Assignment #3

How is photography political?

A photographer I looked at was Kevin Carter, a photojournalist who in 1993 captured the above image in Sudan. This image is politically linked as he stopped to get the right frame, he waited for more action from the vulture though, he did not help or assist the little girl in any way - "he might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene." - Prize-winning photograph Sudan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Carter#cite_note-3

This photograph was prize winning, made money by being sold to New York Times. The little girls fate was unknown. He turned his back on the this little girl after having taken the time to document her suffering & potential death by bird of prey. You'd think if you were to go out of your way to document such suffering, you would go out of your way to help the subject within your photo, even if it were as simple as carrying her to shelter.

REFERENCES

Dubai Forums © 2001-2009, Powerful Political Photographs, viewed 20 May 2010, http://www.dubaiforums.com/philosophy-dubai/powerful-political-photographs-caution-graphic-images-t15018.html

http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 2010, Kevin Carter, viewed 20 May 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Carter

Assignment #2

"Practices of Looking - Chapter 3 : The Myth of Photographic Truth"

Basically this is all my own personal take on the assignment as I did not hear a peep from 1 group member after getting the assignment. Personally I think "group" work is useless as some commit more than others resulting in those who have committed having to pull the others weight as well, & of course availability within the individuals of the group.

The Myth of Photographic Truth

Discussed in this chapter is how the truth behind a photographic image is perceived.

A look into how a photograph can present literal descriptive evidence and evoke further thought into the meaning behind its capture, more complex feelings & associations - a mythical quality, as such.

Example of a family photograph is given, which I related to the image below.

The truth of where the family gathered or a celebration that had taken place can all be documented in one photograph. Proving that every person in that photograph was alive at that given time & attended the location in which the image was taken.

Though looking into the image & why it was taken could bring us to those more complex feelings & associations, make us think what was being conveyed & how? Were religious & cultural values related to the scene? (Eg. expression, representative subjects, food, attire & appearance)

Although photographs these days can be easily manipulated or altered, due to computer generated technologies it has become more & more part of our awareness to pick what is legit and what is not. Photography still plays major part in empowering truthful informative & expressive documentation of events in history.

Now-our days it seems a growing competition of who can capture an image that is evidently 'real' without the expectation of manipulation or alteration due to eroded trust in 'the real' of an image. Computer generated technologies & graphics have made an approachable medium to simulate the realism of an actual photographic image through 'digital painting'. A 'digital painting' could still represent meaning of photographic truth but this depends on intent behind the reproduced image & the expectation of the viewer/s.

Summary - "Practices of Looking - Chapter 3 : The Myth of Photographic Truth"

Family Image - http://www.sfbayview.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Kwanzaa-family-with-grandfather.jpg

Digitally Painted Image - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3270900381_00fc5f4c2a.jpg

Assignment #1

Ethical Photojournalism: Its Authenticity & Impact

This article written by John Kaplan takes a look into ethical dilemmas photojournalists face & the way the truth behind photojournalism may be altered. A point that is regularly raised in the article is that as a photojournalist you should steer away from staging a scene, keep honesty in each frame & avoid altering a situation to give false insight. As a photojournalist it may be expected of you that you can summarize an event or story behind a person etc. in one frame. That decisive moment should factor in authenticity, intention and impact of the scene. The viewer should have every right to have 100% trust in what they see.

A great website to show example of truth issues is

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-moeller/media-literacy-101-the-et_b_189488.html

They mention the OJ Simpson image we have previously discussed in class where his skin was darkened to give the impression of "demonization".

Another recent issue they had raised is alteration of an image of President Obama

It speaks for itself really...

ORIGINAL IMAGE

ALTERED IMAGE

Skin tone has been made more "golden"

Shorts changed from black to red etc.

I also came across the video below which couldnt link in any better with the issues raised in our reading. Take not of the quote at the end...

"No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted."

It is the image that upsets more than text.