Photo Montage: Superman

After: Superman & Background

Before: Superman

Before: Background

The Genius of Photography: Paper Movies- The Americans by Robert Frank

Indianapolis, (1955)

From viewing this documentary I found American photographer Robert Frank's 'The Americans' photo book to be my favourite.  As it was said in the documentary Frank did indeed lay bear the soul of 1950s America in his famous photo book.

Covered Car, Long Beach (1955)

Although The Americans was greatly criticised upon its realise, it is now one of the most influential photo books among photographers.  Frank created this photo book when in 1955 he travelled around the United States taking photographers in each town. 

Rodeo, New York City (1954)

Starting from New York and going South he took abstract and mysterious photographs showing mainly the tension of American class and wealth over race and class differences.  The photo book consisted of 83 photograph, despite Frank using nearly 700 rolls of film.

Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey (1955)

Each chapter of The Americans began with the American flag, with only one photograph per page and none on the opposite page.  This was done in order for people to analyse each photograph at a time.

The photo book was published by Robert Delpire in France in 1958 and then America in 1959.  Overall The Americans focused less on the single image as Frank was interested in creating a body of work as a single image wouldn't explain his view of America as well as a collection.

The Genius of Photography: Right Place, Right Time

Questions raised in viewing the documentary 'The Genius of Photography-Documents for Artists':
1. What is described as "one of the most familiar concepts of photography"?
2. Should you trust photography?
3. What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?
4. What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?
5. Why were Tony Vaccaro's negatives destroyed by the army censors?
6. Who was Henryk Ross and what was his job?
7. Which show was a "sticking plaster for the wounds of the war", how many people saw it and what "cliché" photograph did it end on?
8. Why did Joel Meyerowitz photograph Ground Zero in colour?

(1.) French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson first coined the term 'the decisive moment', ever since this has been one of the most familiar concepts of photography.  Just as the name itself suggests, this decisive moment in photography was when a photographer had a moment of inspiration.  What was captured in this moment was something that was a once in a life time moment, something that happened in a split second, something that would lead to something.  Cartier-Bresson believed these moments were brief and that you had one chance to take them, like a moving car or bicycle or a man jumping over a puddle.  If you captured the moment the man hits the ground it tells less of a story as to capturing the moment he is jumping up over the puddle, the man cannot freeze in the air to wait for the photograph to be taken; the photographer must have a decisive moment and capture the man in the middle of this action.  With taking a photograph in a decisive moment it must be considered that timing is crucial, as opportunities to take the perfect photograph can flash before your eyes and be gone forever.

Photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson

(2.) In this documentary many photojournalists urge that you can not always trust or believe photography.  In the documentary a photographer said how "trusting the photograph was a huge mistake".  For example at the time of the war photography was a huge part of propaganda, therefore making it hard to trust.

(3.) The Leica was a lightweight, compact and more importantly quiet camera which was first released in Germany in 1925.  What was revolutionary about this camera was that it finally allowed for the photographer to see the scene or image before their eyes instead of the camera blocking both eyes.  Another good quality of this camera was that it allowed for more artistic photography to be created.

The revolutionary Leica camera

(4.) In the documentary photographer George Bernard Shaw mentioned how he would trade every single painting of Christ in return for just one photograph as photographs are more powerful and effective than paintings.

George Bernard Shaw

(5.) Tony Vaccaro was a war photographer during and after WWII.  What was unusual about Vaccaro was that he was both a photographer and soldier during the time of WWII.  Once he captured his photograph in battle he would let the camera, which was strapped around his neck, drop and he would move on to the next.  Vaccaro's negatives were confiscated and destroyed by military censors as they contained photographs of the bloody deceased soldier, which they felt was too harsh for the eyes of the world.  

Photograph by Tony Vaccaro

(6.) Henryk Ross was a Polish-Jewish photojournalist who was used by the Nazis for his photography skills.  Ross had no choice but to do as the Nazis wished and he went about documenting the life of the Jews in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland.  He was appointed by the Nazis to take photographs of the Jews in the ghetto to portray happiness within the camp.  He was to take photographs of happy families, well fed children, happy workers, religious ceremonies and weddings.  As this was not the case in reality, Ross took a great risk and took many photographs documenting the real truth of the ghettos; the workers who were slowly being worked to death, the starving men, women and children, the disobedient people who were executed.

Photograph by Henryk Ross

(7.) The exhibition which was a sticking plaster for the wounds of the war was called The Family of Man.  It was curated by Edward Steichen and first shown at the Musuem of Modern Art in New York in 1955.  The show displayed 503 photographs from 68 countries representing 273 photographers.  From the time of its first showing the exhibition has attracted over 10 million visitors.  The closing photograph for the exhibition was that of W. Eugene Smith with his photograph 'The Walk to Paradise Garden'.  This cliche photograph chosen for the end depicts Smith's two children walking into the light of a clearing in the woods.  This photograph symbolises the hope and brightness of the children's future.

Photograph by William Eugene Smith

(8.) Ground Zero was photographed by Joel Meyerowitz in colour as, since it was during the aftermath of the 9/11 attack in New York, he didn't want it to look like too much of a tragedy as it would if it was in black and white. 

Photograph by Joel Meyerowitz

Photoshop: Black & White

Before

Glass

Water Paper

Poster Edges

Before

After

After

Before

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Exposure = Aperture and Shutter Speed, 01/11/13

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 5

Architecture Across Dublin (Proposal)

Firstly, I will introduce myself; I'm Katie Hedderman from your Understanding the Image class and am studying Journalism full time.  I have a variety of interests from fashion to architecture, abstract art to the whole concept of travelling.   I love to be creative in things I do such as writing, drawing and taking photographs, and also like to put my own style on my work. 

I propose to create a photobook based on the theme of 'Architecture Across Dublin'*.  Originally I found it difficult to choose which theme I would choose, I had two options, one being Architecture Across Dublin and the other being 'Fashion Through the Ages' *.  For my fashion theme I had the idea that I would take and scan a picture of my grandfather standing outside the famous Dublin store Clerys on O'Connell St, dressed in clothes which were the norm at the time.  Next to this I would have his son (my father) standing in the same position and place wearing his own everyday clothes in order to show how everyday clothing has changed over the past 50 years or so. 

As for the architecture theme I hope to not only capture photographs of the city centre, but also the 'suburbs' of Dublin, both the northside and southside.  From a daily basis it is seen clearly how diverse certain buildings are to others and how much architecture has transitioned over time.  I also hope to show how there are different types of architectural buildings, from government to domestic to commercial and so forth. I would like to hear your opinion on which would suit better; the fashion or architecture photobook, as I am not certain which one I will definitely work on.

In my photobook I will attempt to distinguish the transition from historical to modern architecture.

I have chosen this theme of architecture to focus on as it has been a passion of mine from a young age.  I have always seen it as art coming to life, how you can draw this object and it can be built into something astonishing.

Also I have chosen architecture because, no matter what area of Dublin you go to you are guarenteed to witness either the best or worse of architecture.  It surrounds us on a daily basis, and the majority of the time people just walk by it without a glance.  This is why I want to photograph architecture, to stop and examine it for myself and then capture that moment which I see.
I intend to use a Nikon- Coolpix digital camera for taking all photographs in this photobook.

As I mentioned previously, I hope to broaden my areas of interests for the photobook.  Also I hope to capture how different types of architecture are used in the same locality and some in which were built decades or even centuries previous such as the famous Guiness Storehouse located in Dublin's city centre which was built in the early 20^th century and of course the breath-taking Malahide Castle which was built in the 12^th century.

I have also made a list of some of the buildings which I will view and take photographs of.  These include; The Pepper Cannister (at night time), National Conference Centre, Custom House, The Casino of Marino, Four Courts and Mount Argus Church.

I plan to start taking photographs for my photobook in the coming weeks, a lot of time will be needed however as I plan to go to different areas of the city and greater Dublin.
And finally, I hope to expand on people's knowledge of the vast types of architecture arcoss Dublin and how to make the entire city come to life.

Word count: 614

War Photographer Documentary by Christian Frei

Questions raised in viewing the documentary 'War Photographer':
1.) What do you think of his approach to photographing people in crisis?
2.) What kind of subject does Stern magazine cover?
3.) What conflict and issues did he cover in the movie?
4.) Why did he become a war photographer?
5.) What kind of personality do you think war photo-journalists like James Nachtwey have to have?
6.) What pictures ended up being used?


The documentary 'War Photographer' follows photographer James Nachtwey who goes to a great extent to tell the story of war in photographs.  From my viewing of the film I found Nachtwey's approach to photographing people in crisis to be one of understanding and calmness.  He himself explains in the film of how it is not in the normal codes of behaviour during or after a war to photograph a grieving family or group of people unless you have their consent to.  Before photographing these distraught families whose lives have shattered before them, he makes sure he has their permission to do so.  So I think he is careful in approaching and photographing these people in crisis, and feel that he genuinely feels emotion towards them and their situation.



Stern magazine which is featured in this documentary is a major weekly news magazine which was founded in 1948 and originated in Germany.  The magazine has a readership total of over 7 million.  It quickly became the leading post World War II magazine in Germany upon its first publication.  Stern covers a number of subjects, some including articles on international affairs, news analysis, celebrity profiles and interviews.  In the early 21st century the magazine took a stand against neo-Nazi violence and launched a campaign to prevent right-wing violence.

Nachtwey covers several different issues and conflicts in this documentary.  The issues covered by him include war, famine, poverty and grief.  The beginning of the documentary depicts the Kosovo region after the war.  Nachtwey captures the wrecked buildings, rubble in the streets and more importantly the grief stricken people of the area.  He photographs an elderly woman, whose home has been destroyed, in a room in the wrecked house.  A photograph that he has taken then appears, it appears to be of a father and son at a grave in a graveyard which is surrounded by people in the background.  The next image shown is of the grief of a group of people who are likely to have lost their homes or have been affected by the death of someone.  Another photograph follows and shows a young man who is lying down on a hospital bed screaming out in agony.

In 1980 James Nachtwey woke up with the idea to go to New York to become a magazine war photographer.  He felt he was witnessing history and that he got to see how war effected people's lives.  He compared it to theatre, saying it was like being on stage, as if the script was being written for you.
He had to get in touch with his feelings during the time of being a war photographer, he ultimately discovered himself.  Although he captures people's misfortune, he has said that the worst thing to feel as a photographer is that he is in any way benefiting from someone else's tragedy, and he has said how this idea haunts him.

I think all war photographers must have a single-mindedness about them like James Nachtwey has.  War photographers should remember they are there for one main reason and that is to show the rest of world what is going on in different countries.  You must be focused, however you must also be sympathetic and careful in how you approach victims and people who have been affected in some way by war.  Like what Nachtwey said himself, "Fear is not what's important; it's how you deal with it", you must overcome fear of certain situations and you must manage how you react to it.  Fear is a part of the job of a war photographer, therefore one must overcome it.  Also you must always have consent of the person you are photographing as it is such a sensitive time and circumstance for them.

The photographs which were used in the end were those which were striking and effective.  They truly showed of the tragedy and devastation that the war has caused in people's lives.  They all show of how people's lives have come crashing down around them and left their world torn.  Nachtwey hopes for some sort of relief to come from these images, to show the world of the horrific aftermaths of war.