Assignment 4- Virtual Essay (Robert Adams)

The photographer I have chosen for this virtual essay is Robert Adams. Adams was an American Photographer born in 1937 who is famous for his photographs of the American West, of which he photographed for 40 years. The quote given by Robert Adams that inspired me to share the following photographs I took on a trip to New York in 2006 was “The job of the photographer is not to record indisputable fact but to try to be coherent about intuition and hope”. To me, this means that one’s photographs do not have to take a literal context in terms of what the subject is on film, but they can offer a message that is not superficial and beyond literal meaning. Photographs of simple things should inspire hope in people who are truly about to connect with the image. The image may remind them of an event or an idea that causes inspiration.

As stated above, the following is a selection of photographs I took on a trip to New York in 2006 that I feel have a similar impact to the works of Robert Adams. He was famous for photographing the American West, so here is my interpretation of the American East in the same context in which he used.

Hope for Success:

The first image is that of the famous Trump Tower in New York City. Donald Trump is known as one of America’s biggest success stories in the world of real estate and business. He has created a huge celebrity surrounding his personality and his story, he is now known globally.

This image inspires a hope for success because when it comes to the “American Dream”, nothing spells success greater then a skyscraper with your name across it in golden lettering. This image gives hope to New Yorkers because they can know that one of their own was able to reach such levels of success and is able to prove it with symbols such as this. Even those from outside of New York, even outside of America can understand this message clearly through this photograph.

Hope for Solidarity:

New York has been through some tough times throughout history, from the great depression to the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001. All of these situations have brought on a need for solidarity amongst New Yorkers, in order to stand together as one and create a band of brothers to feel secure.

The image of the New York Yankees baseball team walking out on the field together, surrounded by a packed stadium of devoted fans gives one the hope that this idea of solidarity, pride, and brotherhood still exists within New York City, even after all of the hardships the city has faced.

This photograph symbolizes that bond that everybody hopes to have and it can inspire to strive for that bond if it has not yet been reached.

Hope for Continued Growth

This is a photograph of the front of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. For those familiar with this building, it is also known as “St. John the Unfinished”. Since construction began in 1892, this Cathedral has never been completed, and though the construction hasn’t been finished, nor has it stopped. The building is constantly growing, being touched up, added on to, and fixed. Construction has never made a permanent halt.

For those familiar with this building, this image inspires the hope for continued growth. It inspires you to never give up and always strive for more.

The image below shows the continued construction on the building.

Hope for Survival

A very sad image indeed, this next photograph is one of “ground zero”, the location where the World Trade Centre buildings once stood, but were torn down by a horrible act of terrorism.

With the city under siege in such a horrible way, this landmark now gives those who had to experience this disastrous event a constant hope for survival. Nobody knows what will happen next, or when it will happen, so that hope to simply survive in one’s own land is ever present.

Hope to Rise Above

Though that hope for survival inspired by the previous photograph does exist, this photograph of Sean “P Diddy” Combs in a sky scraping billboard inspires the hope to rise above all fear, threats and hardship that have been, or may be brought on the City of New York.

This photograph is not one merely of a Sean John clothing advertisement, the image of a born and raised New Yorker rising above the city with his fist raised high in the air gives hope to those below it. It gives hope that will inspire them to live on and continue to rise above all adversity.

In Conclusion

Robert Adams was a great photographer and inspired a truly artistic style of photographer that left meaning up to the viewer. His works inspired hope in the hearts and minds of his audience, as do I hope that these photographs will have a similar impact on mine.

Thank you for reading.

References:

http://www.matthewmarks.com/artists/robert-adams/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_John_the_Divine,_New_York

*All photographs were taken by the author of this blog post and not taken from any outside sources.

Manipulation in Journalistic Photography (Assignment 1, Topic 3)

Journalistic photography is a very important tool used in telling a story that is meant to be a reflection of reality. They are meant to communicate a message that forms the entire feeling of the story. When photos used in journalism are manipulated to the extent where they completely alter the message, ethical issues can arise.
Journalists can use photo manipulation in various ways. Subtle alterations can be used to simply enhance the quality of the photograph, such as adjusting lighting and coloration, which typically does not change the overall message of the story. In other cases, journalists can manipulate their photos in order to propagandise them to sway the opinion of their readers in a particular direction.

Manipulation techniques have been used for decades in journalistic photography. Below is an example of how photo manipulation in journalism has been used to create propaganda.
The original photo is one that includes Joseph Stalin, Nikolai Yezhov, and Leon Trotsky. Stalin had Trotsky taken out of the photograph in the second image for propaganda purpose, negating any affiliation between the two. This completely changes the message of the image. After Yezhov was executed some years later, he was also edited out of this photograph, therefore implying that he did not exist in affiliation with Stalin.

The next image shows an original photo and the altered version of Jaques Steinberg, a New York Times reporter, who was accused by Fox News of writing attack stories about them. When they showed the image of Steinberg, it was digitally altered in order to make Mr. Steinberg look much uglier then how he actually appears. This is done to create
a message that this man is a hideous human being trying to cause damage to Fox News, and by making him look like more of an ogre it creates much more of an impact then his actual appearance would. This can be seen as a form of modern day propaganda used by journalists.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_manipulation
http://mediamatters.org/research/200807020002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHrd5q9Kcc

Press vs Art Photography

Press photographs and art photographs are both tools used by the photographer in a similar way, but are used with different intentions. Photographs on both sides of the spectrum are trying to evoke thoughts, emotions, and meanings from the viewer of the photograph.

In press photographs, the photographer is forcing a certain emotion or meaning to the viewer to create a form of bias that is almost subliminal. As stated in the article “Political Photography: The Illusionists” on The Independent newspaper website, “the camera never lies – or does it?” The article mainly speaks of direct photo manipulation, but manipulation does not only exist through the use of physical means. The context in which the photo is published can also manipulate the meaning of it. Seen below is a photo of what is commonly known as “Hitler’s Famous Jig” by Craig T. Norback, which was shown as a celebration dance Hitler was performing. In fact, this was just a single frame from a series of images of Hitler performing a salute in which he lifted his leg, not a dance. This completely changes the message of the image.
In the next photograph, a picture can be seen in Time Magazine of Kim Jong Il backed by the Korean military. Everybody in the picture is wearing a standard military green outfit, but Kim is wearing an all white suit, making him stand out significantly. This shows how press photography can be used as propaganda and in such a bias way without even the use of text. This image shows Kim Jong Il as a ruler surrounded by his followers. He stands an individual on top of a mountain of soldiers willing to do as he wishes. It gives an intimidating look in to the mysterious society that is North Korea.

Compared to these two press photographs that give a very definite, predetermined meaning, the following are artistic photographs that can be interpreted in different ways.

This photograph of hands holding a flower by Richard Seah can be interpreted with different meanings in mind. One may interpret the image as a depiction of life and death. One may take an image of beauty away from the image. Another person may find a meaning completely different from either of these.

This photo by Lars Raun is of a woman in winter clothing, standing alone in a foot print heavy, windy horizon. Some may decipher this as a representation of loneliness. Some may interpret it as sadness, depression, or even independence. The point is, as an artistic photograph, it is up to the viewer to interpret the photograph in whichever way their mind decides to.

Sources:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/political-photography-the-illusionists-782869.html

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1857430_1794847,00.html

http://www.unfreemedia.com/asia/2010/02/snapping-turtle-soup-for-dear-leaders-birthday.html

http://www.art-photograph-gallery.com/image-files/balihandbw.jpg

http://photo.net/photo-of-the-week-discussion-forum/00GLId

The Great Depression and the Migrant Mother

In the 1930's, America was under attack of the great depression. Millions lost their savings, along with their jobs. Many forced to migrate away from their homes and take up a more rural lifestyle. Below, discussed is a photography project by Dorothea Lange was created to document the situation of the Great Depression. Specifically discussed is the impact of one of the most famous photographs taken in American History, the "Migrant Mother" photograph.

Why did this project have a significant impact on society?
This collection is significant to society because it is able to document the Great Depression and is able to show the viewers what life was at the time of this Depression. These pictures were taken at such a personal and close up perspective that it really creates a feeling of despair to the viewers. It captures the lives of people when they were displaced from farms and were migrating west in search for work. There are over 160,000 images in this collection alone that dates back to WWII. It shows the adverse effects of the Great Depression and the increasing farm mechanization.

What was the role of the "Migrant Mother" photograph?
The role of the “Migrant Mother” picture at the time of The Great Depression was that of an icon and a source of hope for the people of America. It was used in the San Francisco News in hopes of raising funds for these farmers who were suffering from poverty. After the story was published, there were no reports of death by starvation. Therefore, Lange's story was considered to be a great success and since then this picture became a symbol of hope and ironically, suffering. This photograph has been used as a symbol for Lange's whole project because the editor states that the woman in the picture shows "all the suffering of mankind in her but all of the perseverance too. A restraint and a strange courage. You can see anything you want to in her. She is immortal." This picture has made a significant impact on the hearts of all proud Americans.

In the 1930s, this photograph acted as a symbolic representation of America's communal faith to overcome despair and devastation. It is a representation of America’s past pains and hardships. This photograph takes on a very institutional role.

In 1975, Florence Thompson, the woman identified as the one in the famous photograph, was sadly diagnosed with cancer.

In 1997 this picture continued in circulation because it was believed that this icon of poverty can be used to promote prosperity today. In January of 1997 this picture was once again used in an advertisement for the Arts and Entertainment Network show to promote a better life for the people of America. The image gives people the hope to persevere in their lives and acts as a constant reminder of where they came from.

In 2005, Wal-Mart was said to be an inspiration to the American economy and this picture was once again used to make a statement on behalf of democracy and the promise of social and economic justice in the United Sates.

Contributors:
T. Nguyen
S. Schwartz
M. Balasingham

Sources:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/316062.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Owens_Thompson