photographers: observer or active participant?

Are photographers observant witnesses, or do they play an active role in the situation they're recording?

This New York Times article on the role of photographers during last month's Mumbai train station attacks stopped in me in my tracks for several reasons.

The first, because of personal curiosity, a particular photographer "...invoked the name of Ganesh, a Hindu deity, for protection when he had to use a flash." Ganesh is revered as god of the arts - at least he is in Thailand - it's interesting to note that this photographer appealed for protection from this god of all the other possible Hindu gods. I would like to have read more information about this particular choice; if it was because of Ganesh's direct connection to the arts (photography) or if there was another reason for it. If he needed protection, is he an observer or participant?

Another section that jumps out is the one beginning "Surprising in an era of camera phones and point-and-shoot pocket-size cameras, there are very few images from the attacks aside from those taken by Mr. D’souza and Mr. Prabhu."

This seems a tad 'western mindset' to me. What the writer is describing is "citizen journalism," something that has emerged over the past few years because easy access to digital recording devices, whether it be a cellphone with photo and video capability, or a Canon 5D. These things are easy to buy now - and cheaply (relatively) in America. However, it's not so much the issue of having these devices ready at hand but in my opinion the issue of, were people in Mumbai felt compelled to record such a tragic event as it was happening? When it comes down to it, is it a question of getting the shot, or of survival? It brings back the image of the Japanese photographer, lying in the streets of Burma, getting shot by police as he, ironically, got his shot of the massacre.

But really, it comes down to this - are photographers observant witnesses, or do they play an active role? I'd like to think that the last part is the truth, but the article quotes "Both photographers were tormented by the passivity of their jobs — recording the bloodshed without any power to stop it." This troubles me, since I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in their situation, to be witness to the deaths of 163 people without being able to stop any of it.

I've often struggled with the role of the photograph - it captures a moment, but does it compel any action? I don't know the answer, but this line helps me to think that there is importance to photography, "...millions of pixels of evidence that will remain part of the indelible record... Their photos, some of them unpublished, provide detail and precision that is lacking from other witness accounts. "

You can view some of Sebastian D'Souza's images from this terrible tragedy, along with other photographers accounts, here.

Terri Fullerton - Bird

This image in Terri Fullerton's Kingdoms in Your Chest project is absolutely macabre but is beautifully composed and shot. I like how the camera is focused on the texture of the bark juxtaposed with the way the burning/vignetting on the top corners make you hone in on the bird. This is very nicely done.

I found her work in the Hey, Hot Shot! monthly eblast where she was given an honorable mention for her submission to HHS!'s volume iv, edition ii.

I'm not sure I understand the other projects on her site, particularly Falling in Love at the End of the Universe, but like this pigeon image, the tonality and composition are really pretty.

Xmas Wish List: more

While I'm at it, here are some other things I'm hitting Santa up for this year:

Imacon scanner

Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home bag

Nikon 50mm lens

1 TB External Hard Drive

Polaroid transfer machine + Polaroid film

Lifetime supply of custom framing

Xmas Wish List: Photo Books

**Cape Light
Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz
One of my most favorite photography books, and I still don’t own it.

**Travelers
Photographs by Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz
Miniature scapes in a "snow globe" environment = Fascinating. This book is getting a ton of buzz; I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Domestic Landscapes: A Portrait of Europeans at Home
Photographs by Bert Teunissen
Beautiful, nostalgic environmental portraits of people and their homes.

Hellen van Meene: Portraits
Photographs by Hellen van Meene
Simply beautiful portraits. The blasé attitudes of the subjects, in tandem with lighting and texture, play so much into the overall mood of the images.

Nicaragua: June 1978–July 1979
Photographs by Susan Meiselas
I just really like her work, and my selection is most likely influenced by the fact that I’m traveling to Nicaragua next week.

People of the 20th Century – Volumes 1-7
Photographs by August Sander
My dear friend and fellow photog, Marisa, owns this, and I wish the set was small enough for me to hide in my bag so that I can borrow them indefinitely ;p August Sander is probably the only photographer I really remember from the History of Photography course I took back in undergrad.

The Places We Live
Photographs by Jonas Bendiksen
I’m fascinated by the concept and multiple definitions of home. This is just one book of many in this list that explores this topic.

Tinyvices: Amelia's World
Photographs by Robin Schwartz
Ok, I confess, the chimp got me.

View PDN’s picks: http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/featured-in-print/e3i0731a97427122625299575f27caced9f

View Aperture’s selection: http://www.aperture.org/books/books-new

** Indicates the books I would really, really like to get as a Xmas present.

Annie Liebovitz on Portraits

She says it so much better than I ever could! (read my posting on Portraits)

"My work is criticized sometimes for being too on the surface, but I sometimes find the surface interesting. To say that the mark of a good portrait is whether you get them, or you get the soul or whatever, I don't think this is possible all the time... Can you imagine getting the soul every single day?"

Hear the entire interview here.

Source: PDNPulse.

Fancy features on new Olympus E-30 digital SLR ?

Olympus has released information on its new SLR offering, the E-30, which promises to deliver to the new generation of visually acute consumers. This new SLR features the following... It sounds cool, but I'm not sure how I feel about having these built into the camera.

Art Filters
* Pop Art: Enhances colors, making them more saturated and vivid, creating high-impact pictures that express the joyful, lighthearted feeling of the Pop Art style of the 1960s.
* Soft Focus: Creates an ethereal, otherworldly atmosphere that renders subjects in a heavenly light without obscuring details.
* Pale & Light Color: Encloses the foreground of an image in flat gentle light and pastel colors reminiscent of a flashback scene in a movie.
* Light Tone: Renders shade and highlight areas softly to lend an elegant air to the subject.
* Grainy Film: Evokes the feeling of documentary footage shot in monochrome with grainy, high-contrast film.
* Pin Hole: Reduces the peripheral brightness of an image as though it were shot through a pin hole, connecting the viewer intimately with the subject at the center of the picture.

Multiple Exposures
...alter space and time by combining images shot in different locations and moments, lending your photos another dramatic dimension. For instance, take one shot of the full moon with the E-30 and the image will appear on the camera’s LCD. Then take another shot while the moon still appears on the LCD and superimpose a close-up of an owl perched on a tree branch. The two images will merge together seamlessly to form one dramatic image that has the haunting effect of a Halloween night...
The E-30 can combine up to four images in a single photograph, overlaying various subjects to create a montage that blends all the elements together.

Not only does the E-30 include these nifty image-altering features, it also has a swivel LCD screen like most HD video cameras have these days. Ooooh!!

Olympus says, "The creative possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination."

I hear you, loud and clear, mon frere.

Paranoid about plagiarism

I've always been paranoid about posting my images online for fear that they'll be stolen and used without my knowledge and/or permission. As such, the images on my website are teeny (suffering the risk of lost detail in my images) and programmed so that they cannot be saved by a mere right-click of the mouse. A new colleague advised me that at this point in my career, I shouldn't focus on this and that I should be posting at 600px resolution so as not to obscure details and the full effect of my images.

However, Kevin German's recent experience with blatant theft of his images - from a friend of his! - is making me totally paranoid again; it's unbelievable that this happened. Read his story here.