For this assignment we were required to work in groups to give a formal presentation on early documentary. Specifically the biography and works of the following three 19th century photographers; Francis Frith, Rodger Fenton and Mathew Brady discussing three images of each photographer. These photographers were a few of the first to record history in the making. To explore and share the places captured and the people living there. This new form of communication played a vital role in the way society viewed painting and drawing. Not only as a means of conveying information but also as a medium of visual or artistic expression.
In the broadest sense, all photography not intended purely as a means of artistic expression might be considered ‘documentary’, the photograph, a visual document, of an event, place, object, or person, providing evidence of a moment in time. Yet the term ‘documentary photography’ has a more specific meaning. The Life Library's Documentary Photography (1972) defined it as ‘a depiction of the real world by a photographer whose intent is to communicate something of importance—to make a comment—that will be understood by the viewer’.
Francis Frith, an English photographer, was born in 1822. He becoming a founding member of the Liverpool Photographic Society in 1853. Frith sold his companies in 1855 in order to dedicate himself entirely to photography. He journeyed to the Middle East on three occasions, the first of which was a trip to Egypt in 1856 with very large cameras (16" x 20"). By the time Frith returned to England, he was somewhat of a celebrity.
In 1860 Frith embarked on a monumental mission. He wanted to document every city, town and village in Britain. His intention was to portray a 3D scene onto a ...
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Metmuseum.org, (2014). Roger Fenton (1819–1869) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [online] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rfen/hd_rfen.htm [Accessed 3 May 2014].
MoMA.org, (2014). MoMA | The Collection | Francis Frith (British, 1822–1898). [online] Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=2015 [Accessed 3 May 2014].
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Smarthistory.khanacademy.org, (2014). Early Photography - Smarthistory. [online] Available at: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/early-photography.html [Accessed 3 May 2014].
Users.dickinson.edu, (2014). Matthew Brady. [online] Available at: http://users.dickinson.edu/~osborne/404_98/whitep.htm [Accessed 3 May 2014].
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“The documentary tradition as a continually developing “record” that is made in so many ways, with different voices and vision, intents and concerns, and with each contributor, finally, needing to meet a personal text” (Coles 218). Coles writes “The Tradition: Fact and Fiction” and describes the process of documenting, and what it is to be a documentarian. He clearly explains through many examples and across disciplines that there is no “fact or fiction” but it is intertwined, all in the eye of the maker. The documentarian shows human actuality; they each design their own work to their own standards based on personal opinion, values, interest and whom they want the art to appeal to. Coles uses famous, well-known photographers such as Dorthea Lange and Walker Evans, who show the political angle in their documentations and the method of cropping in the process of making the photo capture exactly what the photographer wants the audience to view. In this paper I will use outside sources that support and expand on Coles ideas with focus on human actuality, the interiority of a photograph, and the emotional impact of cropping.
Tolmachev, I. (2010, March 15). A history of Photography Part 1: The Beginning. Retrieved Febraury 2014, from tuts+ Photography: http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
5 Light, Ken. Tremain, Kerry. Witness in our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall Inc. and Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1995.
The camera is simply a portable extension of our eyes that captures images we may otherwise never see, and freezes them into eternity for our scrutiny. If photographs provide any true knowledge, it is that of a visual stimulus, a superficial comprehension that barely scratches the surfaces. What would photographs be without captions? Merely anonymous pictures of anonymous things, anonymous places, and anonymous people. Photography all...
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
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Schwartz, Donna. “Objective Representation: Photographs as Facts.” Picturing the Past: Media History & Photography. Ed. Bonnie Brennen, Hanno Hardt. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999. 158-181.
Janson, Harry W. History of Art. 5th Ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995. Print.
“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” (Nachtwey). Photojournalism is the art or practice of communicating news by photographs, especially in magazines. Photojournalism has evolved immensely from the beginning to the present. Photojournalism developed during the Crimean War, submitted to its evolution throughout the course of the Golden Age, and eventually settled on its present-day existence today.
2. Nichols, Bill. ‘Documentary Modes of Representation (The Observational Mode).’ Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary. Bloomington & Indianapolis; Indiana University Press. 1991. 38-44
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.