Documentary+Photography



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Since the invention of photography in 1839, photographers and the public have developed an appetite for realistic images (or images that look realistic) that could document and record things in the world they lived (Hoy, 146). The camera and documentary photography allowed humans to document their conditions (living, working, society), create alternative (even imaginative) representations of their world, and present arguments and demands which could stimulate action (political, social). The following four areas of documentary photography (architecture, exploration, photojournalism, and science) create a timeline from the birth of photography in the 1830s until the present day in the 21st century. All four areas continue to be documented today and could have existed together at all times, however the time periods each area has been designated to shows its significance (Hoy, 146).

**Documenting Architecture:**
During the early and experimental days of photography, photographers documented images of buildings. Evidence of this can be seen in what is considered the first camera image recorded in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce entitled, //View from His Window at Le Gras//. Buildings proved to be convenient subjects for early photographers because their stability could withstand long exposure times (Hoy, 25). //View from His Window at Le Gras, 1826//
 * Significant time period (1830s until 1850s)**

Photography’s purpose of record making for posterity was also introduced in the early 19th century (Hoy, 29). European architecture became the main subject to document due to its shifting display in society from medieval to modern style. For example, in the 1850s Napoleon III decided to broaden his support through the modernization of Paris, France. Photography was a witness to this operation, through the lenses of Gustave Le Gray, Henri Le Secq, and Hippolyte Bayard (Hirsch, 65).

//Cathedral at Loan, France//, 1851
 * Henri Le Secq (1818- 1882):** took part in several architectural investigations. Le Secq invented a new structural strategy that was focused on the relationship between a building and the angle of the camera. He believed that the photography was solely responsible and in control of the medium and must discover this relationship in order to create a powerful image (Hirsch, 65).

Documenting Exploration:
During the mid 19th century, European artists and explorers equipped themselves with cameras while encountering exotic landscapes (Egypt and Holy Lands, Middle East, Mexico), and unfamiliar races of people. The motives behind these representations were record keeping (mentioned above in architecture), amusement (Europeans were thrilled in seeing exotic peoples and places), escapism, and spiritual uplift (Hoy, 108). Auguste Salzmann, John Beasly Greene, and Maxime Du Camp are some of the many photographers who participated in exploration documentation (Hirsch, 136- 140).
 * Significant time period (1840s until 1880s)**

North America became another popular landscape to explore by both Europeans and Americans. America’s natural wonders (Niagara Falls), architectural achievements (railroad), and local Native Americans (Hopi, Zuni, Navaho, Pueblo) drew photographers’ attention (Hoy, 125). Images of peaceful aboriginals especially appealed to Europeans and Americans because of their nostalgia for the pre- industrialist past. Adam Clark Vroman, Edward Curtis, and Frances Benjamin Johnston are photographers who have captured the peaceful and unfortunately vanishing race of Native Americans (Hirsch, 272- 74).

//Bear Bull- Blackfoot//, 1926
 * Edward Curtis** **(1868- 1952):** made his entire career out of photographing Native Americans (of the Northwest, Southwest, and Great Plains). Curtis would often travel and live with the natives he photographed. When examining Curtis’s work a person will notice the white European cultural filter applied to them, through the “romantic, soft- focus pictorial methods” (Hirsch, 273).

Documenting Photojournalism:
Photojournalism began in the late 19th century when photographers began to document social ills and problems (misery, disease, illiteracy, and the rising poor population) to raise public awareness concerning these issues. These photographers presented problems to society in the hopes that change could and would occur (Hoy, 157). The early 20th century gave rise to several reform and urban renewal movements throughout the world (France, England, and the United States), that were captured by photographers such as, Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine (Hirsch, 268-69). The 1930s were known as a time of great depression, especially in North America. The industrialized counties were affected the most, with an immense increase of homelessness and unemployment. In the United States the effects of the Depression were largely documented by the work of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). One of Rooselvelt’s programs was the Farm Security Administration (FSA), where photographers such as Arthur Rothstein, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans where employed (Hirsch, 283- 87).The FSA was an experiment to bring farmers together on government-owned farms. Although the project ultimately failed, its photography program was highly successful in documenting the ills of society through a time of great desperation and poverty. Photographers took photos of the poor farmers in the hopes of, “introducing America to Americans” (wikipedia.com). This campaign is considered to be the most influential depiction of Depression in America. The Depression of the 1930s was one of the major social problems to be captured by photographers (Hoy, 181). Depressed victims, the rural and urban poor, became subjects for federally sponsored government programs, such as President Franklin Rooselvelt’s New Deal programs, to promote their programs and raise social awareness.
 * Significant time period (1880s until 1930s)**

//Migrant Mother, Nipomo, Cal//., 1936
 * Dorothea Lange (1895- 1965)**: the Depression of the 1930s awoke Lange’s social consciousness. Lange began photographing the desperate social conditions (labor strikes, street demonstrations, and migrant farm families) that developed and occurred in the American society. Lange’s photographs are emotionally compelling, especially the image, Migrant Mother, which became the quintessential image of the FSA project (Hirsch, 286).

Documenting Science:
Photography was born from science (optics and chemistry) in the early 19th century. Since its creation photographers have continued to adopt new science- imaging systems to express their personal expressions, especially in the late 20th and early 21st centuries (Hoy, 403). Some of these imaging systems have been able to expand vision beyond human limits, such as the microscope and x- ray vision (Hoy, 417). The greatest break through in camera technology (so far) has been digital photography, which has allowed aerial images from space and underwater photography images to be captured. David Doubilet, Gary Schneider, and Paul Gitto are photographers who use digital photography to capture impressive space and water images (Hoy, 420- 21).
 * Significant time period (1920s until today)**

//Messier Grid Map//, 1999.
 * Paul Gitto**: is an astronomer who captures extremely detailed celestial objects with the aid of a CCD (charge- couple device) camera and telescope. CCD cameras can “render images with levels of detail exceeding by a factor of 10 000 what the naked human eye is able to see (Barrett, 168).

Heres a great link regarding Photojournalism:

http://www.nppa.org/competitions/best_of_still_photojournalism/2004/winners/still/

Images Cited
Hirsch, Robert. Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. Boston: McGraw- Hill Higher Education, 2000.