Mockumentary vs. Reality

 I'd like to comment on something that I see a lot of: television. There are several new television shows (and some returning ones) that rib off the idea of a documentary, except its complete fiction. This is not reality TV, which stylistically is far, far away from any documentary work I've ever seen (Hidden cameras? Producers prodding drama? The first is spying, the second is interference...) No, Mockumentary Television has all the benefits of good documentary, like realism, and "interviews" and generally good editing, with the added twist that it is totally fake. You start to see Modern Family as a real family, neighbors, even though its all made up. My Generation could conceivably be real, except its not. The story lines are too neat, everyone is a little too clever, and houses are a bit too clean.

Which brings me to my second point: how "real" does documentary, or indeed television, need to be to qualify as "real"? Mockumentary shows such as Modern Family can provide an insightful look into the state of American families, and many documentaries, particularly historical ones, are recreations or reenactments of actual events. This is not a new occurrence, from the time of Ancient Greece theater was used to satirize or reflect the contemporary world in a way that people could criticize without cutting too close to the bone.

So then what purpose does "reality" TV serve? While on one hand, it could be seen as and experiment in "how low will humanity stoop", on the other, particularly when producers start egging on drama for better ratings, we have to ask what limit on realism should be set before labeling something as real. Because while we can all sit back and comfortably argue that no one believes those shows, or that no one would actually behave that way, there is a disproportionate number of people watching these shows, and perpetuating the madness.

Perhaps someone will one day do a documentary on reality television, and we can then watch people watching what is supposed to be what life is really like in Atlanta, or New Jersey, or as a Teen Mom. Of course, if we satirize it then perhaps the whole point will become clear.

You were right, William Snyder

I've had the pleasure of having William Snyder as my professor and mentor. William was the first to bluntly tell me that it doesn't matter how cool the situation was, or what I had to do to get in, or how hot/cold/dark/light it was if you did not make a good photograph. The bottom line is the image. Nothing else matters.

In the process of making my new portfolio, I am going through many old photographs that I cannot justify taking, or even begin imagine why I thought it would be a great idea to click the shutter. To be fair, some not-so-great pictures are standard tourist fare, but many have no content, no composition, no light, some have no subject and all have no point. I should've put down the camera and enjoyed the moment I failed to capture on CCD.

But I didn't, because I am a photographer, and that means my life is spent looking through a lens, right? Wrong. As my long commute is (slowly) teaching me, and which many, many people have tried to tell me over the past 3 years, you cannot make good images if:

1) You are so stressed out you can't see straight
2) You are rushing, and not looking
3) You are too relaxed, and everything becomes conceptual
4) You do not accept the technical limits of your gear.

Think twice, click once, look constantly, remember to live.

And, as William often said, thinking should be done before and after taking an image, not during the process. If only I'd paused longer to think about those words.

Transmissions

I was about to write a nice long post about the sheer inefficiency of New Jersey Transit, which made me and hour late to work yesterday and then a half hour late getting home. That post would've bled into my need for a small, lightweight camera as there was another suicide on the tracks yesterday, and some very nice shots of police tape could've been made if only.

But, then I saw Airsick on MediaStorm. If you are familiar with MediaStorm, you will be expecting a beautifully shot and edited multimedia production, and this one does not disappoint. Beyond the yumminess of the photography though, it is refreshing to see a piece which not only takes a global issue and focuses on local causes, but also juxtaposes quotes and statistics so that this viewer, at least, walked away slightly relieved that she takes public transportation despite the inconveniences and yet again alarmed at our long emergency. The simplicity of the photos and the music really underscored the urgency, and the ignorance, surrounding climate change. Turn off your computers after you see this, and maybe take a walk instead of a ride today.

Check it out here: http://www.mediastorm.com/publication/airsick

Dislocated

It's been awhile. I've since graduated, moved, and started a new job. While I haven't fully unpacked yet and I still get lost, things have settled down enough for me to realize several things, to my horror: My website is in shambles, my 6-month job guarantee is half over, and I really really miss shooting, as much as I enjoy being a photo editor.

In an attempt to remedy these situations, this blog will serve as a temporary host to my portfolio until my website is fully functional, and will hopefully provide an outlet for pent-up creative energy. While my current commute severely limits how much I can shoot, I haven't stopped looking for and seeing images, and hope to soon have the means to capture images daily and post them here.

In the meantime, please enjoy the images from the recent past!