Toronto Photography Meetup Group

I find it extremely easy to distance myself from emotions, especially when the subject matter includes people. Not so much when animals are involved

My reference to Fudd was his character. Hellbent on getting bunny but always ends up hurting himself.

In the same token when you are critical of someone else, get your facts straight before you start calling them douche.

I did attempt to steer this back.

He's not the first one to shoot images like these. I don't think its important that he didn't do this and that. If you're (people in general) are concerned, one should think about the solution. People tend to be more willing to help an individual than a population.

I have no problem with the photography. I have a problem with the poverty. If you don't want photos like this to exist, work to ensure the poverty doesn't exist. Since seeing these photos, how many here have contributed to a charitable organization (if it is within your means to do so)?

Photography is probably the most powerful tool to bring attention and a voice to the voiceless, and I hope that it continues to be such.

Admittedly, I'm a little biased since in the past I've done photography for the Daily Bread Food Bank, which included many portraits of people using the service.

That's another problem altogether.

I think thats a great point.. "If you don't want photos like this to exist, work to ensure the poverty doesn't exist."

I think the United Way's campaigns, while they dont use actual homeless people to my knowledge, is one of the best out there. Got me to donate.

But when I look at certain images from Stoddart, I feel they are posed and manipulated, leaving me with a feeling of uneasiness not for those that need the help in the images...but what Stoddart "manipulated" them to do to gain these images. I'm trying to say this in the most sensitive way I can, I'm not saying he beat people into these poses..I'm just wondering the process he went through to get them. I.E. the young boy behind the tree who mimics the long slender shape of the tree trunk.

I think the fact that we're talking about it, and I'm sure many others are too; proves that these types of photos can have a positive impact on raising awareness.

You should change the title of this thread to: :"how to jump to conclusions without knowing shit"

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Sorry Peter, I think you meant to post that in Shelly's thread which is located in the Forum Feedback Section

Interesting his "best" image isn't one about Africa at all.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/ ... hotography

Not knowing s$#%t about Shelly's thread I will insist on my post being where it is

These photos are VERY necessary. Without them, who would know this is even going on? Hearing about it means nothing. Photos are way more powerful. You can't go through life not wanting to see photos like this. And if you don't want to see them, don't look.

I wonder about nature photographers who shoot docs that show animals suffering. The photographer can't really go in and interfere. That's mother nature (or another culture). I don't want to see photos of people eating German Shepard puppies for lunch, or people putting live frogs into blenders, but it happens.

The photos are disturbing, and that's the point. If the photographer is making money well, how else is that person supposed to pay for camera gear, and flights and what not....everyone should get paid for their work.

Lets put an interesting spin on this debate:

http://prisonphotography.wordpress.com/ ... -cherisma/

Wow. Thats a new point of view. I must admit I find the image of the photographers shooting the girl more engaging and "shocking" than the one of just her. 2 very different images that tell 2 very different stories.

Still wonder who those people sleep at night.

As for the debate in the article, my vote for the prize would be the second image. When I look at the first image I think of a single photographer alone taking the shot, not a hoard of people. Crazy.

We know someone had to take the photo but seeing them set up the same way they would do Paris Hilton is indeed difficult to stomach.

As to how they sleep, here is one example

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5241442

Reading through this post it really reinforces how ones own personal experience guides them on how they interpret the world around them. I can appreciate the majority of the points people made .... it is simply human to be disgusted when you see something that should of never of happened.

My feelings when I look at photos is they often show a select view of a situation. As avid reader of national Geographic and "the big picture" at boston.com there are many things I see that are not shown in the more widely broadcast news. I often find myself questioning why the "News" does not ask question an yet just reads what they are told. So if anything I think images do one important thing .... it is to encourage us to discuss and ask questions. To not let ourselves be spoon feed or become apathetic.

Awareness, awareness ... awareness. This word has been overused the last 10yrs. Whatever we're aware of, there is more happening, worse happening, and complicated points of view regarding history from various parties involved.

He's a photo journalist, he took these photos, small pockets of the world had awareness for 3-4 months, with probably not much being done, and that's it. Even if we threw some money at it, we would only do so to feel better about ourselves till we forgot we saw these images. AKA ... small difference. And that's probably what the photographer intended to make, a small difference. At least he went there to put it on the radar, which as people see and react, ends being more than any one of us has done or will ever do.

In the end, let's look at these photographs as they are. Photographs, frozen moments of time of mans cruelty to his own species. We may sit, view and judge ... but make more mistake, we are guilty of the same crime. NOT one of us is dedicating our lives to make future photographs like this not available to be taken again, so the whining in this post is really self serving.

Interesting first hand accounts that relate back to this topic...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/18/war-photographers-special-report

Thanks good article, rings true.