Instead of our normal photo-crit in class today, we had a digitally mediated conversation with Marcus Bleasedale, Gary Knight and Adam Ferguson.
Marcus spoke mostly about his work which covers mining gold in eastern Congo.
If you're interested you can see the work here: http://marcusbleasdale.com/newbook/
He spoke in a broader context about how a photographer's work isn't done until the work is seen. Our job as a photographer must also be one of an informer. I didn't agree however with his belief that changes will occur once the work seen by the "right people" (Obama and people of his sort of power). Time has proven that changes are never made by those on the top.
It makes me wonder about a journalists push for certain changes that really aren't made better within "this" context. More specifically, when Marcus's images were seen and the book was published the mining fields in the Congo were shut down. What happens to the working people who held those jobs?
Gary Knight, who coins himself as an "advocacy photographer", did a large body of work covering poverty.
Links to his images: http://www.viiphoto.com/more-feature.php?photographer=Gary%20Knight
His subjects for most of these images are from third world countries. When speaking about the ubiquity of people with cameras he said that there is still a place for journalists (like himself) because of his "perspective", "experience", and "knowledge". He highlighted the importance of having an outsiders perspective. I totally disagree with this approach. I think one must be both an outsider AND an insider of a story. If you're working as an outsider you are an average better than thou journalist. How will he communicate their story this way?
It's interesting to compare his images abroad to his images in Youngstown, Ohio (just miles from Athens). In his own country* he photographs poverty and there is an absence of people. Why? Maybe because it's easier for a white male to photograph poverty abroad than it is in our homeland. Anyone have thoughts on this?
The third photographer, Adam Ferguson, shared some compelling images he took while imbedded in Afghanistan.
http://www.time.com/time/audioslide/0,32187,1927405,00.html
He wanted to deconstruct the "Black Hawk Down" false reality that is pushed into our conceptions of war. I was most impressed by Adam's vision, as well as verbal merit.
Technology is pretty amazing. It allowed for me to have a digital lecture with questions and answers
with people living across the globe. Here is the view from my seat this afternoon (my instructor's silhouette is seen crossing the screen):
*Gary Knight is from England. I would like to make the correction that he photographs Youngstown, an impoverished city within the first-world, and he comes from the first-world environment of England.
