Role of Photography in Communication...

Photography lets you capture something that no one else can see.

This statement is what I believe photography does in the role of communication. It can be taken to many different levels.

First, the camera lets you show any ordinary, boring object someone thinks is ugly in a new light. You can make anything interesting if you take the time to do it. I think that in photographing something ordinary in a different light to make it interesting and attention grabbing is humbling. It makes you overlook the vastness of landscapes or buildings and focus on this small, tiny detail and transform it into a work of art. It makes people think twice about their everyday routine and look at it in a different way.

The work of Ryan Bush uses this approach. He abstracts the subjects of his photos so you don't know what you are looking at. This is a good example of what I mean by using the camera to bring everyday objects to a new height
http://www.ryanbushphotography.com/#

Another way I think photography is very important is making statements beyond the picture. Photographers that use their camera to make statements about social injustice, war, race among many issues use their camera to show ordinary people what is going on in the world that they cannot see. This sparks an emotional reaction in me and makes me want to capture such images.

Someone who has done this and is awarded for it is Kaveh Golestan. He gave his life to showing the world what was going on in Iraq while we were at home in our every day lives. As Americans, we live a life unknowing of what is going on around us. I myself, get so involved in the material aspects that I do not appreciate what I have- only wanting more. Photographers who capture images of people who are not like this, people fighting for what they believe or fighting to survive make me realize how important life is. This is a huge world, and sometimes you get lost. The camera gives you a way out of it, to see what is really going on.

http://www.kargah.com/golestan/index.php

The only thing about this kind of statement is it is emotionally draining. Sometimes you have to sit an think about a photo for a large amount of time before it comes to you. Also, this images themselves can be emotionally draining and very hard to look at. This goes back to Sebastião Salgado from my last blog. Some of his pictures disturbed me, but made me think. I can still remember them only after seeing them once. This shows me that he accomplished his job. It humbles you, makes you think.

*Overall, to me, photography is a way to show people something they cannot see. Whether it be an everyday object or a social injustice. This aspect of photography is humanizing and in some ways, disturbing.