Week 3: Rethinking Photographers

The Filters of Citizen Journalism

This week's forum discussed two articles concerning citizen journalism, combat photography and smartphone images.

This is a subject that is very current and will not go away anytime soon. As someone who has studied and practiced photography since 2001, I have always been aware and interested in the development of photographic tools. The debate of camera phones and apps is not old and well discussed and I understand from these two articles that the divide is very much alive still.

My question is, why should it matter which tool or editing tools you use? Personally for me, it is what is suitable for me at the time, like Damon Winter's experience. His phone and Hipstamatic app were the best and less intrusive tools to use for his topic and subjects. He would have been able to catch quick photos in a fast moving environment without having to edit them later, a tool which any photographer would find useful in that situation.

The popularity of Instagram, discussed in Stephen Bull's article, is probably not only down to the market audience, the young, but it can be a tool for photographers as well. I personally don't use the filters in Instagram as they don't suit what I want to achieve, but that is a personal choice and I opt for other quick editing tools such as Snapseed. I also think it could encourage creativity with users, freedom to add their own style and explore photography in a inclusive platform possibly even introducing photography to a wider audience maybe?

One of my online tutors replied to this response from me with a suggestion to look at the Subway Portraits of Walker Evans, if I wasn't already aware of them. I recognised their name, I research him and discovered that I was not aware of his work. I found these portraits intriguing and captivating, taken in the moment secretly by Evans on the underground between 1938 - 1941, as he hid his camera under his coat and painted the shiny areas black, so it would not be seen. Capturing the relaxed, comfortable faces of the passengers as they travelled, almost in their own world, Evans says;

"The guard is down and the mask is off"

(MoMA | Walker Evans. Subway Portrait. from the series Subway Portraits. 1938–41, n.d.)

This to me showing the real person underneath, once they are relaxed and unaware anyone is watching and almost vulnerable.

Fig 1: Walker Evans, Subway Portrait, 1941

Bibliography:

Bull, S., 2012. 'Digital Photography Never Looked so Analogue': Retro Camera Apps, Nostalgia and the Hauntological Photograph. Photoworks, [online] pp.24-25. Available at: <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.falmouth.ac.uk/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=ec56fa35-88c0-4f9f-8367-8db8eecf87b6%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aft&AN=77595945> [Accessed 10 October 2020].

Moma.org. n.d. Moma | Walker Evans. Subway Portrait. From The Series Subway Portraits. 1938–41. [online] Available at: <https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/walker-evans-subway-portraits-1938-41/> [Accessed 10 October 2020].

Myres, S., 2011. Damon Winter Explains Process, Philosophy Behind Award-Winning Hipstamatic Photos - Poynter. [online] Poynter. Available at: <https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2011/damon-winter-explains-process-philosophy-behind-award-winning-hipstamatic-photos/> [Accessed 10 October 2020].

Images:

Fig 1: Walker Evans, Subway Portrait, 1941