tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121143914762345890.post6095480662437701313..comments2023-10-18T10:11:50.053-05:00Comments on The North Star: photos: the problem with signifying africaThe North Starhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11220463321465182294noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121143914762345890.post-77326588401197264282007-04-12T19:23:00.000-05:002007-04-12T19:23:00.000-05:00"Is there a difference between a solo snap and the..."Is there a difference between a solo snap and the decision to publish? Or should they both be lovingly critiqued?"<BR/><BR/>ok josh i see how you like to ask the complicated questions. i had to think about that question and i'm not even too sure i have a great answer. but here goes...<BR/>the first act in truth-photography, i think, is to establish some sincere link between the photographer and the subject as a way to break down the typical binary that might exist between the powerful photographer and the subject. the individual with a camera in his/her hand is already embued with some power because they can choose how to take the picture, to position the subject, to use certain lighting etc. the photographer creates the scene and while i guess the subject has the power to say no, saying yes as the subject of a photo means submitting yourself to the *gaze* of the photographer. <BR/><BR/>so being aware of this hierarchy, there's a first responsibilty of the photographer to create trust between him/herself and the person/people who'll be photographed - to illustrate that i as photographer, will not just take your photograph so that i can publish it, make money from it, etc. your condition is not merely a means for my egotistical purposes (i mean, sometimes a photographer etc. has to eat...but the question, i think, is at what cost). i, the photographer, respect and am grateful that you have allowed me to be a part of this experience and i will do my best to reflect it with a complexity that honestly (though will never fully be able) to translate the complex immediacy of your experience. <BR/>but josh you already know that i get a little idealistic and to be real, not every photographer/videographer has the time to create a relationship with the subject so that they will not be represented as objects to the public. in that case then, the image we choose to put up for public consumption should, to the best of our ability, get as close to factual representation. meaning if the article is about closed off borders, there should be a picture of the border and not a random, sort of sad-looking black woman.<BR/><BR/>but if we're talking about portraying poverty, then hmmm...how do we represent black people in these difficult conditions without affirming stereotypes? i don't know. i think loving representations, loving photographers can do that. what the exact charecteristics...that's the mystery of art i guess.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08712404568928487439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121143914762345890.post-18923126961844356742007-04-10T23:58:00.000-05:002007-04-10T23:58:00.000-05:00elizabeth, i think that a significant difference b...elizabeth, i think that a significant difference between the photograph from the NYT and the photograph you took in ghana is the degree to which the folks in the photograph are able to engage with the viewer.<BR/><BR/>in the first photograph, the woman and her child are objects of a gaze (reminiscent of many of the pictures of Depression Era kitchenette life captured in 12 Million Black Voices). in your photograph, however, there is a more reciprocal gaze: the young people engage the viewer directly and thus seem to possess more life, more agency. <BR/><BR/>thank you for this post. your thoughts, as usual, are brilliant.Naimahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991412126150850379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121143914762345890.post-55842654955008755862007-04-10T23:57:00.000-05:002007-04-10T23:57:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Naimahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15991412126150850379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8121143914762345890.post-53122231237164741482007-04-10T21:48:00.000-05:002007-04-10T21:48:00.000-05:00Although there is debate to how progressive this m...Although there is debate to how progressive this movie actually is, <I> Blood Diamond </I> has an amazing scene depicting the violence of the photographic gaze when Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) learns that his son is not with the rest of his family at a refugee camp in Guinea. Wanting to capture the reunion of a family, Maddy (Jennifer Connelly), a journalist, begins happilly snapping away. The film splits between showing photographic stills and "real life." Once Solomon find this horrible information out, Maddy continues to click until she recognizes the violence of her action. A reality we see through her photos, ones that erase the humanity of the situation. However, Maddy begins clicking again as the situation eases up a minute later.<BR/><BR/>I thought the scene was well done and, if nothing else, gave the viewer a chance to question all intent, even that of the film.<BR/><BR/>Any other TNS bloggers or readers see the movie? Thoughts?<BR/><BR/>And Elizabeth, is there a difference between a solo snap and the decision to publish? Or should they both be lovingly critiqued?Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938875004056523434noreply@blogger.com