Being There

I spend a lot of time looking at other photographers’ work and often see very pronounced aesthetic approaches and complex styles; lots of layering, different ways of seeing and interpreting what is in front of their lens. Done well, I love that approach though done poorly, it can be a cluttered frame that doesn’t hold my attention or tell me anything.  When I look at my own photographs, I don’t always see that complexity – to me my pictures are often matter-of-fact, what you see is what you get. Occasionally I get down on myself about this – that I’m not working hard enough, thinking about my composition enough, that I’m little more than a visual stenographer. Often though isn’t being there and having the presence of mind to take a picture, recording what you see so that others can see as well? I was reminded of that while reading about the Pulitzer Prize-winning project by Craig F. Walker of the Denver Post. From a post at the Society for News Design:

The Ian Fisher story is a linear, classic approach that resists keeping a photographer’s stamp on the images. The strength of the package is not in the artistry or aesthetics of the images. Rather, it is a work of is journalism communicated with the camera that gives us an intimate experience with Fisher’s life. “Craig does not come out in his photography,” [Assistant Managing Editor/Photography Tim] Rasmussen said. “But the people who Craig is photographing do – and for me that’s more important. I want to learn something about the subject, not the photographer.”

Walker says that his photography is about the moments and reacting to them. When the moment happens, the composition is simply the best effort he can make to capture that moment. “It’s not about me, it’s about Ian, I’m telling Ian’s story. I guess my style is what you’re looking at.”

via The story behind The Denver Post photo Pulitzer – The Society for News Design.

Do yourself a favor and click the above link – it’s a good read. And then go here for the presentation on the Denver Post’s photoblog.