Hurn and Jay – On being a Photographer (1997)

We are presented with the part of the conversation between Hurn and Jay[1] on what makes a photographer different from a person who takes photographs. Some interesting points came out of this text:

1) the concept of what a bad photograph is. I have always thought int dreams of the traditional interpretation of bad photographs as being those with cluttered scenes, no obvious subjects that the viewer can look at and a lack of technical skill. Here, the authors make the point that a bad photograph is more where the viewer isn’t interested in looking at the picture for long enough to see any meaning. For me, the idea of dwelling on the image was established in the previous course, with the idea that the image needs to hold the attention of the viewer in some way. Only where there is time to digest what is happening, can the photograph be considered ‘successful’. The parallel drawn with Graham Greene’s comment that the hardest parts of a written work to write are the bits that link the action is interesting. Some photographic series that I’ve looked at so far have some clearly weaker images from my point of view. Their value in the series though is to keep my attention as i move through my created narrative. I’m not sure I’ve ever approached photography in this way before.

2) the need for good design. This is presented not as the photographer establishing clever links or patterns within a series, but the notion of designing the revelation of the subject. The authors describe the act of producing connected images through technique or patterns of similar subject material as being fairly boring. I would agree and add that I actually find that process of connecting a series of photographs, even when not trying to overtly tell a story, exhausting and not particularly conducive to creativity. Design in this case, then is more about looking at the subject and trying different ways of revealing the thing we saw in the first place. Reference is made to taking a number of shots of the subject to see if there are stronger ways of getting to the meaning of the image through small variations in the approach.

3) Linked with 2, the idea that good design is what separates the powerful photographers from those that are less competent. This is more important that technical prowess or knowledge of photography as some sort of process.

4) The concept of a beautiful photograph of a social issue distracting away from the subject and being more about the photographer. This is disputed by the authors who instead favour the idea that a photograph is only good if it reveals the subject. The role of the photographer is to do this in the most elegant way, not simply to create a beautiful image.

In trying to think about the subject of Exercise 3 and Assignment 2, I realise from Hurn and Jay’s conversation [1] that my starting point needs to be a subject that I am interested in or passionate about and starting to think about the design of how that will be revealed in my series. Exercise 3 is about interpreting a poem through a series of images. The emphasis is on how to interpret the poem as opposed to describing the poem. So, I am going to need to select a poem that resonates with me in a way that makes me care about how it is interpreted through imagery.

[1] Hurn D/ Magnum and Jay B, 1997, “On being a Photographer”, via LensWork, https://www.lenswork.com/obpexc.htm