Week 6 & 7: Methods & Strategies

Isabelle Boutriau, Vienna, 2015

There are many ways to enhance your creativity. One can for example impose upon oneself arbitrary parameters in ordre to expand creative possibilities. Use one specific color, for example, or decide to photograph looking down, or use the “ghosting” technique, by means of long exposure.

Catriona Grant and her “Examination Room” series (see https://www.belfastexposed.org/books/the-examination-room/), and Alexey Titarenko (http://www.alexeytitarenko.com) are interesting ghosting examples .

A useful ressource in order to enhance creativity is the Photographers Playbook’ by Jason Fulford and Gregory Halpern. (https://aperture.org/shop/the-photographer-s-playbook-books/)

Photography is also in some ways linked to chance and serendipity (happy coincidences). Some photographers have embraced spontaneity and uncertainty with their practice. Sometimes a “faux pas” can generate a memorable image.

Some photographer have looked into pyschogeography and the politically motivated Situationist movement (Guy Debord) in the 1960s. They have used psychogeography as a means to disrupt the strictly managed urban environment, defined economically and socially, rather than emotionally or psychologically.

“Psychogeography is, according to Debord, a pure science, and like the skilled chemist, the psychogeographer is able both to identify and to distil the varied ambiances of the urban environment. Emotional zones that cannot be determined by architectural or economic conditions must be determined simply by following the aimless stroll (derive), the result of which may then form the basis of a new cartography characterised by a complete disregard for the traditional and habitual practices of the tourist.” (Merlin Coverley. Psychogeography. p.90)

We were invited pair for a “Peer Commissioned Micro Project”. I collaborated with Mike and asked him to produce 5 to 7 images on plastic waste and recycling in Seville, where he lives, in a magazine format, and he tasked me to illustrate where I go and buy daily necessities in Phnom Penh. The result was extremely interesting. It is not obvious to produce something original in such a restricted context, but the “collaboration” context forces you to look deeper, search and find something “extraordinary”.

Week 5: Power and Responsibilities

This week was about discussing ethical considerations in our own practice and what we need to do to enhance our ethical practice.

Images have a life of their own, but…

Jeff Mitchell, 2015

The image above was shot by Getty photographer Jeff Mitchell, who was documenting migrants crossing the Croatia-Slovenia border before heading to Austria and Germany in 2015. It was subsequently used controversially by the UK Independent Party (UKIP) in its campaign against immigration just before the 2016 Brexit referendum. UKIP’s ‘Breaking Point’ poster was at some later stage reappropriated by the Hungarian Government against UN’s migration guidelines. 

 Of course, it is a fact generally acknowledged that images have a life of their own and can be understood in different ways depending on the audience and their intended use. For example, photographs often serve as illustrations on the cover of books and are then  “re-contextualized”.  

However, UKIP’s poster derived from Mitchell’s original image also raises some ethical issues.  

First, because the image, which  had been « manipulated » to obscure a white man present in the picture and crop out the only woman, was used to campaign against immigration, as if the vulnerable migrants in Croatia were to blame for UK’s economic crisis.  Many people reacted via Twitter, complaining that the poster incited racial hatred or was similar to some Nazi propaganda. 

Jeff Mitchel’s reaction to authorship is, in my opinion, quite surprising: ” Photographers are there to record stories, as they happen and when they happen, in the best way we can. But what happens after that, how our images are used, can be out of our control, especially in the digital age – which is unfortunate, particularly in this case”.  Not sure I would feel like him…

My responsibilities as a landscape photographer…

Isabelle Boutriau, 2015

« Take only photographs, leave only footprints »…

As a hiker and a landscape/nature photographer, I am very much aware of the fragility of our environment and my responsibility is  to avoid  damaging it intentionally. Some places are particularly vulnerable and not respecting certain principles, like not staying on designated paths, can be harmful to wildlife and put species and habitats into danger. Moving objects, like rocks, or destroying plants in order to tidy the scene  for your composition may cause damage. Researching the place  or asking the local population before going to a specific site is a good idea. In most national parks, for example, it is prohibited to feed animals as this might alter their natural behavior. In some areas, special care has to be taken during the breeding season not the disturb wild life. 

The use of drones can bring many benefits to society and can be extremely useful to survey land and monitor animal populations, to document habitat change and climate change, for example. Drones have also been used by photographers like Kacper Kowalski or Edward Burtynsky to produce breathtaking images with an environmental message.  But drones can also become a real nuisance, as I recently experienced during a trip to Vietnam. The invasive buzzing sound of the drone equipped with an amateur photographer’s camera completely destroyed the otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the place.  As  using drones for aerial photography is becoming more  widespread,  good practices should be implemented to avoid possible harmful effects on wild life, in particular, and noise pollution.  

Week 4: Collaboration

This week’s task was to collaborate with some peers on a microproject. There were some really creative ideas and collaboration took many different forms. One group exchanged images and added texts to each other’s images. Another group mixed photographs from the London Tube at rush hours with a candy bears composition, combining humour and added meaning. Some other students worked on irrupting nature, combining urban places and nature.

There is so much to be gained from working as a collective. Regular peer feedback, sharing, supporting one another. It is an excellent way to get things done quickly as you are under pressure and feel you have to reach the common goal.

Hans, Marcel and I decided to form a micro group, “Nightowls”, and to work on the theme Light at Night from a personal and situational perspective. We would try to capture the nocturnal atmosphere in the three different countries where we are based: Belgium, Cambodia and Germany. The process was extremely fluid and we really enjoyed working together.

We first had a look at Magnum’s Live Lab series, in particular the collaboration between Christopher Andersen and Alex Majoli [1]. The idea of being members of a jazz group appealed to us. Jazz is untidy, unpredictable, and perfectly imperfect.

Other sources of inspiration were also Hiroshi Sugimoto [2] and Todd Hido [3]. Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem, “Die Nacht”, added some dimension to our collaboration:

You, darkness, of whom I am born–

I love you more than the flame
that limits the world
to the circle it illuminates
and excludes all the rest.

But the dark embraces everything:
shapes and shadows, creatures and me,
people, nations–just as they are.

It lets me imagine
a great presence stirring beside me.

I believe in the night.

We edited our series, using the Conceptboard tool, trying to match visual elements and get some storytelling:

The final series, which included four rows, is presented below:

Photos from left to right: © Hans Warreyn, © Marcel Rauschkolb, © Isabelle Boutriau

Photos from left to right: © Isabelle Boutriau, © Marcel Rauschkolb, © Isabelle Boutriau

Photos from left to right: © Marcel Rauschkolb, © Hans Warreyn

Photos from left to right: © Isabelle Boutriau, © Marcel Rauschkolb

References

[1] PHOTOS, Magnum. 2018. magnum live lab[Film]. Available at: https://vimeo.com/249646483 [accessed 19 Oct 2019].

[2] ‘Artworks — Hiroshi Sugimoto’. 2019. Hiroshi  Sugimoto [online]. Available at: https://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/artworks [accessed 19 Oct 2019].

[3] ‘Todd Hido’. 2019. [online]. Available at: http://www.toddhido.com/homes [accessed 19 Oct 2019].

Week 3: Rethinking Photographers

Harry Gruyaert, TV shot. 1972. Soap Opera. Couple.

This week’s focus was on how professions of photography are viewed by non-photographers and the general public. What is the impact of ever changing technology? An early exemple is Harry Gruyaert’s use of the TV screen in the 1960s.

“I was living in London at the end of the 1960s when I became aware of the brainwashing power of television… I became interested in making a portrait of England by photographing the TV screen” – Harry Gruyaert

https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/harry-gruyaert/

A recent example is the use of surveillance camera images by Antoine D’Agata, following the Paris attacks in November 2015, and his resulting wor, Figures of Worship, produced in 2017.

Antoine D’Agata, FRANCE. Paris. Terrorist attack rue Oberkampf. 2015

https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/antoine-d-agata-worship/

How does the popular perception and consumption of photography impact upon my own practice? How does this influence the kind of imagery that I make?   How have I responded to changes in technology in my own practice? Again, is photography as window rather than as mirror on the self?

Week 2: Interdisciplinary Practice

Rashaida, Palestine, 2018. ©Isabelle Boutriau

This week’s discussion focused on the term interdisciplinary. Photography has been used as a tool for science and exploration, as a means of documenting, telling stories and recording. As such, it is inevitably linked to other disciplines.

It is crucial to understand the historical, cultural, political and institutional contexts of one’s work as a photographer. How do I relate my work to other media, other means of artistic expression and discourses, how do I locate myself within certain spaces and separate myself from others? Am I interdisciplinary? How does my practice relate to subjects beyond photography/visual arts? What other disciplines and critical contexts are relevant to my own practice in particular?

An image can have a life reaching far beyond its author’s original intention. Different contexts, times and places influence the reading of a photograph.

Barthes suggests analyzing photographs in terms of their “studium” and “punctum”. Studium is an “application to a thing, taste for someone, a kind of general, enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity”[1]. The kind of interest studium refers to is political, historical or cultural. A photograph’s punctum, on the other hand, Barthes argues, is “that accident which pricks me”. [2] It is something that reaches deep inside, the personally touching detail that draws you in. Punctum is associated with the subjective, emotionally touching details.

Barthes’ theory shows there are numerous ways to analyse a photograph. The impact of a photograph on an individual can be very powerful, very personal, very unique.

[1] Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, (1993:26).

[2] Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida ( 1993: 26-27).

Week 1 The Global Image

Photography… a window or a mirror © Isabelle Boutriau

Photography is everywhere and is extremely diverse. We are all subjects/consumers of photography. The pace at which photographs circulate is not a modern phenomenon. Indeed, in the 19th century, the daguerrotype became an accessible commodity and spread rapidly throughout the globe, in particular in America and along the trade routes.

Certain images have inspired unity and change and have had a powerful social and political impact. Marvin Heiferman argues that “photography changes everything” (1). It changes how we define our needs, what we see, who we are, what we do. For Diana Arbus, “the camera is a kind of license”, it gives her the freedom to follow her curiosity, to discover places she has never been to, like “being on a blind date”(2).

The meaning of a photograph is provisional, as it alters depending on time and context. For many, photography is an expression of the photographer’s sensibility, of their unique vision. It can be both a window and a mirror. A photograph always frames, selecting a portion from the larger whole. Antoine D’Agata goes one step further: “It is not how a photographer looks at the world that is important. It is their intimate relationship with it” (3).

[1] Marvin Heiferman (Editor), Photography Changes Everything, Aperture, 2012.

[2] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-14-ca-58300-story.html

[2] https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_9_VForm&ERID=24KL53T_6