Photo history

Robert Frank, Indianapolis , 1956, gelatin silver print, image, 8 5/8 x 13", paper, 11 x 14" frame, 16 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 1 1/2" Robert Frank is a documentary filmmaker and photographer who immigrated to America. Even though he wasn’t labeled as a documentary photographer his photos reflect that aesthetic. There is a certain aspect of movement within the photos that feel natural. This realistic feeling is even in his posed photography. The photos he takes merely reflects the world that we live in. His rendering of American life provided many perspectives of many different people. His pure out look that went along with this project can be due to his immigrate perspective. His perspective of being an American and living in America was most likely not an average one. This mindset allowed him to branch out his reach to feature people in different communities. People of different ages and in different walks of life.  The photo that really caught my eye is simply labeled Indianapo...

What I find interesting about photography is how people can use it to tell a story. As a filmmaker maker I have the ability to do this through multiple frames. Photographers need to do it with one image. It’s so fascinating how so much emotion can be held in a photo. However this becomes even more complicated when photographing non-human subjects. Then emotions must be created with the use of color, shapes and balance. Sim Chi Yin is a documentary photographer and was even commissioned as the Nobel Peace Prize photographer in 2017. She joined Magnum Photos as its first Southeast Asian photographer and continued to create photos that combine research with intimate storytelling. The lack of people in her photography in no way impedes their emotional impact. Her photos reflect historical moments and the consequences that follow. Her solo show for the Nobel Peace Centre museum focused on nuclear weapons. She combines video installation and still photography of abandoned lookouts and factor...

  "The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph, it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth."   -Richard Avendon There is a saying that a photo is worth a million words. It's more like you can use a million words to describe a photograph. Photography is a great tool for communication but depends heavenly on the viewers perceptions. Unlike new articles or programs there is usually  not a lot of background information along with images. The information is probably accessible but the likelihood of a viewer searching for it is fairly low. The photography of President Bush in New York city will remind people of the tragedy of nine eleven. But if I showed that photo to a middle schooler it's likely they’ll believe it to be someone working on a construction site. People have the ability to interpret photos in many ways. The viewers perspective influen...

 

Teddy Roosevelt Photography is able to capture a moment in time but often does not provide much context. Photos can lose their meaning and impact when the entire picture is not clear. At first glance this photo appears to feature Teddy Roosevelt in the wilderness with another man.  Which is not a strange sight for the naturalistic President. But the importance of this moment is not made clear. This was not a casual trip for the President. He was invited to a three day camping trip by the environmental philosopher John Miur. This event would later be referred to as the camping trip that  changed the nation. Miur persuaded the President to attend this trip to discuss conservation issues. Some people wanted to develop the land and use its resources for mankind. Teddy Roosevelt added Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove ( the two areas they traveled through) to the Yosemite National park due to his experiences during this trip. Making the land under federal protection. Mos...

There is a great relationship between Plato’s writing Allegory of the cave and photography. I always saw photography as a way to share your perspective. The prisoners in Plato’s tale only know their life in the cave. Their understanding of the world is confined and they are not able to see the world for what it is. Photography allows people to escape their own cave’s. Sontag writes, “To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge—and, therefore, like power. ”(2). The ability to learn and share through photography was a part of its popularity. Photography allows people to visualise history. It creates windows into other people's lives. Other people's emotions. Photos can connect people.    The facet of illusion was another major aspect of Plato’s writing. It’s hard to not be deceived with our technological heavy world. Sontag writes, “ In deciding how a picture should look, in ...