Archive for category The Human Condition
Moises Saman: Lost Boys of Afghanistan
Posted by bruce in Children, Documentary Photography, Middle East, The Human Condition on August 31, 2009
Lost Boys of Afghanistan by Moises Saman
See this stirring slideshow by Moises Saman shot for The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/27/world/20090827AFGHANMINORS_index.html
Evgen Bavcar: The Blind Photographer
Posted by bruce in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Human Condition on August 18, 2009
Self portrait by Evegen Bavcar
Photography has always been thought about as “another,” way of seeing.
And it is.
But, usually, we think about that as a person looking through the camera, seeing what’s there, and, through the magic of the camera and the film -or digital- capture process, one sees the world in different way.
More advanced photographers and appreciators of photography then allow for the transformative recognition of the quality and angle of light, of the Decisive Moment, of the power of distance to subject or, even, luck or magic.
It is this latter idea that infuses the work of Evgen Bavcar ((“E-oo-gen Ba-oo-char”), the Slovenian photographer is completely blind, completely eccentric and his images are totally wonderful. Read the rest of this entry »
Dhiraj Singh: Video Biographer
Posted by admin in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Human Condition, social displacement on August 7, 2009
“My name is Dechen.”
Watch this touching video done by Dhiraj Singh.
He did an interesting thing: A Video Biograph.
In a way, all Visual Journalists who do stories on people, are doing “biography,” but with the addition of audio, where the subject can speak for themselves (edited, of course), where the image-maker can animate the images and drive the viewer’s emotions, the subject of the story becomes more “alive,” the depth is ratcheted up, and, potentially, the medium is beginning to resolve the age old struggle of photojournalism: Who’s viewpoint is this about? The subject’s or the photographer’s? Read the rest of this entry »
Dhiraj Singh: The (New) Eyes Of India
Posted by bruce in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, Sub Continent, The Human Condition, War, social displacement on August 6, 2009
From “Six Feet Under,” ©2009Dhiraj Singh
For more work by Dhiraj Singh, SEE: http://www.dhirajsingh.com/01.htm
Dhiraj Singh is a Photojournalist who lives in Mumbai, India. His work has been published in numerous international magazines and online journals, including Newsweek, Vanity Fair, msnbc.com, The Wall Street Journal, L’Expresso, and, many others. He has won numerous awards (see his “bio,” on his site, above) and participated in many exhibitions. His pictures of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 were part of the prestigious group exhibition titled, ‘Bearing Witness’ held in Mumbai in 2009.
Documentaryshooters is honored to have permission to publish Mr. Singh’s work. We feel he has the insights and skills to show India as it is, depicting its greatness and its struggles, its deep and ancient soul as well as its modern and energetic heart. He, as no other photographer has, since, the great Raghu Rai’s seminal work of the 1970’s, ’80’s and 90’s, not only shows India and the sub continent, he makes us feel it. Read the rest of this entry »
Vote
Posted by bruce in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Human Condition, social displacement on July 2, 2009
“Vote,” Selma Voting Rights March, 1965
©Bruce Davidson
Sometimes we forget that the “Big Work,” the work that one becomes known for making isn’t all there is.
Bruce Davidson went south, from Chicago, on instinct.
The world was shaking and he felt the vibe.
The time was now: Civil Rights.
Real change.
Without assignment or specific destination he “nailed it,” and was able to work on the edges of the news, tell the story from a personal and deeply intimate viewpoint.
This image, for me, is one his best. Beautiful composition. Beatiful moment. Beautiful storyline. Iconic and packed with all the elements that make it a novel unto itself, if this was the only photography that existed from the era it was shot in, it would, I think, be enough to tell the story of the struggle.
One word and one image: sometimes it’s enough: Vote.
For More on Bruce Davidson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Davidson_(photographer)
Interview With Jonathan Torgovnik
Posted by bruce in Africa, Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Human Condition on May 22, 2009
SEE: http://mediastorm.org/0024.htm
Here is a quintessential insight into the drive to do documentary photography, a chilling portrayal of the challenges of working within difficult environments and of turning horror into hope. Listen to Jonathan Torgovnik talk about rape, murder and redemption in Rawanda.
Sam Faulkner
Posted by bruce in Children, Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Americas, The Human Condition on May 22, 2009
Displacement In The “Heartland”
Posted by bruce in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Americas, The Human Condition on May 21, 2009
SEE: http://mediastorm.org/0023.htm
A documentary project on Displacement…in the “Heartland!
This photographer shows how “progress,” comes to everywhere and the displacement is not limited to indigenous people either. In the end it is the interests of Capital weighed against the interests of Labor that is the issue of land appropriation and displacement.
Let this documentary speak for itself.
Braziliano Documentary Photographer
Posted by bruce in Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Human Condition on May 20, 2009
Los Ninos de Las Calles/Mexico
Posted by bruce in Children, Documentary Photography, Photography That Matters, The Americas, The Human Condition on May 20, 2009
GO HERE: http://truthwithacamera.org/mexico_slideshow.mov
Editor’s Note: This is from Truth With A Camera, the incredible workshops supported by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). Never a better example of what Still Documentary Photography is and can do.
Jonathan Torgovnik, Rawanda, Documentary Photography
Posted by bruce in Africa, Children, Documentary Photography, The Human Condition on May 20, 2009
Avedon And The American West (Sort of…)
Posted by bruce in The Americas, The Human Condition on February 12, 2009
This is one way to approach Documentary. Severely remove all elements of the subject except the subject itself.
Notice that without a background the photographer absolutely controls the statement.










