Pure and Straight Photography

'New York', Paul Strand, 1917

The image shows 2 figures in the streets covered by the overwhelming shadow of a New York bridge. This photograph is visually typical of pure and straight photography as the majority of the photograph is in focus, showing a wide range of depth of field. Also, the shadowing in the photograph uses a strong contrast, showing the  clear difference between the dark of the shadows and the brightness of the light sections.

Pure and straight photography often tries to display city scenes and the people in relation to modern technology and structures, and I believe that the large shadow of the bridge in relation to the small scale of the people demonstrates this well.

The photographer has taken this photograph from a high view point, meaning that the figures look even smaller in scale compared to the bridge silhouette. It is almost as if Paul Strand was standing on a similar structure, making the full impact on the difference in size visible to the viewer. The composition of the image is interesting as well, as there is a divide between the people and the shadow of the structure which is created by the shadowing of the pavement and the light on the road. This was photographed at a time where large structures and bridges had already been built, so people would have been getting used to seeing them. This is shown by the fact the people are not acknowledging the bridge, but have simply accepted it’s presence and carried on with their conversation.

Pictorialism

‘Sleep’ by Henry Peach Robinson, 1867

‘Sleep’ shows 2 young children sleeping next to each other by a window overlooking the sea. The colouring of the image is sepia, with the main source of lighting focussing on the children, making them the focal point of the image. Their expressions are blank, and their postures are relaxed and comfortable, as you would expect when looking at someone in a state of sleep.

The photograph is typical of Pictorialism as it has a soft tone and colouring, and looks like it could have been a painting. With the exception of the strong light on the bed, the rest of the photograph is fairly dark in colouring, and shows a lot of shadow, this too is commonly found in Pictorialism photography. Also, the curtain beside the bed resembles one you would see in the theatre, supporting the idea his photographs are trying to show a story.

This photograph is very similar to previous work by Henry Peach Robinson, for example the photograph ’Fading Away’. Like in the photograph ‘Fading Away’, ‘Sleep’ seems to have been a number of photographs originally that have been combined to create the final image. We can tell this because of the different lighting throughout the photograph (the strong bright light on the bed and the dark shadows around it). H P Robinson is known for photographing private moments which have not before been photographed which at the time would have been seen as inappropriate. You would not have expected, at the time it was photographed, to see a photograph like this, nor would you expect a male photographer to be present in such a private moment, which is perhaps why his images are so strong and controversial. 

Triangulation

In Susan Sontag's book 'On Photography', she explores a wide range of topics and issues within Photography as a medium. One of the main problems which she talks about are ethics within photography, of both the photographer themselves and their subjects.

She explains how photography has changed and evolved over the years, and how it has now become a way of life. It’s used more commonly for personal reasons, such as birthdays, weddings etc. It’s not just the rich and wealthy who are able to use photography anymore, due to the rapid changes in technology meaning photography is now widely available to more people.

Not only this, but Sontag raises alarms about problems in society and on a political basis. For example, the photograph of the Vietnamese children running down the street covered in napalm. She shows how photography can also be used to change people’s views on political problems.

In another section of her book she shows how ‘beauty’ is a focus for photography, and explains how photography and the camera can be used as a way to make the world appear beautiful. The advances in technology mean that in today’s society you can edit a photograph to make it appear to be something it is not.

And finally, she considers how photography can be used as a weapon, and how it is still considered offensive to take a photograph of someone, meaning we have not yet fully accepted photography as an everyday life occurrence.