"Do you think photography has the ability to initiate social change?"

W. Eugene Smith, born in 1918, was an American photographer that photographed for publications like Life Magazine and The New York Times.  He took the photograph below in Minamata, Japan, a small village that experienced mercury poisoning from a company named Chisso.  Mercury entered a local woman's bloodstream which travelled through her placenta and rendered her daughter, Tomoko, blind, deaf, and with "useless legs."  Smith's photograph drew international attention to the issue.

"Tomoko Uemura In Her Bath" - 1971

Photography can initiate social change.

Below is a photograph of a 12 year old Black boy named Devonte Hart hugging a White police officer.  It was taken during nationwide protests in the United States after a Grand Jury decided not to indict Officer Daren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown, a young Black man, in Ferguson, Missouri. In recent years, the tensions between the Black community and law enforcement have been made public to the rest of America (although they have existed for as long as Blacks and law enforcement have interacted).  The reason this photograph is so powerful is because it went viral (shared on Facebook hundreds of thousands of times within the span of a few months) for revealing a tender moment between two people who have been portrayed as enemies in the recent years -- Blacks are seen as "anti-cop" and cops are seen as "anti-Black."  

Some are upset with this photograph because they believe it blinds people to the very real issues regarding law enforcement killing young Black men disproportionately to other races.  Personally, I love this photograph because it shows there's hope for reconciliation and positive change regarding this issue as long as there's willingness on both sides.

photographer: Johnny Nguyen

Back lighting, Shadows, and Reflections Research

Below are examples of silhouette, reflection, and shadow photography, all of which require a specific focus on lighting.

Photographers practice silhouette photography to convey messages or emotions through interesting shapes. Below, the photographer John Batho takes the silhouette technique to the next level by photographing his subject through a fogged window or glass, which creates an eerie and disturbing mood.

John Batho

Photographers practice shadow photography (in which the shadow of an object or person is the main subject of the photograph) to convey messages or emotions through the use of shape and texture.

Victoria Ivanova 

Robin Broadbent

Back-lighting doesn't always have to create silhouettes - it is also often used for portrait photography.

Greta Tu 

Photographers use reflection photography to convey messages and moods through the use of shape and texture.

Bess Hamiti

Ellen Von Unwerth

Margaret Bourke-White Research

Margaret Bourke-White was a 20th century American photographer most well known for her photo contributions to Life magazine, and often credited as the first female documentary photographer to be accredited by and work with the US military.  She covered World War II atrocities, Mahatma Gandhi's efforts in India, and the Korean War.

Moscow Bombing, July 1941

Germany heavily bombed Moscow during World War II.  Bourke-White used the lighting of the bombs to create a silhouette among the buildings.  What's interesting about this photograph is how without the title, I would have assumed this was of a celebration (the exact opposite of war) because the bombs look very similar to fireworks.

info from: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Bourke-White

Semester Final Portfolio

Project #3: Motion

Depth of Field and Abstraction Research

Shallow Depth of Field examples below.

Tatiana Mikhina - still life

Kayleigh June - portrait

Abstraction is an art style that seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects.  It explores the relationships of forms and colors.  Some examples in photography are below.

Vlastimil Koutecky - created an abstract photo by using depth of field so that one string of the plant is in focus and the rest of the photo is blurry.

Steven Bratman - the photographer used light, color, depth of field, and motion to create an abstract photo in which half of it is in focus and the other half is blurry.

Jaap Joris - the photographer used depth of field so that the entire photo is in focus, but the contrast between the yellow and black are what make this photo abstract.

Perception and Space Through Multiple Perspectives Research

Cubism is an art style, especially in painting, made of simple geometric shapes, interlocking planes, and collages.  Below are some examples in photography.

David Hockney works:

Other Photographers that practice this technique:

Erwin Blumenfeld

Brno Del Zou