Over the last couple years I have seen the work of Roy DeCarava. He is one of my favorites photographers. I like the idea behind his work. He is know as the Harlem photographer. I decided to do my blog on him this week because he recently passed away at the age of 89. He changed the history of African- American art and lifestyle. He actually had 60 years of photography under his belt. His photography was revolutionary for his time. Looking at his photos, I see a similarity between them and quite a few photographers that I have written about already. However, they have a different quality to them. They are all of African-American life and people. His images gave insight into what it was like to live in Harlem New York. They provoke very different emotions than other "street photographers" if you will. I recently took a trip to Nashville, where I tried this type of photography. I shot many images of African- American elderly men who were "down on their luck." These didn't quite turn out the way I was expecting. Mine were a bit exploitive. I think that Roy DeCarava did a wonderful job documenting instead of exploiting.
Good. I also admire this photographer's work. The next step in your writing is to reflect on the important question: "how". I try to ask this question of myself when I make an observation. It can really provide useful insight and lead yuo to ideas for your own work. For instance
ReplyDeleteFo instance, you wrote:
His photography was revolutionary for his time. Looking at his photos, I see a similarity between them and quite a few photographers that I have written about already. However, they have a different quality to them.
How so, specifically? What makes them different? Is it just the subject matter or the active decisions the photographer made? Does it have to do with lighting, framing, expression. And then again, how so? The answers are all in the work itself. Look closely.
Your last comments:
They provoke very different emotions than other "street photographers" if you will. I recently took a trip to Nashville, where I tried this type of photography.
So how were the emotions different? How do these photographs seem different. How do they seem less exploitive? Is it the intimacy, the closeness... what do you see? What do you imagine was going on here?