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Author Topic: Brickmakers  (Read 3470 times)

Paulo Bizarro

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Brickmakers
« on: February 08, 2017, 04:03:09 am »

Nice article, with good documentary photos. I particularly liked the portrait of Ramon, and the one with the girl and her cat.

naturescott49

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2017, 08:08:54 am »

I do hope they offered something to the brickmakers for their time, cooperation and demonstrations. They are nice photographs. There is something troubling to me about describing the hard lives while commenting that living there is "cheap" for Americans. At least he suggested a use for the bricks!
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VincentR

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2017, 10:22:56 pm »

I do hope they offered something to the brickmakers for their time, cooperation and demonstrations.

I don't know about this... I opened up a can of worms in one of my photo classes as I offered a blind homeless person a hot coffee in exchange for a couple of photos of him playing guitar with his dog sleeping next to him. To me, it looked like the right thing to do. But for my teacher and some other students, that was somewhat unethical, borderline a kind of prostitution. Lengthy conversation ensued about ethics and photography. Teacher hated me, but still gave me one of the highest marks of the class... in the end, I'm still not sure how I feel about giving or offering something in exchange for a photo... whether it comes with a demo or not.

Thoughts?
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Paulo Bizarro

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2017, 06:16:16 am »

I don't know about this... I opened up a can of worms in one of my photo classes as I offered a blind homeless person a hot coffee in exchange for a couple of photos of him playing guitar with his dog sleeping next to him. To me, it looked like the right thing to do. But for my teacher and some other students, that was somewhat unethical, borderline a kind of prostitution. Lengthy conversation ensued about ethics and photography. Teacher hated me, but still gave me one of the highest marks of the class... in the end, I'm still not sure how I feel about giving or offering something in exchange for a photo... whether it comes with a demo or not.

Thoughts?

I see this has an engagement and exchange experience. I normally try to interact with my subjects on the street, which may include me offering him/her something.

As for the story in question, clearly it was a documenting project, so obviously the subjects were aware of it. I would have offered something, even maybe working a couple of days with them for free.

GrahamBy

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2017, 08:33:36 am »

But for my teacher and some other students, that was somewhat unethical, borderline a kind of prostitution.

So any photograph involving a paid model is... ?

(Prostitution is btw an honourable profession and I doubt you'd get much action for a cup of coffee).
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Alan Smallbone

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2017, 10:27:32 am »

I don't know about this... I opened up a can of worms in one of my photo classes as I offered a blind homeless person a hot coffee in exchange for a couple of photos of him playing guitar with his dog sleeping next to him. To me, it looked like the right thing to do. But for my teacher and some other students, that was somewhat unethical, borderline a kind of prostitution. Lengthy conversation ensued about ethics and photography. Teacher hated me, but still gave me one of the highest marks of the class... in the end, I'm still not sure how I feel about giving or offering something in exchange for a photo... whether it comes with a demo or not.

Thoughts?

I actually do not see a problem with that because you are interacting with the person and you are asking them for a portrait. In the class I took on street photography here in L.A. I never took pictures of the homeless and that was kind of one of the recommended practices for the class. The class take on it was not to take pictures of those less fortunate, but if you did it was best to offer them something in return for their time. I think homeless are too easy to take advantage of and too easy a target, it is much harder to get a compelling photograph of ordinary people. Just my take on it. All in all the teacher recommended that you do what you felt was right.

Alan
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Alan Smallbone
Orange County, CA

Otto Phocus

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2017, 11:04:03 am »

I don't know about this... I opened up a can of worms in one of my photo classes as I offered a blind homeless person a hot coffee in exchange for a couple of photos of him playing guitar with his dog sleeping next to him.

What were the particulars of the assignment?

If the assignment was more "photojournalism" in that the intent was to capture the natural candid scene, I can understand the push back.  However, if there were no restrictions, there should not have been a problem.

I wonder how many of your fellow students would have just taken a picture of the blind man and not even told him about it?
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Thomas J Conway

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Re: Brickmakers
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2017, 02:24:43 pm »

Thanks for posting the photos and text; both were informative! The photos reminded me (once again!) to respect "manual" labor and those that earn their bread that way.
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