Virtual Essay

Through studying various photographers from our online course of  "Photography: Shooting the Truth",  I could not help but admire one photographer in the name of Eugene Smith.  A legendary photojournalist that was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1918.  At age 18, he received a scholarship from Notre Dame University when he impressed his faculty and administration with his photographs.  Later he joined magazines and newspaper and been shooting photographs that communicates with the world.  As he once said, " Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors".  He never traded his passion for work nor the truth for monetary gain or personal safety.  I like the way he used juxtaposition in his photographs, by combining two photographs with equal visual weight, that either compare or contrast, he was able to catch the viewers's attention to both photographs and let his viewers form their own conclusion about the purpose of the photographs.  He was also very patient in taking his, waiting for the right subject and time to come along, usually he was stealthily hiding in the background, to catch the perfect moment.  Below are 5 samples of his best works that is taken in juxtaposition and catching the right moment.

 

This photograph shows an average woman admiring herself on the mirror while a beautiful and glamorous woman hiding herself in the dark corner.

 

 

 

This is a photographer that Eugene Smith with a worker that has a fire in his eyes that may look evil and monstrous, but without the googles, his eyes are humble and compassionate.

 

These photographs he had taken one overlooking a beautiful city and the other destroyed by poisonous smoke from the factories.

 

" A walk to Paradise Garden"  is one example of his best  work as a photographer and an artist after taking a picture of his children while they were walking in a garden after he was badly injured and recovering from an accident he had suffered taking pictures in a war-torn place.  This picture made him go back to shoot pictures again.

This photograph showing a small boy watching eagerly a white man passing by, a sample of juxtaposition and waiting patiently for the perfect timing to catch the right moment,also full of symbolism. The position of the boys is also spatially balanced on the picture.

I am fond of taking pictures and catching the moment in every opportunity I got.  In my travels and spending time with my friends, I have not been aware, just until now when I took this online course, and when I went through with my pictures, that I have been taking pictures that of the style of Eugene Smith's juxtaposition and waiting patiently or just sometimes realizing its a right time to take the picture.  Like Eugene Smith, I like to communicate using pictures and arts.
Below are amateur samples of my works that show juxtapositon.

This man caught my attention when I was touring in Germany, he was all clothed in yellow, little did I know that on the same month, when I got home in the Philippines I would also meet an all yellow clothed man.

The picture of my elderly client with her grandson, she seemed like saying  to her grandson " Your life has just began and I am almost done "

I caught a picture of the painter friend with her portrait on same position as she was talking to her mom when I visited her in Germany.

 

I took this picture while my son and I went to this new cafe, and I suddenly I realized he was stirring coffee same with the poster on the wall.

This is a picture of my friend's daughter that is so afraid to use the escalator, she was holding tightly to her uncle as they try to go down the escalator, the people with them seems oblivious of the drama that was happening with them.  This remind of one of the photographs of Eugene Smith taken with a homecoming soldier from the war with his mom, and yet the crowd was oblivious of them as they go on their business.

 I would like to add the picture I caught while I was sitting on the airplane window, the shadow of the airplane I was in was caught in the clouds. Just a perfect moment.

 

 

The plane flying above the building of the building near the CN Tower may evoke very obvious feelings like that of post 9/11 world, especially that the airplane seem flying straight to the CN Tower may bring back that feeling. This is a juxtaposition of a chance occurrence, but I knew my intention when I took it as it is an obvious juxtaposition of 9/11.

Reference:

http://helenjk.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/w-eugene-smith-and-dream-street/

http://www.photo-seminars.com/Fame/eugesmith.htm

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/juxtaposition



 

 

 

 

 

Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier-Bresson versus the work of Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado

Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier- Bresson are photojournalists that both captured the life moments with their camera.  They endevoured to "give meaning to everything" with their camera, as Andre Kertesz infuenced the work of Henri Cartier- Bresson, they both showed pictures in juxtaposition, which is. two objects are positioned next to each other with the intent of comparing or contrasting them. The photographs shown are works of Andre Kertesz wherein in people are oblivious of their surroundings and just go about their daily life.  The second picture is that of Henri Cartier-Bresson where a mother and son, who were separated by war was reunited in New York. The extra ordinary thing of this picture were the people surrounding them seems to be nonchalant and oblivious of the drama that is taking place between mother and son.

Both artist were travellers, worked intuitively, endevoured " to give meaning to everything" with their camera, they liked spontaneity in their works, patient in catching the right moments, not very concerned with photographs as hobby, craft, science or art but gives more importance on the subject of the photo.  They want to capture the feeling of the moment with sophisticated understanding of composition, the role of light and shadow, aerial views, contrast of near and far, thus creating pictures with no obvious harshness or blur but rather almost impressionistic photographs.

Whereas Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado are both humanist photographer which is according to the Society for Humanistic Photography, it is a photography discipline that focuses primarily on people rather than accessories.  Eugene Smith is an American photojournalist that made photo essays or documented the General Election in United Kingdom in 1950, documented Pittsburg, that supposedly to take him 3 weeks of documentation but spanned in 3 years and published a book of that.  He also exposed the Minamata Disease in the world by publicizing in detail how Chisso factory in Tokyo that causes Minamata disease by discharging heavy metals into water sources around Minamata. Photo taken by Smith  shown above of mother bathing his son suffering from Minamata disease.

 

Sebastio Salgado also inherited the telling capabilities of Eugene Smith in his humanistic photographs, his interest is to tell his stories of suffering of the people more in newspaper to reach the largest number of readers as possible.  He spend time developing stories of how people are surviving in the midst of hardships and difficulties of life. The above photographs depicts the workers and miners at the goldmines of Brazil.

Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado photography are brutally vivid, documenting how human spirit soared above the inferno of destruction that they were immersed in.  They are modern, refreshing, empathetic and almost optimistic.  They consider photography as a small voice that could be use as a medium to be heard by many.  The above photograph is by Smith, Dewey Defeats Truman, Nov. 2 1948 and the below photograph is by Salgado depicting peohttp://smithfund.org/humanistic-photographyple living in hardship in India.

We believe that Andre Kertsz, Henri Cartier, Eugene Smith, Sebastio Salgado were all great and well-respected photojournalist in their own right and field.  One is not better than the other as they are both trying to capture the essence of life in anyway possible they can, going through all the great length of patiently waiting for the right moment at the right time as what Andre Kartersz and Henri Cartier did; and Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado also travelled around the globe exposing  the hardships of people that otherwise we have never known of existed.  They never compromised their beliefs, they protected the integrity in their works and never succumbed to the pressures of the commercial and outside world.
Reference:
http://www.leegallery.com/eugene-smith/eugene-smith-photography
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1983868_2128603,00.html
http://thephotobook.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/sebastiao-salgado/
http://smithfund.org/humanistic-photography
http://photofocus.com/http://alexdobson.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/the-master-of-the-photo-essay-eugene-smith/2012/04/01/photographers-that-you-should-know-henri-cartier-bresson/
http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/the-mines-of-serra-pelada/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Eugene_Smith
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/05/using-juxtaposition-to-enhance-your-photography/

www.ehow.com/info_8370082_grants-humanistic-photography.html