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"Telling" a story


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<p>Matt, I prefer to think of a single photo as simply showing a still image of a certain scene rather than offering a meaningful story/narrative in itself... I can then associate this picture (and perhaps others...) with whatever real or fanciful story I see fit, in whatever way I see fit, either directly or indirectly.</p>

<p>Larry's question ("from where does "the story" actually originate") is an interesting one, and in many cases the answer is surely "from our own imaginations, mostly"... This can be fun to play with from time to time, naturally.</p>

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<p> One of the things that stands out for me in Matt's picture is that the hunter is not wearing a wristwatch. I wonder if he's got a pocket watch, or if he's let go of clock-time. A dog lover might read this picture differently than a hunter would. I originally thought the woman on the bench had a cold or allergy.<br>

In literature, all texts produce a plurality of readings. Each reader (or analyst's) interpretation varies. Why should photographs be any different? There is no final, definitive or correct meaning. A plurality of interpretations is a wellspring of power. Art is a psychic generator, an object whose content is impossibly larger than its envelope. Viewers often see things in a photograph (artwork or text) than its creator intended. Are we inventing, discovering, or recognizing meaning? Or producing possibilities of life?</p>

<p> </p>

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'It might be a story in the same sense like a cave painting'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly :)

 

 

 

 

and like primitive cave painting we are moved to imagine who the artist was, what gender, under what conditions they lived and why they felt the need to inscribe their emotive feelings for others to read.

 

 

Like graffiti art today. We admire the aesthetic, imagine a bit, and if the work is that interesting recognise the artist next time we see their work.

 

 

 

And if the is THAT good, we maybe feel our own emotions reflected in what we see.

 

 

 

If you don't understand vision then you are speaking from a viewers point of view.

 

 

Photographers should care only about vision.

 

You can work on vision intially by working on sequences of images, a very good place to start finding yourself and your own voice.

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<p >“What is it you call a story here?<br />1. A piece of coherent information which present clear and singular meaning ? Or.<br />2. A piece capable to generate contextual and emotional responce(s) in viewer(s)?”</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Both, ilkka. To use your own words a piece of information, which represents a meaning of emotion, distress, lost love, and most of all deep heart felt rendering. A piece that is capable of being able to generate an empathetic emotional response from the viewer. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >“That might be a story, when told out <em>in detail</em> .”</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Why in detail?</p>

<p >Any writer worth their salt will tell you that the most important part of their prose is being able to invoke imagination, feelings, and an emotional response from their reader. </p>

<p >That is where you will find the true story in any piece of serious prose or poetry. </p>

 

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<p >“What is it you call a story here?<br />1. A piece of coherent information which present clear and singular meaning ? Or.<br />2. A piece capable to generate contextual and emotional responce(s) in viewer(s)?”</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Both, ilkka. To use your own words a piece of information, which represents a meaning of emotion, distress, lost love, and most of all deep heart felt rendering. A piece that is capable of being able to generate an empathetic emotional response from the viewer. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >“That might be a story, when told out <em>in detail</em> .”</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Why in detail?</p>

<p >Any writer worth their salt will tell you that the most important part of their prose is being able to invoke imagination, feelings, and an emotional response from their reader. </p>

<p >That is where you will find the true story in any piece of serious prose or poetry. </p>

<div>00TI9o-132665884.jpg.31e6b7c8903435365186fdcc9c84d725.jpg</div>

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<p>When Dorothea Lange took the picture of the Migrant Mother, the story was the Depression and Dust Bowl. You can see the anguish on the mom's face. You can see the despair and desire to rise above. When Rothstein took the photograph of the man and his two kids running to get inside from a dust storm, the story is how the land has been punished and how the earth is punishing back. You can also ask the one question I have never heard anyone ask, Why did the father leave the younger of the two sons behind? These photographs have al become iconic of the Dirty Thirties and were even useful in getting the plight of the Southern Plains told to the East Coasters. All photos tell a story, the real question is, is the story even interesting?</p><p><b>Image removed. Per the photo.net Terms of Use, do not post photos that are not yours.</b>
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<p>Telling, showing, illustrating, picturing, depicting, stating, saying, speaking, imaging, exposing, communicating, declaring, informing, reporting, revealing, representing, demonstrating, illuminating, interpreting, revealing, portraying, drawing, painting, representing, sketching, interpreting, describing, designing, relating, reproducing, articulating, elucidating, expressing, presenting, conveying, disclosing, suggesting, asserting, conversing, reflecting........</p>

<p>Anyone want to add more words?</p>

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<p>So far people seem mostly to be concentrating on photos (or, more accurately, photographers) which have as their goal the "communication" or "evoking" (as opposed to telling) of a specific story (i.e. photojournalism) and whether or not they succeed in this, whereas in recent years a number of photographers have explored other more interesting angles, namely the "telling" of fluid, non specific, "open" stories. I.e. situations which i think are left deliberately ambiguous and ill-defined so as to allow the viewer the chance to create their own narratives.<br>

A couple of examples I can think of are the fashion photographer Robert Wyatt ( http://www.robertwyatt.net/ ), and artist / photographer Nigel Bennett ( http://www.bennettism.com/ ). While Wyatt mostly creates campaigns for luxury fashion brands, he often manages to bring in an extra soemthing lacking in other commercial photographer's work: a subtlety and intelligence that doesnt patronise the viewer (see his campaign for Prada for example).<br>

Of course, this "openess" to interpretation is present in any image or photo, regardless as to whether the photographer intended such a thing or not - as the viewer will always interpret the work as colored by their own personal experiences. but what is interesting about the photos of both Bennet and Wyatt is an apparent acknowledgment by the photographer of the futility of trying to fix a meaning and instead they seem to strive for a deliberate open-endedness, inviting the viewer to participate in the storytelling. Or in other words, rather than dictating outcomes, they provide the raw materials that permit the viewer to "tell" the story his/herself.</p>

[<B>Moderator's note:</b> Please do not upload photos that are not your own; it's a violation of copyright laws and of photo.net's Terms of Use.]

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