March 28, 2024 7:00 am
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson 1933

According to Henri Cartier-Bresson “to take photographs means to recognize—simultaneously and within a fraction of a second—both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning” (Cartier-Bresson, 33). Cartier-Bresson was considered a modernist, not so much a photo journalist, but after becoming sick in Africa he traveled to Marseille and worked with “enjoyment” and wanted to capture life form the moment he started his photographic journey. For me the concept of the decisive moment, coined by Cartier-Bresson, is what photo journalism is about. Photography must become a part of you, in a way that you do not think about it but instead just do it. Three significant documentary photographers that I learned a little more about include Felice Beato, Lewis W. Hine, and Eddie Adams.

Felice Beato is known as one of the first war photographers and he was one of the first photographers to photograph in East Asia providing a documentation of a foreign population that was unfamiliar without much known about the living conditions, structures, and people.

Felice Beato, Yokohama, Japan, 1865
Felice Beato, Yokohama, Japan, 1865

Lewis W. Hine used his camera to address the issues of child labor by providing a larger scope of the issue accompanied by photos of children in factories that often were very dangerous jobs.

Lewis W. Hine, Boy at Turkey Knob Mine, 1908
Lewis W. Hine, Boy at Turkey Knob Mine, 1908

Eddie Adams is most famously known for his photos taken during the Vietnam War, more specifically his Pulitzer Prize winning 1968 image “Saigon Execution.” I am most moved by photographers that use their camera as a tool to reveal the reality of world circumstance.

From the book: EDDIE ADAMS: VIETNAM.Publisher: www.umbragebooks.com.Release Date: March 5, 2009..PR Contact: Judy Twersky 718-263-6633.Estate of Eddie Adams Contact: Alyssa Adams alyssaada@gmail.com..Photo Credit: © Eddie Adams / AP
Eddie Adams

Steve McCurry’s work is colorful and the connection with his subjects is powerful. When I look at his work it makes me curious about the people that he photographs and their perspective of the world around them.

Steve McCurry
Steve McCurry

Lynsey Addario is a documentary photographer who uses her camera to focus on human rights and the role of women in traditional societies. There is a lot of contrast and beautiful composition in her work.

Emergency Obstetrics center, SHAHR BAZORG DISTRICT, BADAKSHAN. night shot: Alima, 24. has lost three babies already, and is pregnant with her fourth. three days ago, she lost a three year old child to dysentery, and she trie to bring him to the hospital, but it was too late. she now has low blood pressure, vomiting, diarrhea. she was less than 15 when she got married and pregnant with her first child. she is now threatened with per-term labor, and is 28 weeks pregnant. guy walking with sheep in rocky, open terrain: Ghulam Nabi, from the village of sebzi bahar. two women walking along road in burquas with boy escorting. boy: muhammad hussein, from nadera village, mother: bibi sarah, holding daughter, izatullah, 9 months.other girl is bibi hazizbi, 15 years. mother has last three children to illness because there is no clinic near her home and in the village. they have to talk 2-3 hours for the nearest clinic, which is Furgaham Bobesi clinic. In the Furgaham Bolbesi clinic: saturday is vaccination day, so many women waiting for vaccinations, coming from surrounding villages of Chayobak, Kushla, Gulaki. little girl standing amidst women in white scarf: Fareba, 5, form gulaki ****two women on side of road, from Weha village, four hours in car to clinic. the father has lost two wives already, and has taken a third wife, half his age. his name is Shir Mohammad, and his wife, in burqua on hill is Noor Nisa, 20. it is her first pregnancy, and her water has just broken and their car broke down on the side of the road. shir mohammad went to look for other transport, and Noor nisa and her mother, Nazer Begam, 40, are waiting transport to the hospital.
Lynsey Addario

When I considering all of these photographers, they inspire me to be more in the moment and to shoot with purpose but also instinctively. Photography is consumed in many different ways and images can carry powerful messages.

According to Robin Kelsey “the camera, as an automatic picture machine, substituted the action of light for human labor, opening up new possibilities for chance” (Kelsey, 17) which means as a photographers we play a part in that chance. Documentary photography has changed in a lot of ways over the last 150 years; it has become more colorful and more easily shared. It is important to consider the ethical complexities and intention in the meaning of taking a photo. One thing that has not changed in documentary photography is the representation of truth. The use of cameras and imaging technology allow us the ability to grant access to events in history that we would not be able to access so easily otherwise. The opportunity for an image to out live the person who took it is amazing. Documentary photography is a piece of time.

 

Works Cited

Cartier-Bresson, Henri. “The Mind’s Eye: Writing on Photography and Photographers.” New York: Aperture (1999):33. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Jan. 2016

Kelsey, Robin. “Of Fish, Birds, Cats, Mice, Spiders, Flies, Pigs, And Chimpanzees: How Chance Casts The Historic Action Photograph Into Doubt.” History & Theory 48.4 (2009): 59-76. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

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