Essay Sample on Documentary Photography: Exploring Social Constructs & Moral Dimensions

Introduction

Documentary photography or visual sociology informs social constructions that derive meanings n the realms of varied historical, contextualized and historical worlds of the photographic world. The purpose of this project is to help sociologists get a deeper insight and understanding of how society works through mapping of its moral and metaphysical dimensions to assist in finding out things in clear and rigorous ways that further aids in developing general theories. The projects of the photographers typically vary in the quests of exploring society in different institutional settings and occupational communities (Becker, 1974). The selected photography documentary of this project The Mysteries - In Pursuit of the Perfect Shot directed by the talented Skip Armstrong, therefore, delves at the visual sociology by engaging the viewers through the composition and presentation of the photos.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

According to visual sociology definitions, the projects demonstrate sympathy since the photographer engages the viewers through both her composition and presentation of the photos, coupled with her brilliant and artistic reports. That makes the viewer imagine the facts from the documented images in conjunction with the artistic feeling embedded in them. The photographer chose the subject in pursuit of her dream for a perfect shot of the beautiful landscape after seeing the space jumpers leaving off one at a time, in the space of an incredible landscape. The photographer, therefore, opted to make a dream of pursuing a perfect shot come to a reality that was prompted through her new ideas and new angles that enabled her to capture complicated photographs.

The project's message beyond the pictures taken underscores the adventures and discoveries on the quests of chasing the projects and expeditions globally. The programs also give insights on purpose, spirit to talk and engage with people through worldwide travels and diversification. Albeit, there also exist challenges and complications that are informed by diverse variables in the midst of finding the perfects shots, especially on the mountains and the landscapes. The variables include and not limited to the changing weather conditions, accidents encountered by the photographer, the too much light that burs the photographer from taking the perfect shot, the helicopters and generally the Mother Nature. However, the complicated variables did not bar the photographer in the documentary from pursuing her dream of the perfect shot. However, it took her for four and a half years to finally succeed. She had not anticipated for as she had initially hoped that it would take a month.

The project might have been strengthened in incorporating essentialist photography, which encompasses the documentation of al photos that confers the indexical relationship with what is in the lens and the image made. Additionally, the purpose of the project could have been diversified to help see the varied uses of photographs other than the pursuit of a photographer's dream. Other benefits that could have been mentioned to strengthen the project would be in the promotion of the interests of the social class that have dominated the societal, ideological apparatus. Moreover, the program could have been strengthened by engaging additional players to enhance the diversity of ideas, more photographs, equipment, coupled with the support from various institutions like the government. That could have made the ideas of the photographer come to reality sooner, rather than wait for her dream realization after four and a half years.

Visual sociology or the use of photographic materials in social science projects is a pure and natural form of construction as it informs and reports its findings of the society through statistic summaries, maps, ethnographic reports among others (Becker, 1995). Visual Sociologists identify their class of activities through picture-making in making things convenient for themselves and others via tags of shorthand. Conversely, most of them aim at accomplishing such purposes in exploring the societal social norms, documentation of features of the natural landscape. Like in the chosen documentary The Mysteries-In Pursuit of the Perfect Shot by the relented Skip Armstrong took almost five years in finding the perfect shot of the natural landscape in pursuit of her dream.

I was drawn into this project by how photography can be used in exploring the society as some photographers besides taking the pictures can also use their cameras in recording far off associations that their contemporaries would wish to see. I have always admired the way sociologists and photographers come to a consensus on the need to expose the societal evils through words and pictures, and that captured my attention, thus making this project my choice of preference. Another fascinating aspect that informed my favorite of this project was the social exploration by the use of photography in news reporting and the recording of important social events like the photographed civil war by Mathew Brady and his team Timothy O'Sullivan and Alexander Gardner (Becker, 1974).

Conclusion

Documented photography involves various genres of photography and sometimes encompasses varied aspects of sociology. It uses visual storytelling based on origin, and it has the characteristics of the power to teach and move through travel and exploration of the globe. A social documentary by the use of photography captures, life, powerful messages that turn the exclusives, daily life routines, history-changing events, and insignificance into art. Sociologists who use documented photography use images as forms of storytelling and seeks to elevate one's understandings through the recordings of the cameras. Each project approached by the documented photographer is done with curiosity and exploration and may take time, just like Armstrong's documentary of the Mysteries-A Pursuit of a Perfect Shot in this chosen project.

References

Becker. (1974, January).Studies of Visual Communication: Photography and Sociology. PennLibraries, University of Pensylvania.Retrieved from https://www.repositiry.upenn.edu

Becker. (1995)Visual Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism: It's (Almost)All a Matter of Context. International Visual Sociology Association. Retrieved fromhttps:www.monoskop.org.

Armstrong, S. (2016, June).The Mysteries-In Pursuit of the Perfect Shot. Canon Australia.[Video File] Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWtIYJvqpu0#action=share