Documentary film and photography has grown in popularity over recent years with the release of many new films, TV shows, magazines and new media documentary websites. The subjects, themes and styles range dramatically from political and environmental issues to quirky stories, extraordinary explorations of life and culture, art installations and reality TV programs. While the stories captured often do not reach the news media, they are crucial in establishing an understanding about the communities and societies around us. There is, however, a range of issues that surround the differing styles of documentary that I wish to examine on this blog site.
History of documentary photography http://newdeal.feri.org/pn/pn139.htm
Photographer Carl de Keyzer http://www.carldekeyzer.com/
Photo essay
‘A photo essay is a set or series of photographs that are intended to tell a story or evoke a series of emotions in the viewer’. They are particularly important to help create a more detailed story of an event or issue.
‘The Backyard’ is my current documentary photo essay which explores the way we use our ‘out-the-back’ spaces. When I arrived back from having lived in Vietnam for nearly a year, I was struck by the difference of how we live out the back of our separated zones compared to the incredibly public ‘life on the street’ in Viet Nam.
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Since completing a Bachelor of Arts, Photography at RMIT University, I have practiced in a variety of photography fields including the areas documentary, fashion, fine art, and teaching photography. In 2003 a series of digital photographic workshops were undertaken by the Bourke Shire Council as part of the ‘Culturally Creative Storm Water Project’ for the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). My role was to teach the participants basic techniques of traditional photography, and then apply them to a digital format depicting the dire situation of storm water in the Bourke region. Since then I have been involved with a number of projects that utilize photography as a tool for community, cultural and environmental development which has led me to my current postgraduate study in developing the PhotoDART project. The project seeks to offer a ‘grassroots’ style of education by allowing members of the community or school to experience individual and collective empowerment through participatory photography and new media projects.
This blog site is dedicated to a broad discussion about documentary imaging in the context of traditional and new media capabilities. It serves to explore the varying styles, theories, ethics, possibilities and responsibilities associated with documentary film and photography .
