Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Right on, Tina... This whole discussion has been quite odd. Directing subjects bears no relation to what has always been thought of documentary work, or photo journalism - at least not in the past 30 years or so. Directing subjects has its place - in art photography, portraiture, etc. But doing documentary work - if it is not documentary portraiture - involves, as Tina says, not being there, in the sense of blending into the background so that you can capture the lives of your subjects as they would live them were you not present. Of course doing this perfectly is often - but not always - impossible, but you can come pretty close to it. Further, this whole decisive moment thing makes little sense. Go look at HCB's contact sheets. This was a guy really working scenes - shooting and shooting and shooting, and out of those dozens and dozens of shots came the one shot that captured the "decisive moment -" to the point that I would argue that the decisive moment is that instant when the light bulb goes on and you realize that the scene that lays before you contains the possibility of an important/worthwhile image. B. D. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Tina Manley Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 9:09 AM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Re: [Leica] re: The Decisive Moment is gone At 07:17 AM 11/4/2003 +0100, Rob wrote: >Well, some people are better at directing than others. And also, >direction need not mean _overspecifying_ - but it could mean saying, >why don't you all go over and sit in that doorway and play with the >baby for a bit while I take some pictures. Then I would not be documenting their lives. I would be documenting my idea of what their lives should be. >The fact is we are all actors all the time, and a good photographer >knows how to leverage that to get what he wants. If this discussion were taking place over on the NPPA list, photojournalists would be horrified at the suggestion that they direct people in the photos. Good photojournalists and documentary photographers do not interfere in any way with what they are photographing. I know my very presence altars the situation. That's why I try not to bring attention to myself. Eventually, they do go on with their lives as if I were not there. The families that I photograph are too busy trying to make a living and care for their children to stop and act for a photographer. Spontaneous moments like the father touching the baby's hand are exactly that - spontaneous. I don't believe that any photograph that has been directed should be called a documentary photograph or photojournalism. Tina Tina Manley, ASMP www.tinamanley.com http://www.pdiphotos.com http://www.workbookstock.com http://www.newscom.com http://www.americanphotojournalist.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html