Is modern-day photography ugly?

[johannielscom]

But, what did Koudelka earn a living with?

Mine is only the flight forward and photography has to be a substantial part of that, for too many reasons to get into here. In short, there aren't too many other options, save from journalist work and training gigs, both freelance and not any better paid than photography.

 

[CaptZoom]

Firstly, congratulations on making the awfully tough decision to do this. Many dream, but few and far between actually take the plunge. I believe my sentiment will be agreed upon by most here when I say we are here to help and support you in any way that we can. Participating in this thread is one. Please feel free to PM me or email me (omairyuATgmailDOTcom) if you have any ideas you wanna bounce off of some one. Perhaps things that may be too involved to post here.

Secondly, please consider your fiscal situation and how long you can manage on a meager income. Being prepared for fiscal hardship is also prep work.

Most importantly, start to consciously and actively start photographing outside of your comfort zone. It seems to me you want to define a personal style, one that is singular to you. You won't find it doing things the easy way, especially if you're not satisfied with the results thus far. Another option is to realize that your personal voice just happens to have similarities to the past. Don't hold back, immerse you're self. There are many paths before you. Choose one at a time. Make mistakes. Celebrate your successes. Take pleasure in your craft. Only you can be the one who actualizes your vision.

That is actually a good question that I instantly know the answer to but wasn't fully aware of until now. Thanks for asking!

In college I studied (radio and print) journalism and thought I would 'tell the truth' about injustice. Later on, I turned to education and taught Social Studies as a high school subject. Last year after a decade something snapped and I quit my job. Currently I'm likely looking for a new 'channel' to relay my views on society, which aren't that positive... I've been a cynic on society most my life. Positive in the small circle of family and friends (count in RFF) and always perceiving doom at large 😀

I'm aspiring to re-start in journalism (both written and spoken, interviews mainly) and run work as an editorial photographer alongside. So, I'm looking for that m.o. to help me show the (perceived-by-me) ugliness of society in the esthetic process that photography is, and I'm struggling!

I think I gotta try Pickett's approach, paraphrase it, and document what a bad society is to a good person. That might actually be close to my personal views, area's of interest and esthetic preferences.

 

[Paul Jenkin]

As commented on by the likes of William Klein in the recent documentary about him and the likes of Joel Meyerowitz in the talk he gave at "Focus" in Derby a couple of years ago, it was almost impossible to make a living out of photojournalism until the 1960s when fashion photography and photojournalism collided and melded into a new form. Until then,, people had, of course, recorded what was around them but mostly as an historic record of the times. Obviously, there'd been various conflicts, including two "wold wars" with the associated atrocities that were shown in all their shocking gore - and rightly so, in order to help prevent such crimes going unpunished and to help prevent any such evil being perpetrated again. However, much of the output from HCB, Lartigue and their contemporaries may have shown social depravation and hard times but most people were in the same position. Only the few, the middle and upper classes, lived in warmth and comfort with full bellies.

These days, in the developed world, we might moan about not having enough money and wanting to move to a bigger house but most of us live privileged lives, in relative terms, to our forebears of even 50 years ago. Today's photography, possibly as a result of the influence of the internet and a free(er) press, seems to me to be more voyeuristic and uncaring. With a few exceptions, photographers are prepared to photograph anything that will earn them a few quid and to hell with the feelings of those they are exploiting. Some shameless "Z-list" so-called celebrities will perform hideous, circus freak show stunts to "win" a TV show about them doing the freak show stunts - in the hope that they increase their popularity.

In my opinion, and it's a sad indictment, there is little that people will not do in front of a camera to get notoriety or their 15 seconds (let alone minutes) of fame. Consequently, that validates those who photograph them and the whole thing seems like one sorry mess to me.

No wonder I spend my time looking for modern-day Ansl Adamses and wondering what the hell is going through the minds of many street photographers / paparazzi. Interesting it may be - but I do think modern day photography is a lot more brutal than yesteryear.

 

[johannielscom]

Firstly, congratulations on making the awfully tough decision to do this. Many dream, but few and far between actually take the plunge. I believe my sentiment will be agreed upon by most here when I say we are here to help and support you in any way that we can. Participating in this thread is one. Please feel free to PM me or email me (omairyuATgmailDOTcom) if you have any ideas you wanna bounce off of some one. Perhaps things that may be too involved to post here.

Secondly, please consider your fiscal situation and how long you can manage on a meager income. Being prepared for fiscal hardship is also prep work.

Most importantly, start to consciously and actively start photographing outside of your comfort zone. It seems to me you want to define a personal style, one that is singular to you. You won't find it doing things the easy way, especially if you're not satisfied with the results thus far. Another option is to realize that your personal voice just happens to have similarities to the past. Don't hold back, immerse you're self. There are many paths before you. Choose one at a time. Make mistakes. Celebrate your successes. Take pleasure in your craft. Only you can be the one who actualizes your vision.

Thanks for the encouragement, CaptZoom! I'll take you up on that offer to send out an email soon!

 

[Roger Hicks]

There's an old proverb of Spanish origin: Take what you want, and pay for it, saieth the LORD.

I first heard it from my boss Godfrey, about 33 years ago. Another short phrase I can recall with the same impact came from Terence Donovan maybe 25 years ago: "Not my problem, sunshine." It's amazing the number of things that aren't your problem unless you want them to be. And then theres something I got from another friend, again, decades ago: "What's the worst that can happen?"

If this all sounds a bit cryptic, think of it in terms of "If I were you, I'd go for your own vision."

Cheers,

R.

 

[DRabbit]

"Modern" is all a bit relative I think... though I understand what you're saying Johan because sometimes, when I look at my body of work, there is a lot that doesn't appear to be anchored in any particular timeframe.

However, it's become obvious to me over the years of doing my PAD Project that nothing is permanent. Of course, I always knew that, but this has begun to strike me in a personal way like never before -- especially with the recent damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

I took a photo of an old theater once. Quite cliche in it's abandoned beauty, not at all "modern" to me because it represented a movie-house I went to as a kid, and the sadness of it's decay. Then last year it was torn down, and is now a grassy field. Unexpectedly, something I thought of as a nostalgic image has become modern, representing a moment in town that is now gone forever.

Similarly, I took a photo of a woman walking past an old department store... another corner shop closed up and left mostly empty. To me, at the time, it represented another memory from the past, a shot of the "Four Corners" looking like a time portal to 20 years ago. Again, just recently it's been torn town.... and remains a hole in the ground right now, with high-end apartments coming.

In both cases, though they ring nostalgia for me and others, they were also modern in their abandonment. As remembered, they were actually thriving businesses. And now they are gone for good.

There are countless piers and marinas I've shot that have suddenly become "before" photos to the more devastated "after" shots now in the wake of the hurricane. It's humbling. I didn't even realize I was taking "before" photos.

Of course, I realize this isn't what you mean... you are referring more to the modern equivalent of the classic Coca Cola sign that lets us know what time in history the photo might have been shot. I am constantly seeking to make sure no cars are cluttering up my photos, or I'm frustrated by their presence, when they themselves often serve as the time anchor... as ugly as they may be.

I've heard more than one photographer complain about how everyone is on their cellphones all the time now, no one idly does anything interesting anymore because they are always communicating with some hand-held device. Though this itself is also a sign of our times. I was lucky enough to have a photo selected for the MCNY Street Exhibition recently, and low-and-behold, the one submission of mine accepted was of a woman on a cellphone. LOL!

I obviously thought about this topic more than I realized... so I'll quit while I'm ahead... 😀