photo essay/visual narrative project

what do you see?
what do you want to say?

introduction

Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste, and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to this: it is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt. — Walker Evans

We are a culture of storytellers. We think in terms of images. Combining the two seems only natural–visual stories. Photography is one way to record visual narratives. If you’ve ever taken pictures over time, as when on vacation, you’ve been involved in creating a visual narrative. Visual narratives typically take the form of photo essays, digital stories, art and film.

The best visual stories are of subjects that usually go unnoticed. Bruce Davidson and Walker Evans are two photographers whose observations about their surroundings and subjects created significance for subjects in areas like the New York ghettos and southern Alabama.

project

This assignment could be called what otherwise might go unseen. Think of things in your environment that typically go unnoticed – a plant, fence, old building, or drainpipe. How can you use photography to encourage others to see things that usually go unnoticed? How can your photographs invite viewers to think differently about people, places, and objects? You will need to take photographs throughout the semester in order to create your narrative. Your final project should include 12-15 photographs.

You’ll want to experiment with angles, points of view and framing. Look below your knees and above your head. Seek out unexpected and unnoticed objects, architectures, people, places, etc. But don’t plan the narrative ahead of time; instead allow the story to emerge organically.

Throughout the semester you will be asked to bring in storyboard drafts of this project. At the first checkpoint, you should bring in a series of photos you are considering using for your narrative. By the second checkpoint you should have a clear idea of the shape of your narrative and how you will proceed with textual elements. Will you make a scrapbook, a website, a coffee table book, slide show, something else?