Press photography versus art photography, I find this almost difficult to even consider comparing, although press photography still does technically continue to grasp a certain emotion from the viewer, I find that press photography is basically just visual news. A photograph to support the news that its paired with. What the human eye does not see, the human tends to not believe. So if I were to talk about the recent Tsunami in Japan, someone may find it very difficult to believe the absolute destruction that occured. But with the help of press photography they are able to see what I'm talking about. Press photography is there for us to become educated in current world issues, they help us understand current situations. It was there for us when the 9/11 happened, when the war in Iraq began, when natural disasters attack. But not all press photography is necessarily negative, the press also lets us see the positive, the triumphs of man. When Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States of America, press photography let us all capture that moment and hold on to it for the rest of our lives. Moment such as when Canada set the record for most gold Olympic gold medals, in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, a victory for all Canadians to celebrate and commemorate. Press photography has little boundaries; it’s there for the good, the bad and the ugly, but without it we’re all hidden away in our little shells clueless to what the rest of the world is going through.
On the other side of the spectrum is art photography. This can pin point current world issues, but more times is expressed through the emotions of the photographer, or an attempt to grasp the viewer’s emotions. It’s made for the viewer’s pleasure, bending reality to create a new beauty and capturing that photograph. Art photography is exactly that a medium of expression for the artist behind the lens, I have chosen to use my friend Jamie Campbells photography to display this for you, in two different series’ of his, where he explores these almost fantasy worlds. First let’s look at this piece from Beasts Of Burden. Where Jamie told me “This series investigates the physical representation of burden, and the intangible weight individuals seem to unnecessarily endure. It deals with melodrama and solidarity, and how those two things combined can escalate into a seemingly unmanageable situation.
The images deal with a kind of overwhelm, but a ridiculous kind of overwhelm – where as an audience you don’t know if you are supposed to feel sorry for the subjects, or laugh at there pathetic state.” Jamie used the heads of mascots and put them on regular humans, in ordinary situations. I’ve chosen a rather clever piece from this series entitled Dolphin Girl. Which sees a girl with a dolphin head on, sitting by the bathtub; it’s a rather clever photograph and really display the freedom of art photography. The second piece is from his series titled Only The Fantastic Has Some Chance Of Being True. When I asked Jamie to describe to me his approach in this series he told me “While sifting through various supernatural accounts from the book ‘U.F.O.s and Extra Terrestrials in History’ (Vol. 1-4 , Yves Naud, 1978), I began to notice a direct link from the descriptors in the stories to a distinct photographic language. In describing separate accounts of supernatural phenomena, the camera’s flash was repeatedly mentioned. Quotes such as, ‘I was dazzled by a sort of brilliantly white shining light like a magnesium flash’ automatically influenced my interpretation of the incident. The stories often depicted unexplainable light sources, which ultimately led the character to their unfathomable experience. The constant references to the flash, or burst of light seemed easily explainable from a photographic perspective.
By loosely incorporating small sections of the supernatural accounts, I have restaged and recreated incidents of the past. Influenced by the descriptive quality of the light within the stories, I have tried to emphasize and match the majestic and unexplainable power that could only be documented, at the time, through words.” In this series Jamie used artificial smoke, light and even an extra body to create these almost eerie scenes which are more often seen in fantasy stories. The photograph I’ve chosen to display from this series sees an almost limp man being helped by a shadowy character towards the fluorescent light of the window. To me it’s a perfect play on the saying “going towards the light” when one is talking about death. Which I think is perfectly evident by the limp body being helped by a dark shadowy character (who reams a haunting resemblance to the grim reaper). Jamie is truly a clever and fresh photographer, and has made his art photography truly enjoyable for the viewer.
It’s easy to say in conclusion that although press photography more often than not is there for us to gain an understanding of current world issues, and art photography is created in order to please the viewer’s eye. They both have one thing in common, and that is the ability to create an emotion. Looking at the disastrous outcome of the recent tsunami in Japan we experience emotions such as shock, sadness and disarray. And when looking at the art photography of Jamie Campbell we gain a sense of happiness and enjoyment due to how clever he is with his photographsThe images deal with a kind of overwhelm, but a ridiculous kind of overwhelm – where as an audience you don’t know if you are supposed to feel sorry for the subjects, or laugh at there pathetic state.” Jamie used the heads of mascots and put them on regular humans, in ordinary situations. I’ve chosen a rather clever piece from this series entitled Dolphin Girl. Which sees a girl with a dolphin head on, sitting by the bathtub; it’s a rather clever photograph and really display the freedom of art photography. The second piece is from his series titled Only The Fantastic Has Some Chance Of Being True. When I asked Jamie to describe to me his approach in this series he told me “While sifting through various supernatural accounts from the book ‘U.F.O.s and Extra Terrestrials in History’ (Vol. 1-4 , Yves Naud, 1978), I began to notice a direct link from the descriptors in the stories to a distinct photographic language. In describing separate accounts of supernatural phenomena, the camera’s flash was repeatedly mentioned. Quotes such as, ‘I was dazzled by a sort of brilliantly white shining light like a magnesium flash’ automatically influenced my interpretation of the incident. The stories often depicted unexplainable light sources, which ultimately led the character to their unfathomable experience. The constant references to the flash, or burst of light seemed easily explainable from a photographic perspective.
By loosely incorporating small sections of the supernatural accounts, I have restaged and recreated incidents of the past. Influenced by the descriptive quality of the light within the stories, I have tried to emphasize and match the majestic and unexplainable power that could only be documented, at the time, through words.” In this series Jamie used artificial smoke, light and even an extra body to create these almost eerie scenes which are more often seen in fantasy stories. The photograph I’ve chosen to display from this series sees an almost limp man being helped by a shadowy character towards the fluorescent light of the window. To me it’s a perfect play on the saying “going towards the light” when one is talking about death. Which I think is perfectly evident by the limp body being helped by a dark shadowy character (who reams a haunting resemblance to the grim reaper). Jamie is truly a clever and fresh photographer, and has made his art photography truly enjoyable for the viewer.
