Fall 2013 History of Photography

Robert Whelan pointed out some interesting points about capa’s photograph being staged but still I believe this image is definitely not staged. This image seems real because the way he falls to the ground is similar to how someone would actually fall if that person were shot—shocked and imbalanced. There is a full strength from the bullet that would cause the person to fall forcefully. It looks dramatic and the victim is not holding the gun properly because he was caught off guard. It is almost impossible to pretend like the picture is being captured, that the photographer would capture such a pivotal moment. Then again the location of the picture does look like war, the background appears dark with smoke. Since wars usually occur is secluded areas, the scenery convinces that with the vast meadow. There is no blood around him and that is odd. This would conclude that the photographer took the picture at the exact moment he was shot, before he even started bleeding. He caught everything, the denial stage of his body from the undeniable horror and suffering.

We all want privacy in our lives and it is wrong to take pictures without getting permission from the person. It is creepy that someone is taking your picture without having your consent. Svenson’s photographs are absolutely violating his neighbor’s privacy. He has no right to take their pictures without having their permission. Maybe he does not have bad intentions when he took the pictures, maybe he is interested taking these pictures to see how people would react when people are not aware of anyone taking their pictures. I would feel the same way how the neighbors felt. I would definitely not like if someone capture my pictures without permission from me. I would sue the person just like the neighbors did. We have freedom of right, but that does not mean photographers could take pictures without having permission. These photographs are definitely invasion of privacy. These photographs would bring unwanted attention from the viewers of these pictures and the unknown models would feel infuriated. Imagine having a relative or stranger coming up to them and asking “I saw you in that photograph”. They most likely won’t want such publicity, especially from strangers. What they do in their daily life is their business and no one has the authority to invade that.

We all love to take food pictures. We go to different places and every time we try new food, we prefer to capture the moment so that we can see it later. Npr’s slide show makes you want to buy the product. It is more clear, pretty and organized. Npr’s slide show will attract everyone’s attraction because it is colorful, looks real and also interesting to stare at. On the other side, the Robert Mann Gallery’s pictures are mainly taken at home. Most of the pictures are black and white. Most of the images are in the process of cooking. “Food portraits” by Irving Penn’s food pictures are raw. Most of the pictures are not cooked, mostly raw which may not be that interesting as Npr’s slide show.  Most of the pictures are mainly ingredients of the food. “Food portraits” by Irving Penn pictures are mainly taken before cooking the food. Robert Mann Gallery’s pictures are mainly taken at home. We all enjoy taking the food pictures in a different way although it is the same topic.

I chose the picture in Bangladesh by Taslima Akhter. I am from Bangladesh so I felt an immediate connection and felt proud to see that Time Magazine has selected her photo as one of the top ten pictures from 2013. This picture shows the power of love and they literally want to be there for each no matter what. How they are willing to be with one another even when dying. Plenty of innocent poor labor workers died that day. This picture is too sentimental—infused with startling reality. She was stuck under the concrete and her love done could not protect her although he had tried his best to save her. If his power of love was not true he would probably walk away without saving her, but he had decided to stay with her even he could not save her. He decided to be with her in his last breath in his life. That is the beauty of documentary photography—it captures truth, as is, no matter how painful it is.

Documentary photography holds a vast amount of power. The power it holds is delegating, riveting and awakening. It has the power to dig into your soul based on what you are seeing. Out of TIME magazines top 10 photographs my favorite is the guy waving the Turkish flag collapsing from the tear gas. The power this image holds shows the pride in citizens. Even though there is tear gas and the guy is collapsing he is still holding his countries flag in his hand tall. The power documentary photography has allows you to feel what is occurring in the photograph. You can sort of feel the pain or heart that is in the photograph. Documentary photography makes you feel this way because it is real. There are vivid events.

Food photography is great! I personally love food so why wouldn’t I love to see pictures of food. I enjoyed the pictures of food but I think food photography is all about the artists “eye” and how they want to portray the food. For example, some photographs of food appear appetizing and makes you want to eat it. Whereas, there are some photographs of food that does not highlight or thrive on the food. This is seen in Irving Penn’s Food Portraits. In my opinion, the photographs of food do not look appetizing or pleasing to the eye; it looks raw.