Hist of Photo Final Exam

Is there a difference in the use of ethical codes in Art Photography and Photojournalism? Explain.

Use your brain for this one *shrug*

Photojournalism is a combination of two mediums. Name the two mediums. What were the reasons for the birth of photojournalism? (especially in the USA in the 30's)

photo-journalism is a combination of two mediums, words and pictures, Immigrant photographers and picture editors, mostly from Germany, coming to America helped to shape the magazines Life and Look. The conflicts to WWII Combination of: Anti-War movement and spontaneous photography

Describe the different approaches in Street Photography in these two images. These different approaches lead to a complete different outcome.

photos provided

What questions should the viewer ask when looking at a documentary photograph? Are these things different from what should be considered when looking at other types of photographs? If so, how?

Consider looking at Art Photography vs Documentary. Ethics, reality, truth

The photographers organized themselves during and just after the Second World War. Why did this happen and name some of agencies that came out of this?

They wanted to get the rights on their photos. Copyright. So they could sell their work to more than one magazine (like Life where at the same time loose their photos and rights). Black Star in the US and Magnum in France are examples of these agencies.

What is the problem when using amateur photography in news websites or in newspapers?

Think about: fake versus real. Objectivity vs. subjectivity

What was the Photo Secession seceding from?

They seceded from photography as it was practiced at that time. Portrait in a studio and landscape photography for postcards etc. Short, assignment photography.

Cartier-Bresson was much about the exact moment in photography, he came up with a specific term. Which one?

"The decisive moment" was a term trademarked by Cartier Bresson to refer to an exact, key moment in photography. He wanted to capture a specific, perfect moment, at the perfect angle/place. The moment that form and action fall perfectly together.

Why was it important to achieve recognition for photography as an art?

A way out for photographers of working on assignment. To sell their own work to galleries and museums.

Why were the camera-less images so important in this time period? And why camera-less?

Cameraless images were important because the artists were trying to get away from conventional methods of photography to fall in line with the new wave of Dada and Surrealism. Emerson got away from the work of the 19th century by getting out of the studio and taking photos of the natural world, this movement was a more extreme extension of this. Now that photography was respected as a 'normal' art, artists went to great lengths to be diferent. and people are starting to grapple with new ways of doing things. Dadaists urged that the already dying art of the past be abolished; that new themes and new forms be found to express the irrational nature of society. New visual experiments arranged random, found objects and waste materials

Name two factors for the breakdown of artistic expression in Europe between 1918 and 1945? Why is this such an important time?

Dada and surrealism were two artistic styles that emerged in Europe between 1920 and 1945.' Several factors contributed to this change. One element was the mass destruction during the World Wars, people began to wonder about the future and asked if the world could live on after this tragic period. The economy collapsed in Europe, thousands of men were killed during WWI. Yet new industries and governments were arising. Also major was the influence of scientists like Freud, Einstein and Heisenberg. Dreamworld, relativity and uncertainty

Edward Weston's close up images of shells and vegetables are very intriguing. Can you explain this by naming different aspects of these photographs.

Describe the images! Talk about showing details not to be seen with the naked eye.

Dianne Arbus roamed the streets of New York amongst other photographic themes. Can you tell what her style was? She choose her subjects very well. What kind of people was she attracted to?

Dianne Arbus made mostly pictures of 'strange' people. Often those who lived on the edges of society, the mentally ill, transgender people, circus performers. Freaks, or by the general public perceived as abnormal. She was drawn to them and they to her. She photographed out of her needs. Nothing to do with the elegant pictures from Cartier-Bresson.

Philip Blenkinsop made a documentary report on the Hmong rebels of Laos in 2003. He brought this case to the United Nation Committee. Can you explain what different approach photographers documenting war have now opposed to for example a photographer working during the Vietnam war?

During the Vietnam War photographers were sent out by newspaper, photo agencies. Nowadays only a few still work for these organizations. More and more photographers are working for Non Governmental Humanitarian Agencies like ICRC, IRC, Doctors without Borders. Nowadays photographers also intervene more in the sense of showcasing their work in more and different places, like social media but also in political places

Name at least two types of photographs and show examples of photographs. Different from those mentioned in the book.

Explanatory Interpretive Ethically Evaluative Aesthetically Evaluative Theoretical

What were the various processes used by pictorialist photographers? What effects did these processes accomplish?

Gum bichromate, photo gravure, carbon print, bromoil ... They try through diferent processes to emulate paintings and drawing styles.

Why did Riis go around with a slide show to show his images?

He had no way of showing his detailed images in the newspapers. It was nearly impossible to print photos in a newspaper. Instead they used woodcuts made after a photo for printing

Robert DeMachy was one of the Photo Secessionists from Stieglitz's group. There are at least two reasons he doesn't belong to the American Photo Secession group.

He is a Frenchman in an American club. And he uses a process Gum bichromate to mimic art. While the Photo Secessionists wanted to get away from these practices.

Describe how Szarkowski (first curator on photography in MOMA) divides photographs in categories.

He places photos in two groups Mirrors and Windows. The Romantic tradition vs. Realist tradition (from art and literature)

Robert Frank came to the US and photographed America in the fifties. His photographs were not only astonishing to the Americans, but changed the way future photographers would look at there own images. What did he change in photography? He rebelled against one photographer in particular. Which one?

He rebelled against Cartier Bresson. Robert Frank saw the world as more chaotic, his photographs were more real, open-ended, unbalanced, that needed to go together in a series to manifest a message. He called Bresson's photographs mannerism, excessive or self-conscious use of a distinctive style in art, over the top portrayal of classical beauty. He didn't care about exact form, time, or moments. He was all about the emotion of an untampered scene. "With the push of a button the American dream was shattered and a realism ensued"

What is it that Friedlander is researching in his photography?

He shows how the camera sees the world. Everything in a photograph is of equal importance. The camera doesn't discriminate.

Ansel Adams work was suddenly sold at very high prices. What was the reason behind this?

He stopped printing his work. So his photos were only available in small editions. Demand was high so prices were going up.

What are the reasons photographers are using large format cameras?

Large format Cameras are highly detailed. Detail, Clarity, perspective control, detailed focus control. They can tilt shift and you can place everything in focus. F64 group wanted everything in focus.

What started street photography? Why did it became so immensely popular?

Lartigue and Stieglitz were two of the frontrunners of street photography after the invention of the hand held camera. Faster films and smaller cameras made this style possible. Cameras were inexpensive, meaning relatively anyone could participate. No need to search for a subject!

Name the photographer who showed him the kind of photography he, Stieglitz, had been practicing all his life.

Paul Strand, Straight direct photography. Realism, sharply focused! Everything should be seen in the picture.

Is there something that photography can add to our understanding of people and their lives?

Perhaps through showing real images of war, the atrocities from warfare, people might get a better idea of a war. And by this might change their policies and think before starting one. "I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated." -James Nachtwey-

What is the name of the camera-less images of Man Ray?

Rayograph (Shadowgraph, photogram) was the name of the cameraless images of Man Ray.

Who was the first officially sent out war-photographer?

Roger Fenton

Kértèsz is using a small camera. What were the ideas of the established photographers on the use of such a camera?

Small cameras were found useless. Too small negatives, little detail. A real photographer would not touch such a camera. These cameras looked in their eyes like toys everyone could handle.

Stieglitz was doing one kind of photography all the way. How can you describe his photography?

Stieglitz was capturing reality. Straight photography. He used photographers who were using processes that emulated art to get photography recognized as art. He was doing one thing and telling something else!

At the same time Riis and Hine portrayed the social scene of the working class what other important figure was there in America propagating photography? Describe the different approaches.

Stieglitz, promoting photography as art Riis and Hine using photography in a documentary way

What subjects did documentary photographers consider to be documented? Did their interests change over time? If so, how and why? See sub titles on the different slides.

The first documentary photography was exclusively for social reform purposes. People took photographs to expose the lives of people struggling or facing injustice all over the world. However, as documentary photography emerged into photojournalism and magazines and newspapers began to embrace the medium, its purposes expanded. Photographers still captured social issues but they also captured people's everyday live. ......

Who documented the civil war? What ideas did he have on documenting this war? Did he work alone?

The name of the photographer is Mathew Brady. His idea was to photograph the war from both sides and at the end sell the photos to whoever won the war. So he closed all of his famous studios. He sent out his studio photographers to document the war under his name. Just over the last decades we have found through study the names of the real photographers. This photograph is made by Alexander Gardner

What was the goal of the FSA? Did photographers have a place here?

The program was an efort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty. The role of photographers was to show the stories of farmers, many of which were fabricated to look better than they were, to give hope. Photographers also set out to show the poverty in the area to get funding on the West coast for the program. Essentially, photographs were used for propaganda, so their purpose was to draw attention to the Federal Resettlement Administration.

Name a few important annual press photography contests that over the years more and more evolved into organizations guiding visual journalists, storytellers and also audiences through education, exhibitions and books.

World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International Contests organised by Sony, National Geographic

What is the difference between these 2 images and what is the name of these two methods?

dada and surrealism