Chapnick said, "great photographic essays do not need complex, bizarre, unusual subject matter. They need not be shot in exotic parts of the world. Almost every conceivable subject that deals with the human experience can serve as the basis for an essay." I think this is one major issue that we are dealing with in today's journalism. Easy access to photographic knowledge and gear, which leads to increasing number of image makers, we see even more examples of stories that were shot but not understood well or shot in different places for the sake of the location. Chapnick's approach here basically goes back to the idea of finding or rather actually being able to see the stories in our back yard. Personally, I definitelly went through this romantic view of photographic essays. As I grow up as a photographer, I am realizing more and more the importance of actually seeing/understanding a story or a subject and not be drawn to cool sounding/looking things.
That being said, Chapnick also mentioned that "Ferratois accepting and receptive rather than judgmental of the behavior of her subjects." This is also a very important point on the path that leads to well told photographic stories. I definitely think that being judgmental as a photographer and not being able to see what is in front of you have a strong relationship. A lot of us look out there for the stories because of our judgmental and despising attitude toward what is closer to us. Again, being able to overcome this specific kind of attitude is part of maturing process as a photographer and even in general as a human being.
Another good point made by Chapnick was about attention to details. He said, "the success of a photographic essay depends on attention to detail. The photographer should have a structure in mind, written or unwritten, as the essay unfolds. All along the way, the photographer should have a mental or written checklist against which the photographs are being made, so that when the work is finished there are no unfilled gaps in the story." This is something that we already have been talking about in our classes. During my shoot for the one-day story, I literally wrote down a shot list. It was the first time I did such a thing. Last semester, when I was doing the staff I always tried to pay attention to shooting almost every assignment like a picture story. But this time it was different. It was, I guess, a more structured approach, which helped mew fulfill almost all of my shot list. On the other hand, as I stated in my critique, because it was my first try, I feel like I missed the point making good, story telling images. Like everything else, it takes practice. I will just need to shoot more until it becomes a natural segment of my thinking when it comes to shooting.
Chapnick was a really good read. But I also greatly enjoyed the dialogue between Jay and Hurn. They also made some really good points. They say "photography is about communication." If we are not communicating anything with anyone, then what is the point? If we are not sharing any information with outside world, why do we bother to make images? And here, I am not talking about only documentary/photojournalistic images. Whether it is a, artistic photograph that was made by an artist for the purpose of saying something about oneself or reacting to a situation or it is a straight forward documentary image, we have to communicate. and we have to be clear about what we are saying through this visual device.
I really enjoyed reading this section as it made me see a different facade of image making process, which also relates to the fact that photojournalism must be about communicating what is there, what we witness. It shouldn't communicate what we think the reality should be. We shouldn't put our preconceptions between our lens and what is in front of the camera. Camera should be able to witness life as it is. And we should be able to somehow assist it recording moments from what is seen. I think it would be a great practice to play the memory game when we are about start a shoot. Taking a short moment, observing and asking ourselves "what I would remember from this place?" rather than what I wish it to be.
Later on they refer to photographer's memory vs. what is captured issue one more time as they stated above.
For a long time this was the story of my life. It was a terrible strategy to have as a photographer. Since last semester I have been trying to change this situation. I have been trying to determine what I am after before I start shooting. This has been leading me ask a lot more questions about what I shoot. And I think it's been a great help for me to edit other photographers' work as I have a lot of responsibility toward fellow photographers this semester at the Missourian.
That being said, Chapnick also mentioned that "Ferratois accepting and receptive rather than judgmental of the behavior of her subjects." This is also a very important point on the path that leads to well told photographic stories. I definitely think that being judgmental as a photographer and not being able to see what is in front of you have a strong relationship. A lot of us look out there for the stories because of our judgmental and despising attitude toward what is closer to us. Again, being able to overcome this specific kind of attitude is part of maturing process as a photographer and even in general as a human being.
Another good point made by Chapnick was about attention to details. He said, "the success of a photographic essay depends on attention to detail. The photographer should have a structure in mind, written or unwritten, as the essay unfolds. All along the way, the photographer should have a mental or written checklist against which the photographs are being made, so that when the work is finished there are no unfilled gaps in the story." This is something that we already have been talking about in our classes. During my shoot for the one-day story, I literally wrote down a shot list. It was the first time I did such a thing. Last semester, when I was doing the staff I always tried to pay attention to shooting almost every assignment like a picture story. But this time it was different. It was, I guess, a more structured approach, which helped mew fulfill almost all of my shot list. On the other hand, as I stated in my critique, because it was my first try, I feel like I missed the point making good, story telling images. Like everything else, it takes practice. I will just need to shoot more until it becomes a natural segment of my thinking when it comes to shooting.
Chapnick was a really good read. But I also greatly enjoyed the dialogue between Jay and Hurn. They also made some really good points. They say "photography is about communication." If we are not communicating anything with anyone, then what is the point? If we are not sharing any information with outside world, why do we bother to make images? And here, I am not talking about only documentary/photojournalistic images. Whether it is a, artistic photograph that was made by an artist for the purpose of saying something about oneself or reacting to a situation or it is a straight forward documentary image, we have to communicate. and we have to be clear about what we are saying through this visual device.
I really enjoyed reading this section as it made me see a different facade of image making process, which also relates to the fact that photojournalism must be about communicating what is there, what we witness. It shouldn't communicate what we think the reality should be. We shouldn't put our preconceptions between our lens and what is in front of the camera. Camera should be able to witness life as it is. And we should be able to somehow assist it recording moments from what is seen. I think it would be a great practice to play the memory game when we are about start a shoot. Taking a short moment, observing and asking ourselves "what I would remember from this place?" rather than what I wish it to be.
Later on they refer to photographer's memory vs. what is captured issue one more time as they stated above.
For a long time this was the story of my life. It was a terrible strategy to have as a photographer. Since last semester I have been trying to change this situation. I have been trying to determine what I am after before I start shooting. This has been leading me ask a lot more questions about what I shoot. And I think it's been a great help for me to edit other photographers' work as I have a lot of responsibility toward fellow photographers this semester at the Missourian.
