, we weren’t really informed of the trials that photographers go through in undertaking that job, other than the occasional incident or anecdote. The growing popularity of Light Stalking has meant a greater exposure to those people who don’t really see photography as having a legitimate role in strengthening a society and some who are downright hostile to the idea.
Perhaps that’s an informed decision or perhaps it’s them reacting to specific cases. Either way, it got us thinking about the very real debt that free societies owe to photographers.
Photographers have traditionally had to put up with abuse from those who either didn’t want their photograph taken or didn’t want some other thing exposed to a wider audience. The cases of photographers being unjustly or illegally interfered with while going about their perfectly legal profession or hobby have grown exponentially in the last decade too. This article is for them.
In almost every photo in the following collection, the photographer has made somebody very uncomfortable and, in almost every case, provoked a hostile reaction from an individual, group or segment of society. And in every case, the photograph in question has had a positive and lasting effect on society.
Saigon Execution by Eddie Adams – The Photograph That Helped End a War
One of the photographs that helped sway public sentiment against the Vietnam War, this image was taken in 1968 at the beginning of the Tet Offensive. The image depicts the execution of a member of the Viet Cong by a member of the Republic of Vietnam National Police The image itself is so indelibly marked on the conscience of society that few people even realise that video of the event also exists. It is used in a massive amount of texts on the Vietnam War and is often cited as a demonstration of the injustices perpetrated by American allies in the south.
While it is undoubtedy Eddie Adams’ most famous photograph, Adams was not comfortable with it, once saying “The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. … What the photograph didn’t say was, ‘What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?”
By Light Stalking on 4 Jun 2012 in Random[ 45 Comments ]
When we started Light Stalking, it was for no other reason than that we liked taking photographs and learning how to do that in a better way. While we always appreciated the role that photographers played in keeping a vibrant democracy informed, we weren’t really informed of the trials that photographers go through in undertaking that job, other than the occasional incident or anecdote. The growing popularity of Light Stalking has meant a greater exposure to those people who don’t really see photography as having a legitimate role in strengthening a society and some who are downright hostile to the idea.
Perhaps that’s an informed decision or perhaps it’s them reacting to specific cases. Either way, it got us thinking about the very real debt that free societies owe to photographers.
Photographers have traditionally had to put up with abuse from those who either didn’t want their photograph taken or didn’t want some other thing exposed to a wider audience. The cases of photographers being unjustly or illegally interfered with while going about their perfectly legal profession or hobby have grown exponentially in the last decade too. This article is for them.
In almost every photo in the following collection, the photographer has made somebody very uncomfortable and, in almost every case, provoked a hostile reaction from an individual, group or segment of society. And in every case, the photograph in question has had a positive and lasting effect on society.
Saigon Execution by Eddie Adams – The Photograph That Helped End a War
One of the photographs that helped sway public sentiment against the Vietnam War, this image was taken in 1968 at the beginning of the Tet Offensive. The image depicts Brigadier General Nguyá»…n Ngá»c Loan of the Republic of Vietnam National Police executing Nguyá»…n Văn Lém of the Viet Cong.
The image itself is so indelibly marked on the conscience of society that few people even realise that video of the event also exists. It is used in a massive amount of texts on the Vietnam War and is often cited as a demonstration of the injustices perpetrated by American allies in the south.
While it is undoubtedy Eddie Adams’ most famous photograph, Adams was not comfortable with it, once saying “The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. … What the photograph didn’t say was, ‘What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?”
Face Off at the Oka Crisis by Shaney Komulainen – The Photograph That Stopped a Land Grab
The rights of Canada’s first people were brought into the spotlight in 1990 when the Oka Crisis brought land developers and government into conflict with the local indigenous population of Oka in Quebec.
The local council and developers were attempting to expand a golf course onto land that had a long and involved history of conflict between the native peoples of Oka and the European inhabitants. The story made international news and highlighted many injustices faced by Canada’s first people including the fight for recognition of their rights to land that they traditionally used.
The defining image of the crisis was this one of a soldier and Mohawk warrior facing off which highlighted the lengths to which the native people were willing to go to stop encroachment – standing up to the military.
The event lead to various changes in the law and processes in Canada to help prevent such occurrences, as well as local and international support for the cause of Canada’s first people and some of the more obvious injustices that they faced.
1968 Mexico Olympics Black Power Salute by John Dominis – The Photograph That Brought the Civil Rights Movement to the World
Six months after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the 1968 Olympics in Mexico saw the most overtly political statement in modern Olympic history when African American athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith made the raised fist sign on the medal podium with Australian athlete, Peter Norman wearing a Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in solidarity with the two Americans.
While all three athletes were later shunned by their athletic establishments as a reprimand, none ever recanted their actions which, with time, came to be seen as one of the most significant protests of 20th century race relations.
“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight,” said Tommie Smith.
The athletes have since become standard bearers of putting beliefs before personal interests and the photograph remains an iconic reminder of their stand.
See the rest of the list here
Why not add the images that have affected you
From Professional Photographer magazine we find this intriguing post, there is no doubt a list like this will generate some debate but I doubt any of your favourites will be missing
Richard Avedon American 1923-2004
Avedon was the epitome of the modern photographer – a charming, sophisticated man-about-town and a photographer who was able to cross photographic genres. It did not matter where he was, which format he chose to work with or who his subject was, the image would be an Avedon image. It would have that unmistakeable elegance and confidence that marked him out, not just as a great photographer but as a highly successful commercial photographer, who was able to create instantly iconic and memorable images. So what’s his influence? His large-format portrait style with the stark white background, his use of two images to tell one portrait story, his use of strobe lights in fashion, the book In The American West? Of course it’s all this and more.Avedon is a photographer whom every photographer should get to know via his books. They cover his whole career and not only chart his own photographic and personal development but also, that of commercial photography over the last half of the twentieth century. Quite simply he is our No.1.www.richardavedon.com
here are the next nine, to see all one hundred go here
Intense and at times obsessed with his work. He helped establish the photo story and the power of black & white printing. www.smithfund.org
3. Helmut Newton German 1920-2004
Newton created erotically charged and powerful images of women, and developed the use of ring flash in fashion images. www.helmutnewton.com
4. Irving Penn American 1917- 2009
Every portrait shot in the corner of a room or simple symbolic still life owes something to Penn. He is the established genius of American Vogue magazine.www.irvingpenn.com
5. Guy Bourdin French 1928-1991
No one has been more imitated over the last few years in fashion and art photography than Bourdin. Erotic, surreal and controversial. www.guybourdin.org
6. Henri Cartier-Bresson French 1908-2004
The creator of ‘The decisive moment’. He never cropped his images and only shot in black & white. A Leica-wielding legend.
7. Diane Arbus American 1923-1971
Freaks, loners and people on the edges of society’s norms were Arbus‘s subjects. Her direct and simple portrait style and subject matter have inspired ever since.www.diane-arbus-photography.com
8.Elliott Erwitt French 1928-
Magnum member and humorous observer of everyday life. His juxtapositions of form and images of dogs show art is where you find it. www.elliotterwitt.com
9. Walker Evans American 1903-1975
The chronicler of American life who brought a detached observer’s eye to all of his images. He created order and beauty through composition where there was none.
10. Martin Parr British 1952-
Parr’s use of intense colour and his ability to raise the snapshot to the level of art has led to him being recognised as the master chronicler of the every day.www.martinparr.com
Winship used her Henri-Cartier Bresson prize money well: to fund a book, She Dances on Jackson, in which she has captured the silence at the heart of a clamorous nation
Sean O’Hagen writes in The Guardian When I first wrote about Vanessa Winship in 2011, she had just become the first woman to win the Henri Cartier-Bresson award since its inception in 1988. Her new book, She Dances on Jackson, is the end result of a number of road trips she made across the States, funded by the €30,000 grant from the Cartier-Bresson foundation. It is a thing of still beauty that gives a glimpse of another America, both quotidian and luminous.
The first image sets the tone: an almost stationary river with concentric ripples at its centre, where a fish could just have broken the surface to catch a fly. Beyond the river lies a reeded bank, a row of dark trees and a sky as grey as the water. The stillness is palpable, yet you can almost hear the echo of a soft splash. Another image shows a flock of birds in flight around a leafless tree, as if they have been startled by the shutter click of her camera. Again, the silence of the image is somehow amplified by the suggestion of sound.
With the title She Dances on Jackson, Winship suggests both reverie and a fixed sense of place, as well as the fact that the US is a continent so vast that locality equals identity. To this end, her portraits also evince a small-town America where people tend to stay put. They are mainly straightforward, head-on shots of people who stare back at her lens without giving much away.
On the road … all pieces untitled, from Vanessa Winship’s She Dances on Jackson (2013). Photographs: Vanessa Winship, 2013 courtesy MACK
An exhibition of Winship’s work is currently on display at Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris until 28 July.
It is an often debated question, when should a photographer put down their camera and help. We have all seen pictures where it is assumed the photographer has chosen to continue photographing rather than doing the human thing and helping, what should we as photographers do?
Like Hillsborough before it, the Boston Marathon bombing has highlighted how sports stories can quickly turn into breaking news events. When this happens, photographers have to decide whether to help or keep on shooting The Photography Blog at The Guardian asks, read what they think here
Don’t shoot? … the second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Click on image to enlarge. Photograph: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe/AP
Perhaps one of the most iconic images that brings this question to mind was taken by Nick Ut during the Vietnam war
This picture Kim Phuc running away from her bombed village when she was just nine is now instantly recognisable and seen as a defining image of the Vietnam war
This article about Nick Ut in The Daily Mail tells some of his story about being a photographer in the Vietnam War
It is one of the most recognisable pictures ever taken and an image that not only defined a war, but defined the career of the man who took it.
Kim Phuc was just nine years old when she ran naked towards Associated Press photographer and Pulitzer prize winner Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut screaming ‘Too hot! Too hot!’ as she headed away from her bombed Vietnamese village.
She will always be remembered for the blobs of sticky napalm that melted through her clothes and left her with layers of skin like jellied lava. Her story has been told many times over the last 40 years since the shot was taken.
But now, to mark four decades since Ut took the picture he has released more moving images that he took during the Vietnam war that chart the horrors of that fateful day in 1972.
The following picture is of the attack that preceded the event that led to his memorable image
Huynh Cong ‘Nick’ Ut took this picture just moments before capturing his iconic image. It shows bombs with a mixture of napalm and white phosphorus jelly and reveals that he moved closer to the village following the blasts
When compared with the first image it becomes apparent that Ut actually started heading towards the village following the napalm attack. The sign to the right of the picture appears larger while what looks like a speaker to the left of the road is no longer in shot.
As he headed towards the town and took the photo, which Kim Phuc has now found peace with after first wanting to escape the image, he would have been unaware the effect his picture would have on the outside world.
It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.
He drove Phuc to a small hospital. There, he was told the child was too far gone to help. But he flashed his American press badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten.
‘I cried when I saw her running,’ said Ut, whose older brother was killed on assignment with the AP in the southern Mekong Delta. ‘If I don’t help her – if something happened and she died – I think I’d kill myself after that.’
Read the full story and see more of Ut’s pictures from that war here
From the pages of the Atlantic we find these touching images
In the early 1900s, Seattle-based photographer Edward S. Curtis embarked on a project of epic scale, to travel the western United States and document the lives of Native Americans still untouched by Western society. Curtis secured funding from J.P. Morgan, and visited more than 80 tribes over the next 20 years, taking more than 40,000 photographs, 10,000 wax cylinder recordings, and huge volumes of notes and sketches. The end result was a 20-volume set of books illustrated with nearly 2,000 photographs, titled “The North American Indian.” In the hundred-plus years since the first volume was published, Curtis’s depictions have been both praised and criticized. The sheer documentary value of such a huge and thorough project has been celebrated, while critics of the photography have objected to a perpetuation of the myth of the “noble savage” in stage-managed portraits. Step back now, into the early 20th century, and let Edward Curtis show you just a few of the thousands of faces he viewed through his lens.
Left: Koskimo person, Kwakiutl, wearing a full-body fur garment, oversized gloves and mask of Hami (“dangerous thing”) during the Numhlim ceremony. ca. 1914. Right: Hamasilahl, Kwakiutl, ceremonial dancer during the Winter Dance ceremony.(Library of Congress/Edward S. Curtis)
Left: Ben Long Ear, ca. 1905. Right: Hastobiga, Navajo Medicine Man, ca. 1904. (Library of Congress/Edward S. Curtis)
Left: Bird Rattle, Piegan, ca. 1910. Right: Nesjaja Hatali, medicine man, Navajo, ca. 1904. (Library of Congress/Edward S. Curtis)
Portrait of a Native American named Big Head, ca. 1905. (Library of Congress/Edward S. Curtis)
See the rest of these 30 images here on My Science Academy, and thanks to The Recommender for doing what his name says
https://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/urbex-talkurbex/
https://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/urbex-urban-explorers-with-cameras/
Probably one of the most famous images of depression era America, this image by Dorothea Lange sticks in the memory of everyone who has ever seen it. This is the story of that picture.
The image of a worn, weather-beaten woman, a look of desperation on her face, two children leaning on her shoulders, an infant in her lap; has become a photographic icon of the Great Depression in America. The photo was taken in March 1936 at a camp for seasonal agricultural workers 175 miles north of Los Angeles by Dorothea Lange. Lange was working for the Farm Security Administration as part of a team of photographers documenting the impact of federal programs in improving rural conditions.
Lange had just completed a month-long photographic assignment and was driving back home in a wind-driven rain when she came upon a sign for the camp. Something beckoned her to postpone her journey home and enter the camp. She was immediately drawn to the woman and took a series of six shots – the only photos she took that day. The woman was the mother of seven children and on the brink of starvation…...read the rest of this story here
Florence Owens, the woman in the picture also has a story, here is that story Written by Roger Spraque grandson:
She came to California some 15 years before, to a land of promise – a promise which, for her, had not been kept. In 1922 she had come, with her husband Cleo Owens and her three children. Her name was Florence and she was just 21 years old.
Her first house was in Shafter, California. Though it was small and poor, it was as much as she had in Oklahoma. But this place and these times held a promise of something more for her and her family. To own her own home, to raise her kids and give them more than she had, to live the American dream.
There was work in the mills and factories of California for Cleo. He was a frail man, light of build and weak of breath ever since a childhood fever scarred his lungs, making them a target for any germ that happened along, His only excesses were a tendency to overwork himself to provide for his family, and his deep, deep love for Florence.
Cleo had married Florence over the objections of his own family, who all felt that Florence was too headstrong. They all predicted that the marriage would fail, a “bad sin in 1917. A woman was there to raise the kids and do as she was told by her husband. Florence, in contrast, was only 17 when she informed Cleo’s family that they would never rule her or her kids. She loved Cleo, but she was who she was, and that was that! (Cleo’s people knew that Florence was a full blood Cherokee Indian, but they probably did not know that she was the granddaughter of the Indian renegade outlaw Ned Christy, who had died in a shoot out with a whole posse rather then be subdued by any man.)
In 1924 Florence and Cleo moved to Porterville, some 50 miles north of Shatter, where he and his brothers had found good work at good wages in the sawmill. But in 1927 the mill burned so they moved 125 miles further north to Merced Falls. There was no “Falls”, but there was a sawmill, a strong river to carry logs down from the hills, and the prettiest little town they’d ever seen…..MORE
A photographer has been reunited with her Canon PowerShot camera, six years after losing it in the ocean off Hawaii. The camera, which was in a waterproof housing, drifted for thousands of miles to the coast of Taiwan, where it was picked up by an employee of China Airlines. The airline identified its owner, Lindsay Scallion of Georgia, USA from photos on the memory card.
This is what a consumer-grade waterproof housing looks like after six years at sea. Lindsay Scallan’s Canon PowerShot camera drifted thousands of miles from Hawaii to Taiwan. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
The many uses of Photoshop are obvious but world domination is not common however as The Guardian reports here those naughty NK’s have been at it again
It appears North Korea has doctored pictures of its military to make it look more impressive than it is – and not for the first time, read the full article with diagrams and explanations here
This picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on March 26, 2013 and taken on March 25, 2013 shows the landing and anti-landing drills of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597 at an undisclosed location on North Korea’s east coast. Rather thrilling it is too!
Oxford School of Photography 