Ethical representation in documentary photography : Marina project as a case study
Joutsen, Janina (2020)
Joutsen, Janina
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020121729427
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020121729427
Tiivistelmä
In this thesis there is an intense study about the morals we have created for documentary photographing and question our way of following them. This thesis will go back to the creation of the documentary photography field and the pioneers behind it. My own fascination with the ethics has grown during my own photography career and I felt the need to dig deeper for the very existence of the matter. How we have created the moral line and why we cross it in the name of art. I compare two different photographers and their values in their photos and ponder over the fact that is the compassion needed for photographing real events and issues. I want to question the choices I and other photographers have made when taking photos of someone else.
I present an installation for the final exhibition to company my writings in this thesis and to test my own judgement on the topic of this research. The installation and the whole exhibition were presented during November 2020 in Tampere and is also presented online on the exhibition Atomic Jungle’s own website. The installation is inspired by one of the most well-known Finnish photojournalists Meeri Koutaniemi and in the documentary photography project I follow my friend’s life story before being adopted from Russia to Finland. The project included travels to St. Petersburg and nearby areas. The making of the installation took two years and the process is presented in this thesis report. During making of this photography project I get to think about my own way of understanding the ethical documentary photographing.
To back up my research I will gather information from various photography books, for example, ‘A History of Photography’ (Newhall, 1982) and photographers’ biographies. I will present some website knowledge on the topic of taking photos in the field of documentary photographing. In my research I discuss for example, the cases of Dorothea Lang and Kevin Carter and my own artistic part of the thesis. My own fascination for ethical thinking is the focus around these philosophical questions that have existed as long as documentary photographing.
I present an installation for the final exhibition to company my writings in this thesis and to test my own judgement on the topic of this research. The installation and the whole exhibition were presented during November 2020 in Tampere and is also presented online on the exhibition Atomic Jungle’s own website. The installation is inspired by one of the most well-known Finnish photojournalists Meeri Koutaniemi and in the documentary photography project I follow my friend’s life story before being adopted from Russia to Finland. The project included travels to St. Petersburg and nearby areas. The making of the installation took two years and the process is presented in this thesis report. During making of this photography project I get to think about my own way of understanding the ethical documentary photographing.
To back up my research I will gather information from various photography books, for example, ‘A History of Photography’ (Newhall, 1982) and photographers’ biographies. I will present some website knowledge on the topic of taking photos in the field of documentary photographing. In my research I discuss for example, the cases of Dorothea Lang and Kevin Carter and my own artistic part of the thesis. My own fascination for ethical thinking is the focus around these philosophical questions that have existed as long as documentary photographing.