In the previous blog entry we looked into the photo
reportage. This time we are looking at the photo series. The photo series is
different from reportage. In reportage the photos follow the subject through
time. In a series, time does not play a role. A number of connected subjects is
photographed less or more in the same way. It can be people, or it can be
different subjects. A very strict example of the photo series is the work of
Bernd and Hilla Becher. You can find some of their work here:
You see that they specialized in industrial monuments,
photographed in very much the same way. The subject totally fills the frame,
the camera is precisely horizontal, the angle on the subject is the same, even
the weather: it is always overcast. Because the photos are so similar, you are
invited to compare the subjects, and see the similarities and differences.
In the photo series variation is usually less than in
reportage or photo essay.
A
less strict example of the photo series is here, a story by Thoko Chikondi
about small scale vendors in Blantyre. They are photographed in a less strict
way than the Bechers do, but still you see strong similarities.
A particular favorite of mine is the work of the Zimbabwean
photographer Kudzanai Chiurai. Here he
photographed the same model in the same way: from the waist up, camera below
eye level, with the same background, only the model is dressed differently for
each photo.
An example in my own work is this portrait series about the
youth and the forest. A series of photos of young Malawians, with some way they
benefit from the forest. Some are photographed closer, some a bit further off,
but always the young person is the main subject.
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