My Inspiration

My Inspiration

My inspiration for this project has come from William Eugene Smith, renowned for his ‘Photo Essay’ sub-style of documentary photojournalism. Initially I leaned towards my more natural tendency to accompany each image with some light-hearted words. On reflection, I feel that my comments are stating the obvious, and are perhaps a style better suited to a tabloid story. I have therefore removed all words and allowed the images to speak for themselves. I feel that there is enough cohesion to allow the viewer to read the story as intended.

I have long been a fan of Smith’s style of telling a story via the medium of photography. His classic masterpiece ‘Country Doctor’¹   is one which I studied and have a great deal of empathy with.

Since it was first published in 1948, it has come to light that some of the images in this landmark Photo Essay were ‘constructed’ or posed. On reflection, this comes as no surprise. Now that this is known, looking at the images with hindsight, it is there for all to see.

Smith , e. (2017). Dr. Ernest Ceriani pauses after a long surgery. [image].

This may well be a ‘genuine’ shot, but equally, it is easy to believe that Dr Ceriani was asked to adopt a certain pose, that would strongly suggest a feeling or situation (in this case perhaps the end of a very long shift, a man that is at the end of his natural ability to function, somebody who is so exhausted that they need the classic stimulants to function) that would gain empathy with its viewer.

That said, even the greatest living Photo Journalists have been known to set up a photo. One of the best known is that Don McCullin’s “A young dead North Vietnamese soldier with his possessions”

McCullin, D. (2017). A Young Dead North Vietnamese Soldier with His Possessions. [image].

Don himself said that he arranged the paraphernalia in the foreground to give the image more gravitas.