What is documentary photography?
"Documentary photography is a style of photography that provides a straightforward and accurate representation of people, places, objects and events, and is often used in reportage." Tate Modern Art-Terms. It can document someones life, many peoples life's or an entire community. All it has to do is express or tell a story, if it doesn't, it is classed as either a portrait or a landscape photograph.
To show document their lives in still photographs and to express what they go through, through what they are doing and their facial expressions. They are all looking at the camera and not doing their own things. That the people in the photos look like they don't know the photographer well. It looked like a neutral relationship. Because of their sullen faces and non expressional. they don't look comfortable but they don't look on edge or at ease either. They look maybe slightly nervous. Yes, because it can explain with no description that they all have different / same lives to every other skin colour on the planet. Just because they are black doesn't mean they are any different to being white. To photograph the black community and document their lives in photos. How they live and how they play out their lives compared to other communities? He probably told them to "stand here" and "stand there" or "look like this". So he may have ordered them around a little for the photos because they don’t look natural. They probably talked to each other to communicate on how they wanted the picture to turn out. Like how they looked and how they look like they feel in the photo. Like how they want to represent the black community.
Dawoud Bey
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Dawoud Bey (the photographer) thinks that the black community needs more attention. Some of the photos are of the subject doing their own stuff and some of them are looking at the camera depending on where and how he took the shot. The relationship between the photographer (Dawoud Bey) and the subject is neutral. The photographer liked taking the photos but I don't feel like the subject minded because the people in the photo don't look angry nor happy about the photo. I think he took photos of that specific community to bring light onto it or maybe some attention to it. Sometimes BLM, the Black Community being miss-treated can enlighten his photos to show that the black community is shone upon. BLM being a very popular black movement, black people are being recognised as a social powerhouse. Most of the subjects are looking at the camera or the photographer. Only a few have the person having their photo taken in a "natural" way.
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Evaluating 'Documenting Communities' Videos
This section of the page is about evaluating 4 different 'Documenting Communities' videos. This is a short introduction due to it being not evaluating pictures or writing summaries.
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Adama Jalloh takes the photo's with the consent of the person having their photo being taken. I personally think they have been taking photos for a while and really enjoying it. It looks very bland and dead sometimes, like nothing is going on and I don't like how she has no variety in the photos, they are all mostly black and white and they all of them the person having their photo taken is staring at the camera. The clothes of the person, their skin colour, their clothes and how their posture / pose is for the picture and where they are (town centre, hallway, alleyway, a room etc.), are all very fluent and have much variety in.
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Niall McDiarmid takes the photo by moving the person so they are looking at the camera. It doesn't look to have a variety in his photos with how thy stand or look at the camera. They look for vibrant colours and people who look alive in their eyes and not dark and dank. I think that their personal experience with photography is that they have been experienced with it since they had finished their GCSEs. It looks alive and most of them aren't black and white so he has some variety in some of Niall's photos.
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I find that Liz documents a lot of the black community especially the black women and the black LGBTQ+ community. She makes sure that the subject is the centre of attention. Liz probably looks for someone who is part of the black African community especially the women and LGBTQ+. I feel like they have had experiences of homophobia and racism in their past so they want to show off their community to knock some sense into modern society. Liz Johnson's photography really catches the eye and can sometimes make you look twice.
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SIÂN photographs like she is completely invisible and she also photo's here own children, friends and loved ones. Sometimes she just takes the picture but also sometimes she makes them go in a certain way. The photographer looks to document their personal friends and family. I think she does this so she doesn't have a panic attack about having a child with down syndrome. I think her photography really brings out the creativity that is in her mind and that spark she gets when photographing Alice or Martha.
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Own photo's (5)
Tyler Mitchell
In this photograph taken by Tyler Mitchell, I can see 5 people standing shirtless looking down. The words to describe this photograph could possibly be; shy, downed, thoughtful, clueless, calm and collected. The photo is possibly a naturalistic photo as it is taken outside and nothing has been taken out or put in in the photo. This photograph reminds me of the tranquility of life when you're still young and trying to successfully get a job / workplace set up. I think that Tyler has not changed the light in this photo, only used the light to his advantage by moving the guys so the light hits them at a certain angle. Usually, you wouldn't see 5 guys standing there looking down all confused, you would see them doing something or talking. I think the way they are portrayed as trying to look natural interests me. There is quite a lot of space especially because they are outside and have a lot of space to move around. I feel like that the guy that is turned around and looking at his wrist seems the most interesting due to the fact he is the only one that is different compared to the rest of them. The question I would ask Tyler Mitchell, "What is the backstory behind this photo and if you were to retake it, what would you change?". The title I would give this photo would be "5 guys vs nature". I made the title that because there are 5 guys and nature. I cannot think of many titles, i'm not a title kind of guy. I think the five people are talking maybe. I arrived on that idea due to the fact they look like they know each other. I also think that the photograph is about how even in a different community (the black community), there are still differences in them. If I were inside of this photo, I would feel maybe a bit cold because they are outside. I think that Tyler Mitchell created this photograph to show the differences of people and personalities inside of the black community. I think that he took this photo because he feels like they are represented badly and looked down upon mostly by the white communities. I don't think it would be very healthy to per-say "live in the photo" but I wouldn't mind a bit of fresh air once in a while. In this photo, I think that the guy that is turned facing to the camera is the most effective due to him looking down at an invisible watch maybe being portrayed as impatient and maybe being uncomfortable of being outside that long. I think that not all the ethnic communities are exactly the same and everyone has different preferences and personalities is the thing to remember. I have learned that even the black community have people with many different preferences or ways of expressing themselves.
Own Photo's (5)
The task of taking these photos were to be based off of Tyler Mitchells way of photographing. The things I needed to focus on were that the subject needed to not be looking directly at the camera but also be aware of it being there. My influences from Tyler Mitchell were that the subject (or Jimmy here) is always not doing the stuff that he is usually doing in the photo. I wouldn't really expect Jimmy to be on the bottom floor staring at a skylight for no reason.
This photograph taken by me and is an abstract image using the time of day (using the sun behind the tree) and using Jimmy as the subject of the picture. I recognise the two buildings in the background and Jimmy in this photo but the tree seems to be a fairly new addition to the school as it was no there before the summer holidays. I think this photograph reminds me of that if you get the right timing and the right angle of the photo, your photo will come out quite nice like mine. I think I captured the play of light in this photo quite well as it highlights the subject by making the outlines of Jimmy quite defined.
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Short notes about a picture
- Bright vibrant colour's
- Engaging in activity's
- Interesting
- Fashion
- Black people
- Props
- Greenery or plain background
- Non-stereotypical black representation.
These are 12 photos that I have handpicked for a composition in class. The photo I like the most would be the 10th one because the field and the meadow look calm and consulting like it could be a calm sunrise in the distance with the smell of flowers and shrubbery in the air.
Homework (Un-edited)(12)
I love the way the photos look deprived of life and I like the way the photo's or of places where there could be people, but there aren't which represents my community because of Covid-19 and Omicron so no one will be out at public places more often. My favourite one would probably be the one that is focused on the blue bars and looking through them you see and empty slide and play area where there could have been kids there 2 years ago. It has a feeling of being uncanny and unused as though everyone has forgotten that it has existed.
Compositions (4 Original)(4 B&W)
These are 4 compositions (both in colour and black and white) of 12 photos for a project in class. I like the middle right one the most because it looks the most organised and neat because the A4 photos are on the left separated from the smaller A5 photos on the right.
Personal Evaluation (WWW & EBI): I replaced some of my images with some images from Pinterest that took my eye because the images I had chosen before, I did not like too much. I experimented with 7 different compositions and I chose 4 of them to put on the website because they looked more sophisticated than the other ones. The larger photos are A4 and the smaller ones were A5. I really like the way that I put some of the photos on top of one another to create depth in these 4 photos. The last on on the far right is the one I like seconds best because the 9 photos surrounding the 3 bigger ones makes it look like the larger A4 pictures assert their dominance as better pictures than the smaller and newer additions to the compositions. The one far left is my least liked but it was slightly better than the other 3 compositions not shown here but, the randomness and chaos in that far left one is something I think does not compare very well the the other 3. The one middle right is quite good as well because I like that the 3 larger images are above the 9 smaller pictures like that they are the better older photos. Probably my favourite photos here would be the 2 lights in the complete darkness that surround them. They look like 2 lone stars trying to conjoin with each other but they are in two completely different photos and can never merge with one another. Always just out of reach. I then used an application on my computer called Adobe Photoshop (It's very good at editing photos, changing the subject of the photo and much more), and I changed the 4 compositions into a Black and White version of itself to give some diversity in the photos.
Final Evaluation
I have effectively developed and explored ideas as shown above with multiple compositions, changing photos and rotating / changing the perspective. I have analysed and evaluated the images and have found ones that don't fit well with the way I have set my composition. The products used in the composition would be that the three photos that are not touching any other photos will be raised with cardboard to give depth to the composition. I have demonstrated a broad understanding of context and culture by showing photos that are "desolate" that used to be vibrant in my community with people being there nearly every day. I have refined my ideas quite a bit and I have selected a range of resources by using a different type of background for the composition (instead of using a full black background, I used a white one instead to enhance the photos). My process was to use a range of images varying from 10 to 15 photos and choosing 9 of them for the project. I have combined my my knowledge, my skills and my understanding to accomplish this final composition to be either refined again if I feel like it needs to or mounted. I have understood the relationship between process and product and have demonstrated an ability to review and refine through my many compositions, photos and perspectives leading to the final product. I have demonstrated my necessary skills to effectively record and response to my friends and teachers observations by changing some of my photos to similar ones, just taken by myself instead. I presented my ideas of research by going to my local park and taking photos of the abandoned benches and seating areas. My intentions were quite sporadic at first with multiple photos / compositions being scrapped, photos being moved around often and perspectives of depth being changed a lot. I have connected my work with others by getting inspiration from one of my friends with the depth style of raising some photos and having large / small photos. I haven't had any responses from anyone yet so I am still waiting for that.
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Nick Meyer 'The Local'
Nick Meyer grew up in a small town in Western Massachusetts, with houses and shops continuously destroyed, and rebuilt in the spaces left by no longer used industries. "The Local" documents a town caught between ascendance and decline, an account which reveals the struggles and everyday life that occur in a place which, from the outside, appears caught within time. The experience shown here is of strangeness and liminality: the rhythm of change might be recognisable but the excluded edges have shifted, with visible residential and economic crises joining the steady hum of deindustrialisation in defining the deep-seated volatility.
Reviewing the 6 images shown above:
These images shown above could reflect the area as the neglectance of the community towards the town and themselves. It could also reflect that if you do not pay enough attention towards your own town, then it becomes a problem that nature will start to take back its land. These images fall together within a sequence of the town slowly falling apart and re-taken. These images represent that the town, even though lots of shops, museums, and buildings have been built, but through non attendance nature just eventually takes it back. I think they 'say' as a community that they used to live quite nice lifestyles but now, all of it went downhill after they had deindustrialised the town.
Reviewing the 6 images shown above:
These images shown above could reflect the area as the neglectance of the community towards the town and themselves. It could also reflect that if you do not pay enough attention towards your own town, then it becomes a problem that nature will start to take back its land. These images fall together within a sequence of the town slowly falling apart and re-taken. These images represent that the town, even though lots of shops, museums, and buildings have been built, but through non attendance nature just eventually takes it back. I think they 'say' as a community that they used to live quite nice lifestyles but now, all of it went downhill after they had deindustrialised the town.
Zoe Leonard
Zoe Leonard's colour photographs of shopfronts, painted shop signs, rows of clothes and shoes seem anarchic and old-fashioned. They are, but deliberately so. Leonard uses it in a subtle, disorienting way: her photographs are contemporary but look like they come from another time. Her subject is the overlooked and discarded – overcrowded turf in contemporary photography – but she brings a keen eye to bear. There is a sense in her pictures of shopfronts, many of which were taken on New York's Lower East Side, of a whole way of life that survived unchanged for decades only to suddenly, in a period of accelerated development, look archaic – and doomed. Originally conceived as a chronicle of the rapidly changing Lower East Side, where Leonard once had her studio, ‘Analogue’ (The name of Zoe Leonard's book to which these photos originated from) evolved into a parable of cultural production, touching on issues of gentrification and the exchange of commodities as an extension of colonialism. The images in this installation depict an expanding global economy and rapid technological advancements, through store fronts, emerging at the turn of the millennium.
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Documenting Places (12)
Peter Mitchell
Peter Mitchell takes most of his photography in urban cityscapes and mostly in streets and outside shops and store / business fronts. Peter mostly depicts desolate places devoid of human life with his photographs. There seems to be little to no people when he takes his images. The mood / vibe Peter portrays in his photographs could possibly be a silent and drowsy type of mood due to the devoidness because of the lack of life and no variety of colours (almost grey). The depictions of city shops and businesses are lonely and sullen. I think this because the pictures look really disassociating. First of all, lack of human life the nature looks like its dying, second of all, some of the shops and businesses look shut or out of business (links to neglected and unmaintained later in this section) and graffiti is present on the surrounding walls or directly on the shop showing the desolation and deprivation of the area that the picture is taken in and how dark it looks. Personally, I feel like he uses a digital camera (or multiple) as the resolution changes quite a lot throughout the photos and the graininess seems to dissipate as the pictures get newer so that could suggest he switched from film towards digital. The colours in the photo can really show the unlawfulness and dryness of the photos as it is always mostly cracked and old throughout the series images. This could also show that not all cities are fun, happy and colourful, sometimes it can be unpassionate, displeasing and moody. His photos are drastically different compared to other photographers we have viewed as his photos are directly straightforward and not abstract like most other photographers. Most photographers mostly always have a person or a recognisable object or place, but, Peter Mitchell's do not. This shows he wants us to view photography in a way where we don't see everything as instantly identifiable but seemingly familiar. Almost Liminal but not quite as the place in the photo exists somewhere in the world.