williams473
Well-known
I realize there are many who frequent this forum from all over the World, but I would like to pose some questions to U.S. photographers in particular, and opinions from all over will be valued as well.
Why does it seem (and it may simply seem to me) that photography no longer leads the charge in social critique and when necessary, social upheaval? Why is it (and I include myself here) that we allow ourselves to be pacified by material comforts, and close our eyes and ears to the fact that the US is continuing down a path of global imperialism that is severely weakening our social fabric? Why does the U.S. have such high murder rates in our major cities? Why are the children in our country so poorly informed about the state of the World at large? Why do we value watching TV more than any other activity? Why is obesity an epidemic in the U.S.?
Of course these are rhetorical questions with a myriad of answers that could be framed in a number of ways, but my larger point is that for those of us out there who like to think of ourselves as social documentarians, why are we not cranking out photo essays and self publishing them in places where people outside our sphere will see it?
We can't count on employed photojournalists to do it - most local shooters are on assignment, covering car crashes, high school football, fires, local government and the like - not that there isn't a need for that. They simply can't have a global perspective because their assignments are local, and they answer to editors. Am I just not looking, or are we not taking advantage of a very fertile country, rife with things that need to be pointed out and looked at with the powerful eye of the photographer? Is it even possible anymore, seeing as most media outlets who could publish on a National level primarily use established freelancers, and heavily edit the images they publish? Is there any room for diversity in expression? Is there any way to do some real down and dirty photo essays that will matter in the least to the American public - to a country that is one of the more depraved in the Western World?
Here's the real question I ask myself every day - if I bust my butt working (outside of my day job,) pound away as a working class artist, produce thousands of photographs, make my points - maybe even some people see the work - does it matter? Are people in this country interested in work that isn't endorsed by one of the major media outlets? Is social photography a complete waste of time if there is no significant audience?
Why does it seem (and it may simply seem to me) that photography no longer leads the charge in social critique and when necessary, social upheaval? Why is it (and I include myself here) that we allow ourselves to be pacified by material comforts, and close our eyes and ears to the fact that the US is continuing down a path of global imperialism that is severely weakening our social fabric? Why does the U.S. have such high murder rates in our major cities? Why are the children in our country so poorly informed about the state of the World at large? Why do we value watching TV more than any other activity? Why is obesity an epidemic in the U.S.?
Of course these are rhetorical questions with a myriad of answers that could be framed in a number of ways, but my larger point is that for those of us out there who like to think of ourselves as social documentarians, why are we not cranking out photo essays and self publishing them in places where people outside our sphere will see it?
We can't count on employed photojournalists to do it - most local shooters are on assignment, covering car crashes, high school football, fires, local government and the like - not that there isn't a need for that. They simply can't have a global perspective because their assignments are local, and they answer to editors. Am I just not looking, or are we not taking advantage of a very fertile country, rife with things that need to be pointed out and looked at with the powerful eye of the photographer? Is it even possible anymore, seeing as most media outlets who could publish on a National level primarily use established freelancers, and heavily edit the images they publish? Is there any room for diversity in expression? Is there any way to do some real down and dirty photo essays that will matter in the least to the American public - to a country that is one of the more depraved in the Western World?
Here's the real question I ask myself every day - if I bust my butt working (outside of my day job,) pound away as a working class artist, produce thousands of photographs, make my points - maybe even some people see the work - does it matter? Are people in this country interested in work that isn't endorsed by one of the major media outlets? Is social photography a complete waste of time if there is no significant audience?
