Photography Bears Witness

“Photography is a weapon against what’s wrong out
there.  It’s bearing witness to the truth.”   Brent Stirton

In a recent blog I talked about photography as a tool for social justice.

I introduced the work of Lisa Kristine and her efforts to publicize the blossoming of human slavery in the 21^st century.

I’d like to hit this theme again, as it is possibly the most important role of photography in our culture.

Nothing brings home the truth of this more than the work of those brave individuals who bear witness through their photography

For instance, the October 2013 issue of National Geographic points out that the minerals in our electronic devices have bankrolled unspeakable violence in the Congo. 

But it was the black and white photography of Marcus Bleasdale that brought alive the horror of a society torn apart by greed and violence, and gave the term “child soldier” a chilling resonance.  

Take a moment to look at those two images; ponder the faces.

Steve McCurry

Most famous for his “Afghan Girl” cover on the June 1985 National Geographic, Steve McCurry has been responsible for creating many of the most iconic human images in our culture.

You’ll often hear the phrase “the human condition.”  No one chronicles the breadth of that notion better than Steve McCurry.

Intrigued by disappearing cultures, by conflict, and by ancient traditions as well as contemporary culture, McCurry creates images that expand our sense that we participate in a broader world -- one in which there is much room for compassion.  His photography can elevate your spirit.  It can also coax tears.

The tears in this little boy's eyes, the size of the handgun against his little pre-schooler's head, his general look of sorrow and neglect: it would be a stoney-hearted individual who did not feel compassion.  

But do images such as this engage us so deeply they motivate us to act, or are we inured to them, numbed by the simulated violence that saturates television?  

Keeping in mind our theme of social justice, this week’s question is:  If you were offered the opportunity to travel on assignment as a National Geographic photographer where would you choose to go, and why? 

In the Abstract

Welcome back to another school year.  I hope some of these blog entries can inspire some thought -- and perhaps add an element of visual pleasure to your studies.

In this entry, I'd like to look at the notion of Abstraction

Munch says the red sunset inspired him

When Norwegian painter Edvard Munch picked up a box of pastels and a piece of cardboard, he probably did not know the resulting image would fetch almost $120 MILLION dollars at auction about 100 years later.  This is the highest price ever paid for art at auction – higher, even, than for any of Picasso’s work.

The Scream is one of the most recognizable paintings in modern art and has even been stolen from museums (and recovered) twice.  Kind of reminds a guy of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Clearly, this is an image of huge power to communicate.  Yet it is barely representational at all – nothing in it looks realistic: not the shapes, the colours, the face.  My question to you is two part:  where does the power come from, and is there any way to use a camera to produce images with such power?

ABSTRACTION

You doubtlessly remember the first assignment in this course – to analyze your own images in terms of line, colour, form, pattern, etc.  Abstract photography concerns itself entirely with these dimensions.  It’s a nice discipline to focus on these elements entirely – creating an image of shape, for instance, rather than a snapshot of a building.

Here are some ways in which a few photographers have taken such common subjects as smoke and water and found in them all the elements of art.  Can you identify which elements of style dominate these images?

Paul Bonnichsen has made good use of those long dreary days of winter with poor light outside to stay inside and make fascinating images of smoke curling from incense sticks.  He has had to put a lot of effort into rear lighting, yet the results capture our eye.

Chaval Brasil (who you can find in flickr) uses design elements in all of his work -- but his water splash images are perhaps his most abstract.

Which elements of design dominate these images?  Can you find and focus on them them in your own images?

Finally – just for fun – here is a photographer who has combined images of water and dogs.  It demonstrates wonderful technological skill while communicating a real sense of play.  Seth Casteel is a “lifestyle” photographer with enough fame to appear on Duck Dynasty, but he began his career volunteering to photograph homeless pets.  Who knows what your own future might hold!

For now, just take a moment, look back up at The Scream, ponder it and see if you can put into words the source of power in that image. 

Add  your insights as a comment -- and we'll see if we can better understand why some images have such enduring power to engage the viewer.

The Noble Uses of a Camera

Most of us use our cameras to record the things of our own lives: important events, people who matter to us. 

Others of us seem to enjoy finding and sharing the beauty of life: nature, architecture, performance arts.

But there is another kind of photographer who tries to use the camera as a tool to effect social change.  I wanted to highlight a few of these people in the next few posts.

Lisa Kristine and Slavery

Lisa Kristine is an exceptionally talented photographer who had spent years traveling around the world making stunningly beautiful images, mostly of indigenous cultures far from North America. (These next two images are hers).

These men work 72-hour shifts in a mine poisoned by mercury.

But once she learned about the extraordinary extent of today’s commercial slave trade she began using her artistic eye and technical ability to expose the ugly face of modern-day slavery.

She is also a powerful public speaker and you can enjoy her TED talk by following this link.

Her comment about making these portraits probably applies to any situation in which you are making a photograph of an individual, but the advice resonates strongly when you know she is talking of such abused human beings:

These slaves work in the brickyards of Nepal for 16 to 17 hours
a day in heat up to 50 degrees without breaks for rest or food.

"Each image is made with reverence for the subject.  I want a person to feel at ease with me so that they remain themselves and are unchanged by a new or foreign element such as a stranger (myself) or a camera.

In order for me to photograph a person in the unaffected environment of self there must be a trust between us.  Without this, a stirring image cannot be created."

I will be following up on this theme in the next post.

Kick-Starting Creativity 

Sometimes it is hard to get going in creating fresh new photographs, images that will catch your viewer’s eye and communicate a thought or feeling.  Sometimes it just seems like you HAVE to do it to get credit for a course!

Here are a few ideas that might help to provoke the creative impulse!

Out-Of-Border post-processing (OOB)
can add a fun element to your images.

• join a photography club and meet others
• find a mentor or coach who will work with you
• buy some new equipment to play with
• go someplace new and see it through your camera
• browse the internet looking for photos you would like to re-create
• take time to learn a new post-processing trick and find places to apply it
• join an on-line forum and talk about photography
• go to an art exhibit
• go out with a photo buddy and explore images together
• pick one element of design (i.e. texture) and go looking for it with your camera.

Those are just a few ideas.  If you have found something that works for you, please take a moment to share.

Abstract & Concrete

Old cars are such a fine subject in Cuba

It seems like a long time ago I returned from Cuba to breath fresh northern air again.  But I have to admit that new visual experiences always make me want to be creative with my camera:  I’ve posted a few images in flickr for you.

 And we have certainly had a lot of new students join us this month.  Although I normally like to welcome everyone, the list would go on and on.

So let me just say welcome to the newcomers — we all look forward to seeing your creative contributions to our community. 

Abstract & Not-So-Abstract

One of the most important things you can learn in a study of photography is that  the artistic elements of design can greatly improve the visual impact of your photographs.

Some photographers reduce their images to include only the artistic or abstract elements: they are no longer a picture of anything but line, shape, rhythm etc.

It's always about the light: Havana by night

Here is a selection from National Geographic that illustrates the point better than words.  It would harm no one’s photography to attempt to copy these images in their own work.  Notice how “simplification” plays such a role in making these images “pop.” 

HINT:  For practice in simplifying images and incorporating the elements of design, flowers are a satisfying subject.

I suppose one of the key points I want to make here is that you can combine the elements of design into your daily photography to create images that really catch the eye.

Wonderful Nature Photography

A photographer I’d like to feature in this entry is Carr Clifton.  One of the continent’s best nature photographers, he spent months in BC’s “SacredHeadwaters” in the north of the province near Spatsizi Park.  Those of you who live in the north will find his images resonate — and those of you who don’t will maybe feel a new interest in visiting the area. 

Downtown Havana

A Few Other Photographic sites

I have earlier introduced people to photo.net.   This is a highly professional and moderated site, with wonderful features: all free.  If you need inspiration, just head there for some really compelling images.

And if all you need is some inspiration to keep going — check out 35 BeautifulPhotography Websites.  Scrolling down the page, you’ll find something you love.

 “Hey!  You’re taking a photo course.  What camera should I buy?”

When you hear those words visit Ken Rockwell.  He is bull-headed, opinionated and extraordinarily self-satisfied.  This all makes him entertaining.  He also has some pretty good information – and great tips on choosing a camera.

The Man With The Blue Guitar

Well the new year is upon us, and if much of the province (and territory) has been like the north coast, then it has not been a time entirely conducive to outdoor photography. 

 

That is one reason I am going to Cuba for three weeks where I am hoping to see enough clear sky to throw some interesting light onto things.

It was as I was preparing for the upcoming trip and realizing I had to alert students that two things fell together to give me some substance for this post: travel and the blue guitar.

One thing I always do to prepare for a photographic adventure is write out – longhand – Wallace Stevens’s poem, The Man with theBlue Guitar in the front page of the journal I will be taking with me.

I have a whole lesson — a self-indulgent essay, really — on this topic, but in brief the notion is that there is no more “realistic” rendition of a visual composition by a photographer than there is a “realistic” rendition of a musical composition by a musician on a guitar.

The only thing really interesting about listening to a virtuoso musician is to hear how he or she renders the composition.  The same applies to the photographer: how does he or she compose an image incorporating the elements of design.  It is my hope that by keeping this in mind, I can bend my mind to creativity with the camera.

Again, here is Wallace Steven’s poem.  Maybe it can provide you with the same photographic inspiration.

BTW:

This will take some of the pressure off you students who feel the need to wrap up quickly.  As usual, I will take a small netbook with me, but I have been warned that internet connections in Cuba are few, far-between, slow and unreliable.  So feedback might wait.  Go ahead.  Submit work.  Just know that it might be a few weeks before you hear from me.

A few photographic thoughts:

Texture:

Another thing you can do to keep yourself visually interested in subtle light is look for texture.   Here Reiny Dusdal combines a variety of visual design tools – texture, pattern and a golden monochromatic colour – with a sensitivity to light itself to capture a fleeting moment of nature’s beauty.

Remembering that the subject is not as important as composition and keeping the elements of design in mind can turn dull days into opportunities for creativity.

What is chimping:

Not an actual chimp, but an orangutan

Chimping is looking down at your camera display as soon as you take a photo.

I have long wondered where “chimping” got its name from.

Here is a short youtube explaining the origin of the word as well as encouraging your to stop doing it!

Rule of Thirds:

I have a lesson on this “rule” (or as Captain Jack Sparrow would say, “It’s more like a guideline.”) in the course.  But for an oddly disturbing reinforcement of the notion here is a video example from the Iraq War accompanied by a bouncy rap.  More sophisticated viewers might hear social commentary about the way media frames our understanding of historical events.

Here is a slightly more “standard” tutorial using Las Vegas gives some more technical ideas for you:

As always I look forward to seeing your creative efforts, but you might have to wait a little longer than usual for feedback.

October's Here

I have to apologize for being slow to blog.  Since I last wrote, we’ve had lots of students join us, and I’d like to welcome Ruby, Tanya, Autumn, Mildred, Marilyn, Margaret, Dominique and Keisha all to our group.

With autumn here we are enjoying some spectacular colours, and I hope you are getting opportunities to get out with your camera and capture them.

Composition and Minimalism

Les Flynn's photo of a wall

Any really good photograph makes the viewer pause.  Very often your eye will linger on an image because it tells a story.  And most often the story is told by the composition: what elements have been included in the image, and how they are arranged.

And just as sometimes the simplest stories are the most fascinating, so sometimes the simplest images are the most compelling.

Minimalism is the approach that capitalizes on the notion that “less is more.” It takes the approach of “simplification” to the limit, eliminating almost all detail, stripping the composition down to its most fundamental features.

Image by Heather Blish

These kind of images exert powerful visual appeal; they have very strong commercial value (lots of room for the publishers message), and yet despite of their apparent simplicity, they are not simple to create.

Go ahead – try to make a minimalist image.  As always, you can submit one of these in place of another assignment.  If you want a brief outline of exactly how to create a minimalist image, there is a fine tutorial here.

Heather Blish (AKA “drawerist”) is a successful graphic artist who works from her home designing websites, logos and print graphics.  Her minimalist photography is a tribute to her fine eye for design, and underlies some of her other graphic designs.

You can see her work in flickr here.