Church Edit

I used blur and sharpen in Photoshop to make the church appear more important in the image.

Portraiture Questions-Tony Vaccaro

How has portraiture changed since the invention of the instant photograph?

In my personal opinion the major change in has been the ability to capture the emotion of the moment. To be more specific, before cameras brought the ability to take an instant photo most portraiture was done through painting, this took a substantial amount of time and effort and the people being painted would often change facial or bodily expression throughout the course of the process. But as photographers such as Tony Vaccaro managed to capture, the camera brought a new dimension to portraiture.

Tony Vaccaro became famous initially for his work during WW2, as a front line soldier who carried a camera with him at all times, he was able to capture some of the most shocking images from the course of the entire war. It is mostly thanks to him that we in modern times have such a good understanding of the horrors that men and women went through during those dark years in foreign countries.  Born in Greenburg, Pennsylvania in December 1922, Vaccaro grew up in his families native Italy, before moving back to the States to escape the facist reigeim of Mussolini, he then joined the U.S army in 1943, and shipped back to Europe once again in 1944.

Fashion Photography

1. When is an image a Portrait? When is it a fashion photograph? Are the two the Same?

It is a Portrait when…..

It is a Fashion photograph when……

2. To what degree should an image manipulated to go into a fashion magazine?

In the film the following manipulations occurs

How about manipulations to the photos before they are taken, models, Makeup, sets clothes

1.    An image can be classed as a portrait when it depicts a single person, usually unedited, using their expression to define their character. In my opinion it becomes fashion photography when the picture becomes more about the clothing/accessories the model is wearing, than the model themselves. I don’t think the two types of shot are the same, as portraiture typically depicts humanity, whereas fashion photography is used to sell products.

2.    Although I disagree with it, images must be manipulated before going into a magazine, as you would not expect to see a person’s flaws when trying to sell a product. For example you wouldn’t take a photo of someone modelling face cream, and forget to edit out their wrinkles/spots. I guess in a way manipulation in photography begins at the very start of the process. The need to lather the models in excessive amounts of makeup to smother their true beauty, then cover them  in terrible clothes that nobody is ever going to wear and blinding them with a huge array of lights and camera flashes makes me sad, but clearly modern photographers feel it is necessary.

 

I support my point with the photo to the right; you can clearly see that the image has been manipulated to the point where it no longer looks like the same person. The sad thing is that this is the case for most, if not all modelling shoots in modern times. It brings to light the question of is there even need for models anymore? I mean surely if they edit photos to this extent then they can computer generate a figure and adorn it with whatever clothing they think suits the “fashion”.

A second less obvious example I have here shows the way in which editors can change the skin tones/complexions of models. I would say that this particular example could be classed as racist, considering she has an ebony skin tone, and has been made to appear white.

Photojournalism (The Execution)

Describe the difference between the video footage and the photograph of the Execution.

In my opinion the major difference between video and still image is that a still image will stick in your mind. It leaves you guessing, wondering what happened next. The Execution, taken by Eddie Adams during the Vietnam War, is a perfect example of such a feeling. We can see a Vietnamese general executing a prisoner, we cannot tell if he has shot, is shooting, or just threatening the man and so we are left to imagine this ourselves. Yet there was also a video reel shot of the moment, this showed the general execute him on sight, which not only ends all curiosity we may have had from the still image, but condemned the man for the rest of his life, forcing him to retire from his post. I guess in a way you could say that still image causes more controversy as a human mind without conclusive evidence will imagine endless possibilities, and due to this an uproar is much more likely. Another example of this is Thomas Hoepker's photo of a group of people appearing to relax as the Twin Towers burn behind them, this is similar as a video reel would have shown the people's emotions and body language over a period of time and not just a single moment that condemned them as much as this Vietnamese general.

Earlier I mentioned the creation of possibility through still image, photographers will always attempt to eliminate this by capturing the "decisive moment". This is the definition of a "perfect" picture, with a definite meaning. In my opinion this particular picture, The Execution, was taken seconds too early to capture said "decisive moment" as I think there are still too many possible outcomes from this image. Unbeknownst to the audience that would have viewed this picture the victim was shot dead seconds later, and if he had been falling to the ground,  still in shot then that would have been a perfect shot, again in my opinion.

Photojournalism (War Photography)

 Robert Capa/Tony Viccaro

• Describe the different circumstances that these photographers experienced as Photojournalists in WW2 
• Find and upload to your blog some work of theirs

As war photographers, Tony Vaccaro and Robert Capa experienced some of the worst possible situations of their time. However they worked for different publishers, Vaccaro for the military and Capa for Life Magazine. Due to this the images each man produced were censored separately, Vaccaro was not permitted to publish images of dead or dying Allied soldier as it was not appropriate propaganda. Capa was restricted by the same issue, but not to the extent that the pictures were destroyed like Vaccaro's were. Both men put their lives on the line to bring to the public an accurate representation of the war, opening many people's eyes to the horrors their fellow countrymen went through to keep them safe. In my opinion without the images they brought back, we would not have as good an understanding of WW2 as we do in current times. As a frontline soldier Vaccaro was closer to the action than Capa, and so found a lot more graphic images, not to say that Capa was a coward. As he is widely regarded as the bravest professional photographer of his time. Yet he was able to select the battles he documented, often choosing the more "glamourous" ones, a perfect of example this is he was once quoted to say "war is romantic." To me this shows his complete lack of knowledge on the subject. To watch millions die on the battlefield and then come out with a statement like that. I can assure you Vaccaro would never have said such a thing.

Henri Cartier Bresson Questions

• Why is he famous?
• Why is his work significant in Photojournalism?
• Find and upload to your blog some work of theirs
• What Camera/Technique did he use

• 1933 Paris, iconic image shot 
• Photojournalism born during war
• Henri Cartier Bresson-godfather of photojournalism
• had great patience
• broken wheel-europe jumping into the unknown
• leica (50mil lense)-launched in germany, created a new style in photography

Henri Cartier Bresson is widely viewed as the godfather of modern photojournalism, his most iconic shot was taken in 1933 in Paris. It was a casual shot of a young man leaping over a puddle on a normal day. Probably just a random photograph taken out of impulse, but due to the broken wheel and Jewish writing in the background, it is seen as a prediction for the horror of the oncoming world war. It is highly regarded as the greatest photo of the 20th century.

His work is significant in photojournalism as he would often spend hours following his intended shot just to be sure what he was capturing was perfect. He spent a year in Africa, training as a hunter, to learn a technique that would aid him with such a task. Such a level of dedication was something the photographic world had never seen. I will again reference my answer to the first question, with the importance of his photograph in Paris being the main part of his significance.

Cartier Bresson had one of the original Leica cameras, developed in Germany in 1933 using a 50 mil lense. He would of had to be very rich to get hold of one of these as they were incredibly limited, but it was no doubt the key to a huge part of his success. This was down to the greatly reduced size and weight of the machine, and also the reduced sound. Each of these would have been revolutionary to a budding photographer. Cartier Bresson was forever searching for the decisive moment, a perfect moment in time defining the image, this camera would of been ideal for helping him achieve that. 

I take landscape pictures mostly. I enjoy sports so if I was to choose a topic for photography it would probably be that.