Monday 20 July 2009

It's Not a Crime (and I'm not a terrorist either).

Photographers are fed up with being regarded with suspicion by Uncle Tom Cobbly an all. Paranoia has reared its ugly head in the streets, and too often we are hassled by all sorts of busybodies as we go about a perfectly legitimate activity: taking photographs in public.
Thankfully, The British Journal of Photography has started a neat little campaign, aimed at creating awareness and changing public conceptions of this issue. Photographers both amateur and professional are encouraged to upload pictures of themselves like the lovely ones below, taken by Justin Canning.
If you want to take part, please feel free to follow this link.


Saturday 18 July 2009

Photography and the Truth.

An English photographer recently hoisted himself onto the bonfire of his career, by stating that the photos published of his by a newspaper weren't 'manipulated'. A close inspection showed that they were, and a debate ensued among some photographers about Photography and the Truth.
It is of course preposterous to assert that photography can tell the truth, it can only tell one person's version of the truth, so it isn't The Truth.
Photography can be used to illustrate two different sides of an argument. Here are two views of cycling in London, the first being Transport for London's view, the second is mine: