urban ku # 166 ~ ice

Ice on trees • click to embiggenThe journal entry, ku # 449 ~ meaning, of a few days ago continues to draw interesting comments. The most recent from John Denniston is from the perspective of a retired photographer and a former editor at a daily newspaper.

John D. states; "After looking through the entire series of pictures I would say they are uneven. There are some very powerful pictures and there are some very dull and uninspired. Papo suffers from what I saw in many photographers when I was an editor at a daily newspaper, not understanding that the emotions felt when taking the picture don’t always translate to the print. Good photographers are also ruthless editors of their own work because they know that one bad picture in a series of 10 good pictures can destroy the impact of the other 9. So what’s the problem with some of Papo’s pictures? She just missed the moment and the tension is gone, the photograph has become a snapshot. The decisive moment may be a cliché but it’s also the difference between pictures that connect with a viewer who has no experience with what’s being photographed and those which only connect with family or friends."

I understand that, from the perspective of a newspaper editor who needs to fill a limited amount of page space with pictures that pack the most attention-getting wallop, Papo's body of work would need to be edited down to the most dramatic of the bunch. Such is the economic reality / restraint of any mass media - editorial content space is limited by ad revenues.

I also agree with John D.'s assessment that the body of work is 'uneven' in as much as it a mixed bag of powerful and dull pictures although, for me, that very mixture is a definite plus, imo. I see the entire body of work more as a 'diary' of sorts. One that tracks the highs and lows, the extraordinary and the ordinary, the 'decisive moments' as well as the quotidian ones. Or, simply put, the ebb and flow of life (albeit with assault rifles).

For me, a big part of the power of the complete series is the dichotomy between the decisive and quotidian moments. The playful teenage and dorm-life like 'buddy' pictures, which indeed seem like they would be more destined for personal albums (to 'connect with family or friends') than mass media publication, create the perfect 'humanizing' quality as a counterpoint to the more powerful decisive moment' pictures.

Without question, the 'decisive moment' pictures by themselves would make for a more compact and more immediately powerful presentation than the whole body of pictures. But, for me, the pictures of the 'mundane' add a Paul Harvey "and now for the rest of story"-ness that I find more satisfying.

Speaking of satisfying, check out John Denniston's Salt Spring Island - Clearings, Structures, Myth. One could say that the whole thing could be edited down to a single really powerful triptych, but, in fact, I like the unabridged edition.

My thanks to John D. for both the comments and his look at Salt Spring Island.

Comments

[Don]

We have to show the highs and lows, because that is life. It is like the shots coming out of Iraq, it is not all death, there are the ones with soldiers giving kids candy or celebrating a holiday, then the next day it shows a wounded soldier being carted off to a chopper. It is the ups and downs in their lives.

[Mike]

Nice light. What happend to the corners?