The American Photographer Lee Friedlander {b. 1934} once said he was mostly interested in photographing ‘people and things’, but it could be suggested that he expressed those interests in the depiction of places. A photograph can transport the viewer to the street corner of the town they live in, to the next city or the edge of the earth.
A photograph is created by a photographer standing in a particular place at a specific time. Amongst the many reasons for a photographer initially making the photograph one that is paramount is that the photographer wishes to ‘take the viewer there’.
Patrick Brown’s polaroid landscapes of Australia’s ‘Never Never’ (As Indigenous Australians sometimes refer to the Outback) exhibition titled, HOPE and on show at The Jam Factory in Bangkok Sept. 17 – Oct. 17th succeeds eminently in ‘taking the viewer there’.
Brown’s dark and brooding polaroids not only ‘take the viewer there’ they also act as a kind of emotional trigger. On viewing the polaroids a yearning to travel to where Brown painstakingly made his photographs follows. The want to explore the places and understand the secret of their beauty beckons.
As with Brown’s polaroids, compelling photographs always ask more questions than they ever answer. Questions similar to, what is my relation to these vast ‘forever’ spaces? Where do I or not fit in?
What is unique about this exhibition is that Brown has answered some of the questions photographs like these often ask. He has been successful in reading the visual signifiers’ and messages thrown at him by the natural (and at times the manmade world) which is busy in an endless cycle of creation and destruction. He has given their indicators shape and context. He puts the viewer and by extension — man the protagonist — squarely ‘there’. It becomes evident that man is not just standing on the edge of these landscapes. Man is center stage. He has ideologically, historically, economically, agriculturally, spiritually interacted and finally appropriated these vast spaces. Harmony, discord, fruitfulness, barrenness, utopia and destruction amongst a myriad of others have followed. Man’s interaction is burnt into landscapes not unlike the burnt landscapes themselves documented here. Perhaps the most important question these photographs solicit from the viewer is; will man protect these spaces for future generations or exploit and destroy them as he has done since time immemorial?
Each photograph in HOPE responds to the viewer in the form of a contemplative experience and potently compels the viewer to – question everything. ~ JP
Art, Art Photography, Asia, Fuji, Fuji X Pro 1, History, Jack Picone, Jack Picone and Stephen Dupont Photography Workshops, Kathmandu, Learn, Learn Photography, Nepal, Photographs, social commentary, Stephen Dupont, Street Photography, Workshops, X-Pro2 Fujifilm
Kathmandu September 3rd-7th, 2017
In Workshop News on March 9, 2017 at 2:26 AMKATHMANDU
September 3rd-7th
2017
Reportage Photography Workshops will hold its second roving workshop in Kathmandu. Kathmandu is one of the world’s most atmospheric cities. Even as urban chaos encroaches, this “city at the top of the world” retains its unique aura of magic, mysticism, and tradition. Over the last decade its roughly one million inhabitants, who are squeezed tightly into the Kathmandu Valley, have also been experiencing a period of major social and political turmoil – from a fierce Maoist insurgency, government curfews, and censorship to mass demonstrations against royal rule and killings of protesters. Democracy was restored in 2006 amid jubilation, and the Maoists have since joined an interim government. Today, many Nepalis believe their country has entered a new era of hope and peace.
What the Travel Guides say:
“Draped along the spine of the Himalaya, Nepal is a land of sublime scenery, time-worn temples, and some of the best hiking trails on earth. It’s a poor country, but it is rich in scenic splendor and cultural treasures. The kingdom has long exerted a pull on the Western imagination. Kathmandu is really two cities: a fabled capital of convivial pilgrims and carved rose-brick temples, and a frenetic sprawl of modern towers, mobbed by beggars and monkeys and smothered in diesel fumes. It simultaneously reeks of history and the encroaching wear and tear of the modern world.” – Lonely Planet
Workshop Overview: Award-winning documentary photographer Jack Picone will work in tandem with workshop partner Stephen Dupont, the acclaimed photojournalist, and filmmaker. Both Stephen and Jack will be there to critique and edit participants’ work one-to-one, and also take part in evening projections and discussions.
An introductory get-together will be held on the evening before the workshop’s formal start. Like any working documentary photographer, you will be given an assignment brief to interpret as you wish. (The brief will be announced before the workshop to give you time to research possible subjects before you arrive.)
The aim is to produce a documentary photo essay with a striking visual narrative, to be shown on the final evening of the workshop. Tutors will hold individual and group sessions to supervise and edit the assignments, and dialogue intensively on topics such as photographic composition, portraiture, basic camera techniques, how to research ideas and tell an original story, how to market a body of work, and how to hone your personal style. The workshop is very project based as opposed to technically driven.
The workshop’s schedule will be demanding but highly rewarding. Tutors and field assistants will be on hand constantly to help navigate any areas of difficulty and discuss all your photographic concerns. Interpreters can also be arranged where necessary.
Traditional Photo Essay and Multimedia: During the workshop participants will have an option to produce a completed photo essay within the documentary tradition or in a more contemporary context, a multimedia. In both cases, tutors will be on hand to guide you through the respective process.
Application: The workshop is strictly limited to 12 participants. A $500 deposit will be required at the time of booking to secure a place. This is one of our most popular workshops, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Cost: US$1,950 includes all workshops sessions. Workshop cost does not include travel costs to Kathmandu and accommodation.
To receive further information or to request a registration form, please contact: Jack Picone: jackvpicone@gmail.com or Stephen Dupont: stephendupont1@me.com
Links:
Jack Picone
http://www.jackpicone.com
Stephen Dupont
http://www.contactpressimages.com/photographers/dupont/dupont_bio.html