Photo story

Assignment

This week you will tell us a story in two to three photos, otherwise known as a diptych/triptych. You will take 2-3 photos and thread them together to make the beginning, middle, and end. You can choose any subject you like as long as it is appropriate for your age, school, etc. You will also write a short story to go with the piece it should be about 1 page, reasonable font size and spacing.

Some historical context:

We will begin with the legends from early photographic history (late 1800s early 1900s) such as Lewis Hine and Jacob August Riis. Their styles differed dramatically. Riis was lauded for being the first to use flash and as a writer he was quite prolific and well-known in his time; BUT his approach reeked with a lack of sensitivity. He arrived with body guards, ran in and flashed where the disadvantaged slept and worked, and ran out again. Lewis Hine illustrated the real plight of the workers, got to know them, worked seamlessly in their environment and recorded them with dignity - not 'run by shooting'. It's a good comparison to make today, especially with the glut of paparazzi....! Hine was a compassionate conveyor of social conditions in need of improvement, and Riis was academic yet sterile in his portrayals of the same social problems.

Eugene Atget worked in late 1800s and early 1900s Paris recording the fading provincial aspect of the city in the face of the urban renewal projects directed by Baron Haussmann.  Haussmann was appointed City Planner by Napoleon III and created the Paris we know today.   He was single-handedly responsible for catapulting the city into the modern world albeit not without controversy.  Atgets extensive surveys, revealed through more than 2000 - 18 x 24 cm glass plates, preserved Old Paris for eternity.

Other eras of interest include the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographic unit which assigned photographers to document rural and urban conditions throughout the United States in the 1930s and 40s.  These photographers include Dorothea Lange , Walker Evans, Russell Lee, Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn, Jack Delano, Marion Post Wolcott, Gordon Parks, John Vachon, and Carl Mydans.  Dorothea Lange was known for her emotionally rich images covering migrant workers and tenant farmers, as well as other victims of the Depression in 22 states between 1935 and 1942.  Her most famous image "Migrant Mother " put a face on the suffering and turned national attention to the dilemma.

W. Eugene Smith created the first ever published photo essay (April 9, 1951) in Life magazine entitled " A Spanish Village " which changed the public impression of Spain and impacted its political destiny.  His " Pittsburgh " story project was intended as a 3-4 week photo excursion but turned into a three year manifesto that ultimately was never published in the book-length as he intended. Due to his exceedingly high standards ... he kept modifying page and story layouts attempting to weave his characteristically complex "themes and metaphors with multiple connotations and resonance" much to the dismay of many a photo editor.

Many consider his image, " Minamata ", from a study of a village in Japan suffering birth defects from mercury poisoning from the fish they ate to be the 'gold standard' in photo journalistic merit. 

Margaret Bourke-White was one of the few WW II vintage woman photographers. Her best known work included coverage of Ghandi whom she interviewed hours before his assassination in 1948.

Your 'story' does NOT need to be MONUMENTAL Just a thoughtful slice of life delivered with honesty and sensitivity.