Photography's role in society...

Photography at its heart is the epitome of storytelling. It’s a moment captured in time. As a way to ask the questions of why and how the answers lie in our interpretations.

Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer for both President Reagan and Obama, speaks out on the importance of documentary photography for the Presidency. He also mentions how one person may, and has, kept the President in line. Having someone who represents the public and the historical eye watching over you every day, will change your decision at one point or another. Every image taken during a Presidency is to be handed over to the National Archives. This very act allows us to look back on history through photographs and the stories they tell.

Now more than ever, we need more photographers documenting history. We saw this with the rise of Black Lives Matter. While stories spread of police brutality, it was little by little. It wasn’t until photographic and video evidence showed people police brutality rather than told them about it. Written stories and articles were buried in the millions of photographs of the social epidemic. BLM was a recent issue but it was followed by environmental issues, political scandals, and humanitarian violations. The very reason we are exposed to current events is through the existence of photography and its ability to show suffering. 

When we explore the idea of showing over telling, we arrive at the connection between creative writing and photography: cinema.

We use photography to look back in time for historical exploration and the discovery of ideas. Every movie, especially historical fiction, requires research of its time period. While stories may be able to describe the colours and the environment, photographs are used to study the “feeling” of the era; the “look” of the clothing; or the decor used uniquely to a certain time period or location. For modern-day filmmaking, photography is used to convey the film’s message and “look” or mood to both the crew in pre-production and to the public during its promotional stages.

Let’s look at cinema with another perspective. Filmmaking describes its connection to photography within its name: motion-picture. In the early days, films had 5fps or frames per second. However, through the improvements of image sensors, ISO, faster processors, etc. we now see cinematic movies in 24fps, broadcasting in 30fps, and slow-motion in 120fps and above. Other advancements like colour photography, developed… (get it… developed...) in 1907, only took 5 decades to be implemented into films. Then, in 1996, the first digital film was Windhorse. Now, only 24 years later, of the last ten Oscars awarded “Best Picture of the Year '', nine were shot on digital Arri cameras. Only one, La La Land, being shot on film. For the last 100 years, advancements in photography meant advancements in cinema.

Pioneers in the photography art world such as Joel Meyerowitz moved the medium forward by embracing technological advancements. He took colour photography and applied it to street and documentary storytelling, traditionally only done in Black and White. He added a new layer of communication from the photograph to the viewer no-one had ever seen. Those advancements such as colour photography and a new application, make new techniques old and unforeseen ideas reality. No matter what genre, the only way to advance in our world as a society is to advance ourselves as artists, storytellers, and photographers.