police in ankara, may 1, 2009. Posted after the comments and questions on the previous shots from the same day.
There hadn't been harsh clashes with police on that day, as it sometimes happens.. Nevertheless a group destroyed a police checkpoint in the entrance of the field and then the police used gas bombs against us. These were not the movements that I could photograph, as I didn't see that event, and we were told to run quickly and I was more a demonstrator than a photographer at that moment and besides breathing that gas does hurt! even if you're not there, the clouds will find everybody...
Yesterday I posted a color version of this, but that makes it very obvious that I hadn't made a good use of light... And the film wasn't developed well, either.
This one is converted to BW, added a bit of contrast, played with the brightness a little bit. What do you think?
Good question! If I thought the way you suggest, I would end up in much better journalistic photos, right? And I think that is very very important. (seen Saad Salem's photo "two extra bare feet"?)
This teaches me photography is not only about lighting and composition... You always have to think about what you are doing. I study sociology, a part of my thesis is about the role of the researcher with respect to the people she studies with... A part of me says to myself that I have a partial and positioned view of what is going on around me and I should not deny that, on the contrary I should make it visible sometimes. So if I'm a demonstrator, my photos will be what a demonstrator sees. I'm not a traveller, I interpret things from my own viewpoint and I think it is sometimes quite good to show what you see is seen by a specific person... You can't avoid putting yourself to your photos, it is always you with your identities behind the camera, all photos are personal histories as well... When you look at the nudes photos in usefilm, for example, you can see what the photographers appreciate in bodies and attitudes, you can see his/her personal tastes... I think of michelangelo, when you look at his paintings and sculptures of adult male bodies, you can see what he desires... (my photo is of course not comparable to those!) So it would change a lot if I looked around like a traveller. And because the people who look at these photos havent been there in my position, they also look at it somehow as travellers, no? Then, if I try passing to a travellers position, I might be better able to speak in a common language with the viewers... That would be a stronger speech, a deeper dialogue. And that makes a different story. This is definitely worth trying. I learn that my attitudes in taking photos cannot and should not be fixed, I should be far more flexble, I should be able to shift between different identities and viewpoints... Do I get right what you say, dear Arup?
Just think you are not a demonstrator.. think you are a traveler.. and suddenly happen to be there on the spot .. you see what you show here in the photograph .. the men in uniform looking at you .. the man on the extreme right .. even smiling .. can you feel the tension of the place .. the drama ??
Teşekkür ederim Umut. Haklısın aslında. Ama çerçevelere biraz gıcığım ben... zaten fotoğrafı çekerken çerçevelemiş oluyoruz, çizgilerin etrafına yeni çizgiler koyunca sınır üstüne sınır koymuş gibi geliyor, biraz kıstırılmış hissettiriyor bana çerçeveler. microsoft office picture manager'ı kullanıyorum. Belki elimdeki birkaç önemli işi bitirdikten sonra şu bilgisayarı formatlayıp photoshop yüklerim. selamlar, zeynep
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