Author: David Rosen

Task: Consider whether or not any photographic ‘characteristics’ are important to your own practice. Identify any approaches / practices / practitioners that specifically resonated with you. Summarise your independent research (eg interviews or reviews of relevant practice / reading). Evaluate the development of your own photographic practice to date. Reflect on the peer / tutor feedback received on your current / future practice. What are your action points? Where are you going next?

The ability of the still image to connote rather than denote is not necessarily unique to the photographic image, but nonetheless remains an important driver for my love of the craft. The ability to decide consciously the time, format, perspective and frame allows me as the photographer to consciously decide what remains in the frame as a signifier and what is left out. Whilst Stewart Hall points out the differences that can exist between encoding and decoding, one can at least play with the viewer’s emotions sometimes predictably other times not.

Unexpectedly, the impact of the first week’s study has been significant on my beliefs, ambitions, and future direction for my practice. The challenge of creating, consuming, and critiquing images with regards to them being a picture of vs a picture about something is now firmly established in my consciousness. I am looking to create a body of work about rather than of something. Furthermore, I now recognise , thanks to Hall’s coding decoding theory (Hall 2014) my naivety in always seeking to control the narrative for my images, recognising also how limiting this might be as a creative exercise.

In shifting topics, I must now explore the context in which it will sit. I will need to research photographers who have created evocative cinematic images that evoke feelings of uneasiness, isolation, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. My initial research highlighted Todd Hido and Robert Darch, both of whom create images that invite the viewer to place themselves inside the image and experience a sense of disorientation and uneasiness. I will look to explore their work and practices while looking for other photographers as contextual material.

My first 1:1 tutor meeting with Paul was highly instructive. Although I thought I had been smart in creating a series of comprehensive frameworks and objectives, Paul explained that I could not control the scopic regimens (how the narrative was decoded). I should loosen my desire for control, allowing the work to speak for itself. Other helpful suggestions included the book Photography Cinema and Memory and the film Emys Men.

My next objective, is to scope out the photographic work that I will need to create for my work-in-practice assignment. This will be both a study of my potential subject matter as well as the processes I will experiment with to achieve the required visual effects. At the same time, I will need to begin the journey of evaluating what is required for the second part of the assignment, my Critical Review of Practice. Time perhaps to create an in-depth and informed to-do list and deadline tracker.

LIST OF FIGURES

Todd Hido’. 2024. Toddhido.com [online]. Available at: http://www.toddhido.com/homes [accessed 24 Jan 2024].

‌REFERENCES

Hall, S., 2014. Encoding and decoding the message. The discourse studies reader: Main currents in theory and analysis, pp.111-121.

Task: Consider how your ideas around photography’s relationship with reality and truth might have changed as your practice has evolved:  Has image manipulation ever been a significant part of your practice – professional or otherwise? Have you ever questioned this? Do you have a particular stance?  Have you ever consciously constructed an image, or a sequence of images, to try to portray a persuasive, positive impression, maybe market a product or construct a reality you were not entirely at ease with? Did you learn anything through that experience?  Have you ever, as Sontag put it, “designed events to be photographed”? Have you ever been aware that your presence, with a camera, had a direct influence on a turn of events that might otherwise not have happened?

The question of digital manipulation within my practice is a complex one. To provide an accurate explanation, I need to explain my own definitions of manipulation. I will then expand on my personal ethics regarding what I am willing and not willing to do as part of my photographic practice and how this has changed over time.

I have always drawn a red line between the manipulation of the items and their pixels within the frame when the image was captured and items that are added subsequently. In essence, until recently I have been willing to remove and or edit anything within the image that I thought helped to provide a more dynamic, engaging, or if required, minimalistic look and feel. This is hardly surprising bearing in mind my own typical style of fine art landscape minimalism.

Manipulation took a different turn when I began my foray into urban/street photography. Here it was a manipulation of colour and tone rather than objects that were typically manipulated. It was at this time I was focused on achieving a cinematic look and feel, borrowing my cues from the Directors of Photography of films like Dune, Blade Runner, and Joker. Somehow, I did not feel that this was in any significant way deceptive. It was a creative genre of image-making that amplified mood, emotion, and drama to engage viewers.

However, as my interest in documentary photography has grown and I have begun my MA, I have questioned my approach within my practice. If authenticity was a genuine goal and storytelling an ambition for my work was this methodology justified? I may not have ‘designed events to be photographed’ but arguably created images that did not bear sufficient resemblance to the scene being photographed. In other words, did they lack sufficient authenticity to be deemed a documentary photograph but rather should be considered a piece of photographic art.

To be honest, at this point in the course, I do not believe I have sufficient knowledge or have read widely enough to answer this question. However, I hope to achieve greater clarity on the subject further down the line later in the course.

FIGURES:
Figure 1: David Rosen. 2020. Mist at Dawn, Burnham Overy Staithe
Figure 2: David Rosen. 2023. Spot the Mannequin, Bond Street London

Task: Reflect on the ‘triangle’ model in relation to your own practice: do you feel that there is any kind of imbalance in terms of the relationships between the three ‘corners’? Think about any previous experiences out shooting: have there ever been any moments when you felt that what you were doing, or had done, was unjust or inappropriate? If so, what prompted this? What did this experience teach you about your approaches, both practically and conceptually?

In choosing to photograph the homeless and those experiencing depravation, the subject, author audience triangle is most certainly skewed. The majority of the power balance lies with the author – myself the photographer. Not only do I possess the majority of the agency within the relationship, but also the ultimate choice in what to photograph, how it is photographed, and what ultimately will be shown to a wider audience & where.

There is also an imbalance of power with regard to the subject and audience. The subject will have little say or influence on how the photographs are viewed. Cultural norms will determine how the subjects will be perceived. Barthes refers to this as the signifiers and the signified (Barthes 1981). How each photograph will be read will also be highly dependent on geography. For example, being seen begging on the streets of Calcutta will be viewed very differently from perceptions of begging on the streets of London.

The dangers of poverty porn (the exploitation of those less fortunate as a means of entertainment) is another important aspect of the triangle. (Bell 1992). With the subject highly susceptible to exploitation.

Every photographer makes choices when choosing his subject and the way and style in which to photograph them. Arguably the most important element in defining the morals of a particular photograph is to examine the possible motives and intent of the photographer.

1. Has the photograph been taken purely for financial gain?
2. Does the photographer demonstrate empathy for the subject based on previous work?
3. Has the subject been allowed to participate in the creative process?
4. Has every attempt been made to minimise the risk of othering?

When starting out in documentary photography, there is a risk of being drawn to photograph scenes of poverty, destitution, violence, or criminality for its own sake. Often encouraged by the work of photographers who have dedicated their lives to such genres. However, when this is done without an understanding of the background, a lack of understanding of the ethics of documentary photography, or a disregard for the impact it may have on the subject (or indeed viewer) it is likely that this will be deemed as gratuitous rather than serious respected documentary work.

I have been guilty in my youth of photographing some of the poorest townships in South Africa. I was in my early 30’s and had little understanding of documentary photography or the real-life struggles faced by the majority of the subjects captured during my trip. While the photographs were seen as powerful one even winning an award, I have more recently come to view the work as cultural poverty porn and no longer feel proud about the images captured and shared.

in making a start on my documentary journey with my MA course at Falmouth, I will be approaching future projects such as my intended FMP on homelessness with a very different perspective. I intend to study the ethics, impact, and background of my subjects carefully and have made my first tentative steps in this direction by embedding myself in the organisation Charity Begins at Home in central Lonon. Together with a deep study of the academic and ethical issues surrounding this type of work, I hope to create an informed, delicate portrayal of my subjects and their stories.

FIGURES
Figure 1: David Rosen. 2019. Tetouen Medina, Morocco

REFERENCES

Barthes, R., 1981. Camera lucida: Reflections on photography. Macmillan.

Bell, H. and Gigi, D.M., 1992. Eating the other: desire and resistance. Black Looks: Race and Representation, Boston, South End Press, 21, p.39.

Week 9 | Nature & Culture

Task: What’s your understanding of the word Nature’ how is the term problematic. How does location and place feature in your work? What is the relationship between your practice and human consumption?

My perspective on nature is probably driven by two aspects of my life. The first my age. Being 66 I grew up with little exposure to the terms environmental damage, global warming, and climate catastrophe. Nature was considered by many to be almost limitless in its ability to sustain the output and collateral damage caused by the Industrial Revolution and was considered at some level to be self-healing. The other perspective driving my perception of the term nature was my educational background. Being almost exclusively focused on the three sciences, biology, physics, and chemistry I understood nature as all things organic rather than inorganic. My perceived delineation was unambiguous and absolute.

Half a century on, nature has a far less uncertain identity. It is considered by most, but not all political persuasions as being in danger, a finite resource that humankind has abused and taken for granted. The media displays a constant stream of environmental disasters for which governments promise action but crumble in the face of economic pressures. Dorothea Born in her Source Magazine article Nature Gone Wild describes the types of images used to illustrate these disasters, noting their apocalyptic tone and suggesting why they may lead to inaction. I am mindful of similar assertions have been made regarding the imagery used to educate smokers on the health risks associated with cigarettes.

The fear and some guilt with regards to our consumerist lifestyles and its impact on climate change, however, lies in direct contradiction to the way we view nature as a pleasurable asset for which we can at our choosing enjoy both when and where we choose. We can enjoy bucolic hillsides, and lay idly on perfect faraway beaches, feeling that nature is ours for the taking with little to remind us of its current fragility. We often combine our interactions with nature with our leisure time picking and choosing the location and time of year when we are guaranteed to be met with picturesque landscapes and seascapes. All too often allowing climate change to dissipate temporarily into our subconscious.

With the focus of my previous practice being urban environments and my future focus for the MA studying the impacts of urban poverty and homelessness, my interests are fundamentally the large metropolitan cities. I look to understand the way in which we navigate their built environments, and how inequality impacts the way in which individuals live, interact, and seek security. Traditionally, landscapes have been thought of as pertaining to the countryside and of the sublime and picturesque rendition of places and scenery. However urban environments in particular architecture and street photography now form a burgeoning part of photography’s image output.

Having had an active practice in street photography for a number of years located in central London, a large number of my photographs have been taken within streets populated by retail stores. I recently completed a project on the lifestyles of the individuals frequenting the exclusive stores located in and around Bond Street.

Many of the goods purchased are made abroad in countries such as Italy, known for their high couture with little or no consideration for the impact of transporting these goods to the UK. Meanwhile, items such as diamonds and other precious stones are extracted from mines based in third-world countries at significant environmental and human costs. In photographing such activities in the style associated with fashion magazines, I am likely to be accused of encouraging and glorifying these activities ignoring the environmental dangers they pose.

FIGURES
Figure 1: David Rosen. 2022. Bond Street Shoppers.

Task: How has your own practice been shaped, manipulated perhaps, by the makers of the technology you employ and/or the spaces in which you share your work? What institutions do you wish to engage with to further your photography? How / Will your skillset and practice need to develop in order to be accepted within that institution? If you do not consider yourself to be a ‘professional’ photographer, what do you think you need to do or achieve for this? If that is not something you desire or aspire to, how would you like to be referred to, and how will you achieve that?

Having actively participated in the creation of images since the age of 13 I have lived through a dramatic shift in the way in which photographic images are created, manipulated, and shared. I have watched with eager anticipation as photography has continued its inexorable rise as a revered art form, despite it arguably lacking the aura of the fine arts (Benjamin 2018). I also experienced the birth and rise of digital technologies which have transformed the way in which we capture display and share our images.

There were many who prophesied the demise of photography as an art form seeing digital as a transgression in the historical development of the art of photography. William J Mitchell in his book The Reconfigured Eye commented on the transition from analogue to digital (Mitchell 1994) “There is simply no equivalent of the permanently archived, physically unique photographic negative. Image files are ephemeral, can be copied and transmitted virtually instantly and cannot be examined (as photographic negatives can) for physical evidence of tampering. The only difference between an original file and a copy is the tag recording time and date of creation – and that can easily be changed. Image files therefore leave no trail, and it is often impossible to establish with certainty the provenance of a digital image.”

Despite the misgivings of commentators at the time, I saw the transition as positive. Digital cameras facilitated a more spontaneous approach to image-making, opening up the opportunity for post-production creativity that replaced the more limiting less intuitive process of enlarger-based photographic image printing.

More recently the advent of digital photography has been itself transformed, by the explosive growth of social media. In particular, the active participation of millions of photographers in social media platforms such as Flickr, Instagram, Facebook. This perhaps more than the advent of digital technologies has transformed the very meaning of photography. As Nathan Jurgenson describes in his book Social Photo (Jurgenson 2019), “Social photography heralds a transformation in the way that not only images, but also the camera, should be understood”. Unfortunately, I now find myself caught in the seemingly luddite trap of dismissing iPhone photography as lazy, even resorting to accusing iPhone users who purport to be photographers as denigrating the very meaning of photography. I realise just how antiquated I must sound! I can only justify my comments by expressing my genuine love for the art and practice of photography, its creativity, its practitioners and more latterly its academic credentials.

Back to the topic of social media, there is no doubting the thrill of likes and follows when one first starts sharing images on the platforms such as Flickr and Intagram. However, over time I have learned that the unspoken algorithms that drive engagement do not equate to the quality and depth of meaning possessed by an image. The ‘bangers’ as they are referred to on Instagram for example follow predictable and self-limiting rules. Dramatic diagonal shadows, cinematic colour grading and shallow depth of field to highlight street portraits will encourage ratings, but when followed slavishly over time can stunt creative output.

At the risk of professional mockery, I profess to being guilty at various points in my practice to these forms of creative seduction. I now see them however for what they are, a slippery slope of short-term dopamine-inducing affirmation that drives traffic, but do little to enhance the development of photographic practitioners.

The question asked of us, is to what institutions we wish to engage with to further our photography. My own journey is that of wanting to be recognised as creating bodies of works that have meaning and will be viewed as contributing to debates on important social issues. To achieve this I am looking to achieve exhibitions for my future work. Sontag describes the arrival of photography onto the walls of museums and art institutions as a conclusive victory in the transition of photography into a respected and recognised art form. (Sontag 2001). I am hoping that I may one day join the long list of esteemed photographers who have achieved this accolade for their work.

In order to achieve work worthy of being exhibited I believe there are a number of learning journeys I will need to follow. Firstly, I will need to commit to and execute faithfully a documentary project that displays an understanding of and empathy for an important social issue of our time. My work will need to display a consistency of output, that has been underpinned with research and displays academic rigor in its thinking. All of these things, I am determined to achieve during my time on the MA at Falmouth, both from the professional teaching staff and from my peers.

As to the label of professional, semi-professional, or amateur, I have been somewhat fluid in my own perception and self-presentation to date. I have been paid for my workshops at the RPS or for the occasional minor commission. Mostly, however, the sheer joy of photography in all that it entails has given me everything I could wish for in a creative endeavor. Besides, as they say, labels are just that, labels.

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: Stock Photo. 2023. MOMA Museum. New York. [online] Available at: https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstpd2r1lxpro44aw5xc/corner-office/moma-poaches-nyu-managing-director-for-cio-post [Acessed Nov 16 2023]

REFERENCES
Benjamin, W., 2018. The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In A museum studies approach to heritage (pp. 226-243). Routledge.

Jurgenson, N., 2019. The social photo: On photography and social media. Verso Books.

Mitchell, W.J., 1994. The reconfigured eye: Visual truth in the post-photographic era. Mit Press.

Sontag, S., 2001. On photography (Vol. 48). Macmillan.

Although designated as a reading week, it turned out to be anything but. Rather than focus on research and reading, I dived straight into project execution. This involved a number of shoots at my home of three of the volunteers: Sofia, Ahmed and Andrea.

Each shoot took around an hour. The main images were shot on my Canon EOSR with a 24-70mm f4 lens, together with Delta 100 monochrome film shot on my newly acquired 6:45 medium format analogue camera. All films were processed and scanned at home. The interview was shot on a Fuji XT4 using natural light at 4K at a frame rate of 25 frames/sec.

Three images were output in colour with a similar set in black and white. Having presented my intended reflection presentation to Tim, he made it clear that the colour approach was both more contemporary and provided a more intimate account of the volunteers. My own perspective was somewhat mixed at this point, however on reflection, I believe this was good advice. Tim also expressed a need to make the images more constant with regard format.

Although the images felt acceptable with regard to overall quality, I felt a need to significantly upgrade my craft skills in relation to studio output. I plan to devote a significant chunk of time to understanding studio portraiture in particular lighting techniques and sitter posing strategies. I will also need to invest in some additional lighting equipment.

I am writing this review of week five somewhat late. The reasons however, are not altogether negative. Having solidified my ideas for the research project; namely to explore the individuals who both run and volunteer at foodbanks as well as to shoot and interview a number of their clients, I have been able to make substantial progress.

With a fairly rounded idea of what the project might entail, I decided to contact Jesse and present a formalised idea for my research project. Jesse was supportive and provided a number of pointers for further research. We discussed the shape of the project as well as the executional style of potential images and how they might be designed to strip away the social cues that would encourage class stereotypes. We agreed that access would be a major challenge within the project as well as the gaining of access to the foodbanks themselves.

Although I had made some progress with Sharon Goodyear and her Margate-based foodbank project, I was also keen to gain access to a London-based foodbank or soup kitchen. Following my meeting with Jesse, I was able to make contact with the CEO (Alex) of The Soup Kitchen based in Tottenham Court Road and received a highly encouraging response. Unfortunately, they were already in the midst of a similar project. My second call however to the founder of Charity Begins at Home Saleem Aswan resulted in a positive outcome. I was able to secure both a personal meeting as well as being able to visit the group’s Friday regular foodbank initiative in Agar Street just off the Strand.

By the end of the week, I had attended an introductory dinner with Saleem as well as working with the volunteers on Friday evening. It was a moving experience and solidified my desire to follow this path for the research project as well as maintain close links with the charity and its founder going forward.

At the same time, I heard from Sharon Goodyear that she felt that it would be too much of a personal time burden to undertake a collaboration. We therefore agreed not to take our discussions any further. The lesson from this as in any new business initiative is to be cognisant of the funnel effect when looking to create new charity partners for the project.

This has been a particularly enjoyable, stimulating and fruitful week. Despite being slightly behind and having to write up my CRJ on Monday, the rest of the week has more than made up for the loss of one day.

Monday afternoon I came across the series by John Berger ‘Ways of Seeing’ a BBC 4 part series broadcast in 1972. Despite its low budget, low tech, and now outdated social references, the series was an outstanding appraisal of the way we interact as a society with visual communication. Its BAFTA award was well deserved and in fact, the series is seen as one of the most influential TV programmes about art ever made! I came away recognising the highly interwoven relationship between fine art and photography. The episode on the way in which gender influences how we are seen was simply spellbinding. The changes that have occurred over the past 45 years now seem even more immense. The final episode on how images play a role in advertising was simply astounding. Despite my career in related industries to advertising, I could not have been more engaged in the content.

Tuesday & Wednesday were dominated by both reading the various suggested texts (reviewed in my ‘Reading Photographs’ blog post as well as the weekly webinar from Jesse. The session was dominated by the evaluation of an image by Luc Delahaye of a dead Afghan soldier. The image was extraordinary from a number of perspectives. Firstly, rather than being an image supporting a news item, its context is that of a gallery where its price, the way it had been framed and its size places it firmly in the category of fine art. Secondly, it had been very carefully composed and was captured on a large format camera.

The question I began asking myself during the session was how this stood in relationship to the war photography of say Don McCullin. Is this any more or less morally questionable? In terms of the capture process probably not. However, the end of the image journey as an exclusive commodity sold to a wealthy owner in my mind is somewhat questionable. Finally, as I questioned during the session, how would we feel if this was a UK citizen or soldier photographed for the same purposes. I have a feeling this would not occur so readily.

FIGURE 2: Delahaye. Dead Afghan Soldier 2011

Both tasks this week were stimulating and brought to the surface a number of my own emotions regarding their content. in the first exercise, we were instructed to use an advertisement, analysing the image through the perspective of the cues, codes, and rhetoric we have been studying this week. The case of the Marlborough man probably represents a class of advertising that has deceived and had the most detrimental health effects of any product class since the birth of advertising. The false promises and the lack of health warnings combined with government inaction have killed millions worldwide. As to the ad itself, it conforms to all of the publicity methodologies so eloquently laid out by John Berger in his TV series and book by the same name.

Our task for evaluation and comment by our tutors (Tim in my case), was to review two images of Afghan girls. One, the famous green-eyed girl made famous by Steve McCurry, the other, Bibi Aisha who had been mutilated by Taliban for leaving her husband. This was a highly engaging and motivating exercise. I found it hard not to feel shocked and sickened by the events but tried to maintain an objective focus on the task. My own approach focussed on both the studium and puntum aspects of the image as well as reviewing the context in which it was seen and the contradictory ways in which it was used to promote very different political views.

Thursday Last night, I had a series of ideas for my research project and ultimately FMP. I was reviewing the work of Richard Avendon and his body of work taken in the American west. I started to imagine how this methodology might be used in my own intended project within soup kitchens or food banks. Up to now, I have only identified a target issue to address and the context in which this might be explored. A creative concept has yet to be fully fleshed out. This might be a possible direction.

The idea is as follows: To shoot the person setting up the soup kitchen and one of her longest-standing clients. Each set of photographs would form one-half of a spread indicating their relationship. They would be shot using a portable white backdrop in the style of Avendon’s American West portraits. They would be stark powerful and have strong eye contact. Alongside each of their stories would be used to highlight the junctions in their lives when decisions or circumstances would dictate how their future would unfold. A clear comparison would be obvious by the side-by-side placement of their portraits. A great deal to work through but progress never the less.

FIGURE 1: BERGER, John. 1972. Ways of Seeing. The Guardian [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/17/ways-of-seeing-at-50-how-john-bergers-radical-tv-series-changed-our-view-of-art [accessed 19/10/2023].

FIGURE 2: O’HAGAN, Sean. 09.08.2011. ‘Luc Delahaye turns war photography into an uncomfortable art’ Guardian [online] Available at https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/09/luc-delahaye-war-photography-art [accessed 14 February 2023]

FIGURE 3: AVENDON, Richard. 2011. ‘Boyd Fortin, Thirteen-Year-Old Rattlesnake Skinner Guardian [online] Available at https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2017/feb/25/richard-avedon-american-west-texas-in-pictures#img-1 [accessed 19/10/2023]