Documentary Photography 2012/13

Fake or Not? There are many issues surrounding Documentary Photographs, and the main one is the veracity of the photographs and if they are fake or real? Here are two very recognisable documentary photographs.  The one on the left is Arthur Rothstein's photograph 'Cattle Skull, Badlands', 1936. Rothstein was part of the Farm Security Administration, or the 'FSA', and was one of many photographers who were commissioned to photograph and document the effect that the Depression had on many rural parts of America. The 'FSA' was created to stress the efforts that must have been made to improve the lifestyle of share croppers  tenants  very poor landowning farmers and attempt to relocate them to land more suitable for their farming needs. The 'FSA' is very well known for it's influential photography program, even though it was small, between the years of 1935-1944 . Other images by Rothstein? Same Skulls? To begin we have the problem tha

In this weeks lecture [October 12th], we looked at 'What Documentary Photography', to highlight it's importance, which should be obvious and known throughout this module.  Key Words : Truth, Objectivity, Issues, Information, People, Events, Reveal, Personal, Amateur, Record, Realism, Journalism, Passive Observers, Aesthetic, Primarly Historical Evidence/Context, Authenticity.   Most of these keywords were highlighted in our groups last week.  Can Be : A FORM, A GENRE, A TRADITION, A STYLE, A MOVEMENT. 'Has a special relationship to real life' It's believed that the term 'Documentary' within Photography and film, was first used by a Dr John Grierson.  He was (http://griersontrust.org) a prolific director and producer who influenced a brand new generation of documentary makers through his work with the Empire Marketing Board and the Post Office.   'Night Mail' is one of Dr Greirson's most recognised Documentary Films, create

Final Photographs For Journey To University Here are my final 22 selected photographs which I have used for my final submission.  I am overall very happy with my photographs. There were a large selection to choose from, which does make a change to how my usual work goes. It was also quite an organised selection of work, I knew the order all of my work went, and it was simple to put together for the final selection. I also found it very interesting looking for the various shapes on my route to University. I still look for these shapes today as I go along. 

This is a simple, short introductory assignment which is aimed to give us a brief idea of what is to come. Documenting a straightforward journey that is taken everyday. 15 - 25 photographs showing the journey, this can also include your time in the house, before leaving, which must contain a thematic style and visual continuity throughout. I did have a few ideas to begin, and decided to note them down in a diagram. Photographing shapes is something that stood out to me, perhaps photographing recurring shapes along the journey, so it's important to keep my eyes on the look out for any shapes along the way.  Over the period of three days, I began documenting my journey to University and my progress getting ready. I would simply carry on my every day routine of getting ready and I would just keep my camera on me at all times and if anything caught my eye, I would photograph it. I really wanted to show a distinctive shape within all of my images, so I focused on corners or tr

Documentary Photography, FH2S12, 2012-13. On Completion of this module students should be able to: 1. Demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of traditional and contemporary Documentary photography  2.  Demonstrate through the production of a portfolio of work, your creative potential, technical skill and ability to work in a professional  capacity.  3. Consider and evaluate their own work within the practice of documentary photography.  4.  Communicate effectively ideas, information and arguments in a coherent structure to an audience. What is Documentary Photography? Photography: A Critical Introduction, Liz Wells "Documentary has been described as a form, a genre, a tradition, a style, a movement and a practice; it is not useful to try to offer a single definition of the word." "..But if most photographs are a kind of documentary, how can we make distinctions between them?" "The photograph, technically and aesthetically, has