Ch. 2 Reading Response

I have always been a fan of the National Geographic-type photography. It captures reality in such a light that the subject seems magical, mystical. I totally agree with a quote in the reading: "Documentary is thought to be art when it transcends its reference to the world" (p.73) To me, a great photograph is something that creates new meaning to the subject, provokes questions from the viewer, capturing their awe and interest.

More recently, I have been more exposed to "modern" art, and conceptual photography, where manipulation of photographs are done to convey certain meaning.I stumbled across this in my Facebook feed of a friend, who is strongly an LGBT activist, and I thought it was quite an interesting, if not powerful editorial. This, I think, really fits into 'creating' and capturing what did not naturally occur in real life, but was a set up to convey a certain message. In otherwords, photography in this sense was used as an "instrument of symbolic control" (p.83)

With the invention of the lightweight 35mm photography not only became more accessible to the community, but the photography of people became less obtrusive, and increased the range of camera angles.
I really identified with what Humphrey Spender said about his philosophy and apprehensiveness while doing photography: "my main anxiety, purpose, was to become invisible and to make my equipment invisible, which is one of the reasons I carried around an absolute minimum of equipment..." I love to photograph people, particularly candid ones where they do not know they are being watched or photographed. Thus, I always find it a challenge to photograph them without their knowing and not be a creep about it. Sometimes I really wish I could be invisible, and if not, at least I can have an 'invisible' camera mounted on my face so I can capture everything that I see discreetly (Am I a creep now? :P). Also, in general, I don't like to carry a lot of equipment because it's a hassel and it's heavy, but also, with taking pictures of people, I want quick and easy access to my get-up so I can capture these intricate moments quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRBARi09je8
--->fast forward to 00:30 ish. Do you think that is okay?
What are some of the boundaries that you set for yourself to achieve whatever sorts of photography you want?

Cannot something arranged or set up offer us an authentic insight into reality? (p.72)