On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 08:03:16 -0600, William Robb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip> > > So, to be fair, if we are going to chastise some people for "street > photography", we should also castigate those who choose to take prety > pictures of mountain ranges, since they must have a political agenda > as well. <snip>
You know, William, You make an interesting point. When one thinks about it, there may be many more photos that are "political" than one would initially suppose. Not to pick on anyone, but by way of example, I was thinking about our friend, Mr. Stenquist. Among his many and varied photographic talents, he is possibly the best photographer of automobiles on the list. He takes beautiful cars, and captures them beautifully. He has also worked for automobile magazines and advertising companies whose largest clients are very likely automobile companies. Has it ever been said on this list that Paul's an apologist for the car companies, that he's a mouthpiece for big business, that he's a proponent of "car culture" and all the good and bad that's come from that? Not that I've seen. Again, I'm not saying that he should be so criticized (and again, I hope you don't mind, Paul, that I've used your work to support my argument). But, on some level, Paul's car photos can be seen to support a certain type of society that not everyone can agree with. But, not a word is spoken in that regard. Same could be said about fashion photography, with it's (often) anorexic looking models with artificial breasts and other surgically enhanced features. Not to mention that it supports an industry that encourages excess, decadence and materialism to the extreme. Or sports photography, which can be said to support potentially dangerous activities (I heard that about 3,000 kids a year break their necks playing high school football in the US). We either have to say that all photography is political or that none of it is. (Although I can't figure out how macros of caterpillars or family snapshots may be political, but I'm working on it). cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
