Pre Work - Image manipulation

As I was preparing for the exercise I found a surprising internet article from PetaPixel (http://petapixel.com/2016/05/26/photoshopped-photos-emerge-steve-mccurry-scandal/) regarding Steve McCurry. 

The articles show that McCurry has been altering some of his images using Photoshop. In the articles it states that in one image a person has been moved in the image to provide a better composition. It follows this up with an investigation into other images produced by Steve McCurry.

One example shows a change in composition where a number of people and the rear end of a bicycle have been removed from the image to improve it. In another a small number of trees have been removed from the background.

These actions are not being viewed with a kind eye by many in the industry. The NPPA ethics committee regards some of the alterations to be an ethical lapse.

Mr McCurry is a photojournalist and a travel photographer and so his images should show some truth but at the same time he is trying to provide a clear image with a clear context and narrative so the viewer can get a good idea of his aesthetic taste especially when he is presenting the image as a travel photography image rather than as a journalistic image.

He has clarified that he has used contrast and tones to alter sections of images, however the images in question on Petapixel he has stated are changes made where elements of the images were moved was wok which he did not authorize and were carried out by a no longer employed lab technician.

I am not sure where I stand on this at the moment, as on one hand this sort of action has been performed by photographers for most of the history of photography and cannot really be construed as falsifying an image. However could his alterations be as the NPPA state, change the journalistic truth of the images and how did these images get to publication without double checking them before final approval. I am left wondering how much truth should be presented within travel photography, it is okay to manipulate an image to present a clearer composition of life in that location, but should the change in elements within an image change the reality of what is being presented.

Research Point - Paul Seawright - Sectarian Murders

The piece presents a series of images with sub titles which provide background information on the murder which was carried out at that specific location.

The viewer is presented with the image, which is a normal image, the sub titles provide the context for what you are seeing, the narrative however is driven by the viewer as they are asked to provide an emotional response to both the image and the information. You are allowed to feel emotions and thoughts on both the surviving families of the victims and for the people who found the bodies. We are at no point given much information on the victim or if the murder was investigated and the perpetrators convicted, this gives me a feeling of imbalance which drives the context and the narrative.

During the video the artist states clearly that in this series he is providing nothing more than the information and that the viewer provides the narrative, I feel that this is correct.

Personally I struggled a little with these images, as I grew up in a divided sectarian environment and I have taken a lot of emotional steps to get away from this environment, so my emotional response to these images was both sadness and negative as once again I failed to understand why people do this to each other.

Research Point - Contemporary Street Photography - Does black and white make a difference.

Having read the noted articles I reviewed a number of images from the listed artists;

In a large number of cases, I found that colour was used by the artist during composition to highlight particular details within the image and it was used as a device to catch the eye and draw in the viewer.

At first black and white photography was used mainly for photojournalism and few of the images were colourised, there would have only been a small number of occasions when this would have thought to have been appropriate. With the advent of colour, photojournalism moved into the use of CYMB printing technology to allow colour images to be printed as the news providers would have been looking for colour images to provide striking, eye catching front page displays to identify themselves from their competitors. However I feel at times that colour can be overused and in some cases the colour diverts the viewer’s eye away from the central narrative.

Certainly the use of colour has help drive photojournalism away from the surreal elements of early photography, as it helps to add realism into the composition.

In the case of Martin Parr he uses irony within his street photography; he uses the idea of britishness as an ironic force to present images where there has been non integration of British people abroad.

Personally I dislike these particular images as I personally feel that Martin Parr is sneering at the uncultured.

Looking over my own recent images I prefer some of the black and white versions to the colour versions as removing the colour has removed some of the distractions and provided a better narrative for the image.

Exercise 3 - Reportage

What: Find a famliar location and using street photography/reportage style, take 60 images. Produce 30 colour and 30 black and white, Compare the images and explain which style is preferable.
Where: Outdoors, North Berwick

When: Mid afternoon 

How: Being housebound meant that I had attempted this exercise a number of times previously and failed dramatically. This had a negative affect on my mood and I was finding it very difficult to find the motivation and ability to produce these images.


It was by change that my wife decided to meet with a friend who is moving away and we took his dog for a walk along North Berwick beach,

I like this particular location as it is very busy and by the way people walk along it beach they create lots of negative space around them.

This is a slideshow of the images produced for the exercise.


A direct link is https://flic.kr/s/aHskzWVhNa

On review of the images I do prefer the black and white images. Especially this one,, as it stands out visually to me.

Exercise 2: The Real and the Digital

Project 5 – Exercise 2: The Real and the Digital

Before digital photography became possible, photographic images were, for the main part, accepted as real because the public believed that the camera captured exactly what was in front of it. Images taken could only be manipulated so far using skills such as burning and dodging, double exposure, cropping an image with scissors or paint etc.. – the range of technical skills, processes and methods for doing this were much less extensive than today. Many of these processes were time consuming and not commonly undetectable. When they were used, it was often on request and not expected to be ‘invisible’.

With the advent of Photoshop, the playing field changed. To begin with only individuals or organisations with enough money to purchase the software and the licenses were able to make use of it. Much of the public were slow to realise it existed.

As the costs became more mainstream and the software more widely available, as well as users becoming more skilled, it is almost a common practice for all photographs to be manipulated in some manner or another – enhancement/colour/’editing’ etc – and the photograph captured ‘in camera’ is becoming  the rarity.

Manipulation has become so common place, in fact, that spotting when this has been done, and identifying glaring blunders when it is done badly, has become a ‘sport’ through sites such as “Photoshop Disasters”.

Perception: Does this change the nature of photography as truth?

You cannot composite every single image that is captured so in essence, photography is still capturing a person/place/event in that segment of time. What has changed is people’s attitude to manipulation. It is no longer seen in a negative light, rather that it is something that can be done to ensure that the image is the best it can be – glamourising a portrait, enhancing colour through high dynamic range, changing the sky/backdrop – are common place.

Exercie 1 - Citizen Journalism

The act of taking a photo or video footage of an event and presenting it as an account does not instantly make it journalism - rather it is the act of an eyewitness.

Citizen journalism involves the active participation of normal people rather than  journalists in first hand news-gathering and reporting. It is an alternative to the media. It plays a role in giving an alternative view on local, national and international events, exposing abuses of power, corruption and seeking accountability.

There are arguments for and against citizen journalism;

·         For:

o   Personal connection to the events

o   Independent point of view, usually focussing on deeper issues that initially perceived by external parties

o   Immediate response if distributed to the media/news outlets.

·         Against

o   Poor image quality

o   No anonymity of sources

o   No respect for privacy

o   No consideration on the effects of the images

o   Questionable objectivity of the subject and composition of the images

Case 1.

Antonio Buehler

Antonio Buehler photographed police arresting a woman suspected of DUI while on a garage forecourt fuelling his car. Buehler stated that the officers were mistreating the woman. He then started taking pictures of the incident and was arrested for interfering with the investigation. (https://www.rt.com/usa/texas-faces-years-recording-692/)

Did the picture affect the story – no, as the original photo only shows the woman being pulled towards the police car. The photo? story itself highlights the events which then followed the taking of the photo.

Allegations were made against Buehler by the officers that he had physically intervened in the situation and had spat in one of the officers faces. Buehler took his story to the internet and was able to obtain photographs and video footage from other eyewitness who had recorded the events on their mobile phones. The footage clearly showed that the officers had abused their power and one of the officers was shown to be holding Buelher against a truck. This was not as described in the police department’s reports of the event.

While Buehler was awaiting charges, over 8000 people joined a Facebook page in support of Buelher. They organised rallies and posted the story and others detailing police abuse worldwide onto the internet.

With this support behind him, the charges were eventually dropped against  Buelher and he went on to form “The Peaceful Streets Project” - a grassroots group for police accountability.

In this case, had there not been individuals who filmed the event and spoken up through the internet then the case of abuse of power would probably have gone unnoticed.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/350955711587953/

http://peacefulstreets.com/about/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/197418972/Peaceful-Streets-Complaint

Objectivity : Was Beulher hoping that the police would over react? Maybe  as he was a known activist and knew if he asked questions and photographed officers in a heightened situation that they may react badly to his presence. His own objectivity maybe a little skewed but personally I think that Beuhler may have acted in defence of what he perceived to be an out of  control situation. I don’t think he planned to get himself arrested on false charges.

Case 2

Texas Video Pool Party

This video taken by a teenager shows a police officer pull a gun on a group of teenagers during a pool party. The video uploaded by Brandon Brooks starts with the officer detaining a girl who refused to leave the  party. As he struggles with the girl, he throws her to the ground. Her friends protest against his action and the officer pulls his gun and points it at them. At this point they run away from the officer and are pursued by two other officers on foot. The first officer pulls the girl to the ground, returns his gun to the holster and restrains the girl by pulling and holding her hair.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/us/mckinney-tex-pool-party-dispute-leads-to-police-officer-suspension.html?_r=0

Did the picture affect the story? Yes. The footage shows an officer out of control, not using his training and allowing his temper to get the better of him. Not sure – would need to see the footage to decide whether the taking of the photo merely documented the event or influenced it.

Had there been no eyewitness to the event, then there would have been no proof. In this event it appears that the officer involved was only interested in restraining non-white individuals. This is demonstrated because Brandon who calmly took the video is white and no police officers interfered with his taking the video footage.

Objectivity - even though the full details of the events that took place at the party are unknown, the video footage shows an out of control event and that the officer involved has lost his own objectivity. Brandon’s footage is clear and consciencious and documents the event without deviation.

 The police officer’s response as shown in the video is clearly an overuse of force. As soon as the footage hit the internet it was picked up by news teams around the world and the startling image of an officer pulling a gun on a group of unarmed teenagers shocked people.

In both these cases a trained photojournalist on the scene would have been aware that they were involved in an important event and may have taken time to collect a larger number of images from which to choose one which presented their conscious decision of “objectivity” as they would be aware of the fact that there is no such things as being unconsciously objective..