In photography

there are no rules. There is no right or wrong. Photography is absolute anarchy, yet there are those who feel that it is their duty to define the laws of photography for others. I hope that I haven't become a part of this. Everything that I have written are just my personal observations on photography. They are what photography is to me, and maybe you have found some common ground with the things that I have said. I hope so, I really like it when people agree with me. But hey, if not, that's cool too. That's the great thing about photography; you can do whatever you want. So do whatever you want.

To take a picture

Why do we "take" pictures? Why is the action of photography described by a word that really describes the act of claiming possession of something? We don't create a picture nor do we simply "photograph" something. We take them, the way a hunter takes the hunted. In this sense, to take a photograph couldn't be more right. As photographers, we don't make up or create photographs from the thin air, but rather we discover them. Photography is the search for something that is already there. As Robert Capa put it, "the pictures are there, and you just take them."

And you take them, but does the event and the subject then become yours? I would say so in the sense that your photography is a part of you, the photographer, and thus the subjects of your photographs become a part of you as well. I remember one instance when I ran into a familiar face. His faced seemed familiar enough to be a friend of mine, but I couldn't put a name to it or even remember where I had met him. I spent a lot of time running my memory in rewind, trying to figure out where I had met him. He turned out to just be a face in the crowd of one of my photographs. I don't know who he is really and he definitely doesn't either, but his face became a part of my conscious. This is what makes photography such a personal activity. It is an interaction between two strangers. Pointing a camera at the subject and taking their picture seems almost an intimate interaction. This is the beauty in taking a photograph. It is the mutual existence of two, the subject and photographer, where the subject gives and the photographer takes.

The words of photographers

are full of insight, not only of photography but also of our world. As observers of our reality, it seems fitting that they would have a lot to say about humanity. I picked the following quotes because they discuss the median between our world and the photograph and the relationship between the two.

"To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis."
-Henri Cartier-Bresson

"The idea that any photography can't be personal is madness! ... I see something; it goes through my eye, brain, heart, guts; I choose the subject. What could be more personal than that?"
-Cornell Capa

"A photographer is an acrobat treading the high wire of chance, trying to capture shooting stars."
-Guy Le Querrec

"This is the essence of a work of art: that you never touch bottom. If a picture has for everybody exactly the same meaning, it is a platitude, and it is meaningless as a work of art."
-Philippe Halsman

"Often, the most worthwhile and convincing images tend to lurk within the hidden, oblique stories that fly just below the radar."
-Jonas Bendiksen

"...in some, photographs can summon enough emotion to be a catalyst to thought."
-W. Eugene Smith

"Like the people you shoot and let them know it."
-Robert Capa

"...land makes people into who they are and what happens to them when they lose it and thus lose their identities."
-Larry Towell

"For me, the strength of photography lies in its ability to evoke humanity. If war is an attempt to negate humanity, then photography can be perceived as the opposite of war."
-James Nachtwey

"With all the arguments and discussions about the Vietnam War, what did the visual image do? It ended the war."
-Cornell Capa

Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh

I'm gonna step back from photography again for a bit, but for the sake of photography of course. Visual arts beyond the genre of photography share a ton of similarities with it. I picked the painting above by Van Gogh particularly because of its qualites that can be found in good photography. The movement is evident with the flowing directions of Van Gogh's brush strokes. In fact the entire painting is filled with swaying brush strokes. Van Gogh's choice of colors contrast well with each other, going from warm tones of yellows to the dark cold tones of the sky. Even beyond the basics of aesthetic composition, artists of all mediums share similar goals of portrayal and expression.

Massacre in Korea, Pablo Picasso

Palestine, David Parsons

The painting Massacre in Korea is one of my favorite works by Picasso, particularly because of how clear his message is expressed. The contrast between good and evil is out there without any need for interpretation. The aggressors on the right with their weapons pointed at the innocent women and children on the left. This composed contrasting balance between good and evil was also used by Francisco Goya in his painting the Third of May 1808, and even in David Parsons' photograph from "The Wall" in Palestine which I mentioned in an earlier post. Its almost strange to see the similarities of these two different mediums so evident when placed side to side.

Put down that camera, and pick up a book.

Put down that camera for a bit. You may fall into a period of separation anxiety, but I promise that it'll be short.. although I can't promise that it won't be painful. Anyway, now that your cameras are elsewhere and your hands are empty, go ahead and pick up a book. Not a photo book, but rather a good example of literature (Hemingway, or Faulkner perhaps?) Wait, but why? Well because, as irrelevant as it may sound, appreciating good literature may actually improve your photography. The connection between literature and photography may not be apparent, but it is definitely there.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Its a phrase that has worn out its use a while ago, but it does make the inevitable comparison between the written word and a picture. I couldn't say that a picture could equate to a book in its entirety, they both have their own place as forms of expression, but the very fact that they are both forms of expression should be a considered similarity. Both the author and the photographer ask the same creative-inducing questions, and both attempt to answer and express these questions in their own ways. These questions are often evaluations of the human condition, of our own psyche and the psyche of the subject. Understanding humanity seems almost necessary to create photographs worthy of thought, and literature has been attempting to understand humanity longer than the existence of photography. I'm sure these works of literature have a lot to say, and we certainly will always have a lot to learn. We can even see similarities in terms of how we attempt to answer these questions. Literary devices can to an extent be worked into a photograph, and understanding these devices could broaden your arsenal of expressive techniques.

Taking a good picture goes beyond basic photographic comprehension, as it also involves the expression of our thoughts and concepts. So expanding our thoughts and concepts could ultimately lead to a greater picture.

Finding that parking spot

may sometimes be the greatest point of your day... well when it happens anyway. When it happens, you may cheer out loud to yourself in the car but once your out of the car you will probably forget what just happened in the middle of what you drove there to do. This overlooked excitement was the subject of Martin Parr's book Parking Spaces. Yes, parking spaces. The book is a collection of photographs of that empty parking space that you may have spent hours looking for. They were taken during a span of 5 years, between 2002 and 2007, and in over 41 countries, from Argentina and Australia to the United States and Uruguay. Its probably an overlooked point in the day for a reason, and that reason is probably because it is a pretty pointless part of the day. But you can't deny that there has been that one time when finding that empty spot has resulted in utter joy. Martin Parr hasn't denied either for this book. He accepts its triviality but also acknowledges the preciousness rather comically.

The portrayal of that last parking space's preciousness is evident in the book. For one, its a book filled with hundreds of photos of parking spaces. Dedicating a book to anything sort of implies its importance in someway. The book itself is presented as almost a wedding album, "white and terribly precious, as befits the value of the last parking space" according to the Magnum website. The preciousness that the book portrays is very much out there by the way Martin Parr presents it, and its a preciousness that almost everyone can identify with.


The book may put a smile on someones face with its clever photography, but there is a bit more to it. Martin Parr has been working on projects that address the issues of globalization, and this project is no exception. With photographs of that last parking spot spanning over 40 countries, it becomes clear that the automotive obsession isn't confined to just the United States or just the western world. The search for a parking spot has become a common experience for people around the world.


Links
Martin Parr's Parking Spaces

The new face of multimedia

Multimedia has changed how we look at story-telling photography. It allowed us to transcend the boundaries of still photography with the union of audio and video. Now cameras like Canon's 5D Mark II and Nikon's D90 are going to take this even further. I'm sure most of you have already heard of the HD video features that these cameras now offer. If you haven't seen what these cameras can do in terms of HD film making, you should check out a couple of Vincent Laforet's videos shot with the 5D Mark II.

Nope, that's not a photo, its a clip from Vincent Laforet's HD video taken with a Canon 5D MKII.

The videos that Vincent Laforet has been producing are stunning, and really demonstrates the capabilites of DSLR HD cinemotography. At some points during the videos, I had to ask myself "is that a photograph or video?" The HD features on these new cameras are definitely not gimmicks, and with these cameras just being released this is only the start. Expect to see photographers implementing these new capabilities in multimedia projects in the future. Of course, we've seen video implemented in multimedia projects before but they often lacked in quality. Another problem with trying to implement video was the hassle of carrying a video camera, but now that a camera can both shoot amazing photographs and amazing HD, we should expect to see video playing a big role in future multimedia.