visions : feature 1

Something that has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks is, "What makes an image great?" Photography is an exceptionally oversaturated market. Anyone with a couple hundred bucks of camera equipment can try to pass themselves off as a professional. There are millions of photos taken every day; the online photo site Flickr just announced that it just had its two billionth photo uploaded two months ago. So what can pull a a great image out of this swamp of mediocrity? I think that good photography must to meet two criterion. First, it should tell a story. If a viewer is going to take the time to view an image, they should come away knowing more about the subject. It should make you feel. Secondly, it should be beautiful. This is a criterion that many in media disagree with, especially as it relates to documenting war, poverty and famine. Some people think that it is wrong to try and depict ugly and evil things in an aesthetically pleasing way. Perversely, the way that we are wired is that we pay more attention to things that attract our attention, and we are attracted to beauty. For an example of this, it helps to look at how the same story is captured by two different photographers.

Amputee soccer tournaments in Africa

One of the most visible marks of the civil wars in many African nations is the missing limbs with which so many men, women and children have been left. The first Africa Amputee Cup was held as a way to make the effects of war more obvious, and to show how its victims carry on their lives with pride. This image, by photographer Fiona Aboud, was published in Sports Illustrated. It is a fine photo, but it tells little beyond the fact that men missing limbs played a soccer match. It says nothing about the men, what they have gone through or what the sport has done for them. This image of one of the players goofing off on the beach, by Spanish photographer Pep Bonet, goes beyond illustrating the match. It shows that even though this individual has been through traumatic experiences, he has found freedom and enjoyment in soccer. It came from investing in the players and getting to know them beyond just a one time match. Great photography is not just about conveying information, but about sharing ideas. A snapshot can speak to the mind, but beauty and art reach the soul and spirit, which is what is needed to move people to action. "Beauty shall save the world" - Dostoevsky -b