Dana Popa: Not Natasha

As part of my feedback for Assignment Two, my tutor recommended I look at Dana Popa's "Not Natasha" series as an example of getting deeper into one subject.

My first reactions looking through the images were about shock, horror, how appalling that situation is (beyond appalling), but also how sensitive the images are.  Not Natasha is a series about sex trafficking in Eastern Europe and the impact it has on the victim's lives and their families.  More information about the series is available from lens culture.

Looking through the images you see evidence of how young the girls are, how unhappy they are, the damage they are suffering (scars from self-harming), how cheap their lives are, how they have been objectified, abused, tortured, how their families are ripped apart, their lives devastated by the kidnappings, some are even betrayed by their families (one girl was sold by her fiance) and to be frank, it's sickening.  Sickening that human beings can be so depraved and vile to other human beings.  In some images you see the victims, in others you see their environment, and evidence of their existence (traces) or their situations.  And although these images have been sympathetically shot, there is no doubt that Popa is engaged and on some level also feeling their pain, I find them chilling.  It is a horror story equal to that of conflict photography. 

In terms of photographer's engagement - it's clear that she had researched her subject, and spent a lot of time with the girls getting to know them and their story, traveling to do so.  She must have also taken many risks with her own safety to do so.  She spoke with seventeen different women to gain an insight into their lives and in doing so must have had been able to show a protective, sympathetic and supportive approach.  To get people to open up on a subject like this must be very challenging emotionally, for both subject and photographer.  I wonder if Popa needed emotional support herself to be able to produce a body of work that is subjective, but also stands up as a solid documentary.

One thing I noticed, which contradicts the advice I have been given about putting a series together is the format of the photographs.  I have been told repeatedly that a series should be visually consistent, which this is in tone/colour/subject/emotion - but not in format.  She has mixed horizontal/vertical rectangles with squares, some with a white border, some with no border, some with text, some without text.  What does this mean?  It's obviously deliberate.  Is it a commentary on complexity?

How does this relate to my work?  Why was this recommended to me?  The recommendation came as a result of my work for Assignment Two which was street/travel photography in theme.  My approach to street photography is not a documentary/reportage approach like this, but a spontaneous and impulsive exploration of random events looking for twists and irony in every day life.  I like to combine it with the travel element as this gives me a fresh and curious perspective; I notice more when I'm abroad than I do at home.  It's new, different and exciting, and to be honest, I get an adrenaline surge from doing it.  Even planning the trips gives me a rush.

So at the moment, I can only relate to this work coming from a position of both deep sympathy and appreciation of the amazing photographic skill and engagement.  I have thought a lot about where my photography is going over the past couple of years, and I'm happy with the direction it's heading at the moment.  I'm having a lot of fun with it, and for me, right now, that's what I want.  After a 50 hour working week, 15 hours of commuting, squeezing in friends, family and degree work (see Assignment Three for that context!) - all nice problems to have, but I do need to let off steam (not make more steam).  I realise that as this degree progresses, I may need to dig a lot deeper than I am at present, but I don't think I could take on something as committed and engaging as this right now.  BUT as time goes on, I'm sure I will, particularly once I have retired or maybe even once I've found something that I desperately want to document.  I can see myself in the future, once I have more time, making documentaries/reportage articles about animal conservation and protection issues.  That's why I'm dabbling in Wildlife Photography as well! 

I have also been thinking about documenting journeys along barriers, e.g. Israel/West Bank and making comparisons between people's lives.

Websites:

• not Natasha by Dana Popa available from http://www.danapopa.com/gallery.php?ProjectID=218/photos/gallery/not_natasha_for_the_website_32-2.jpg [accessed 25 January 2015]
• not Natasha in lensculture magazine available from https://www.lensculture.com/articles/dana-popa-not-natasha [accessed 25 January 2015]

Feedback and response to Assignment Two: Photographing the unseen - Wonder

Fantastic and encouraging feedback to Assignment Two from my tutor :)

I had fulfilled the brief and produced a tightly edited set that illustrated various conflicting interpretations of the concept of "wonder" in street photography style, with a recommendation for future work to explore the idea of focusing on one aspect of an idea and pushing deeper within the same idea, rather than laterally around the idea (I will try to do this for Assignment Three).  My tutor recommended I research Dana Popa's "Not Natasha" series for a deep and personal insight into trafficking to get an idea of researching deeper into a theme, which I will in preparation for Assignment Three.  She mentioned the risks of choosing a travel theme for an assignment but this had been a consistent approach.  I will however be attempting this again in Japan for Assignment Three?

From a technical perspective, the feedback I received was that the images are strong, with colour and depth of saturation making them stand out.   The focus is good and detail unusual for this stage of my development in street photography, with compelling compositions and the impression of being close to the communities I photographed.  The tight editing had worked well and something to remember and keep up for future assignments.

To be honest, this is better feedback than I could have hoped for!

The only picture my tutor did query was Picture 6 - the dog and the shadow:

With this photo, I was trying to achieve a sense of mystery.  While I was shooting it I had held the position for about 15mins over the real dog - I was practicing exposing for highlights against shadows, and was waiting for something interesting to happen while watching the shadows change.  Finally a second dog came into view, but of course all you can see of the second dog is its shadow, which at first is confusing as it looks like the real dog has its shadow in the wrong place.  But, at the time, when this great dog-shape came into view through the view finder, it actually felt quite sinister - it completely changed the light for one thing, but it also felt like the shadow dog was creeping past the sleeping dog.  When I then put together my series and paired it backwards with the policeman looking alarmed and forwards with the child hiding behind bars, I was trying to get a sense of a frightening aspect of wonder across.  I do have some other mystery shots I could substitute - but I felt that this one worked the best in terms of the peeling onions and transition from positive to negative concept of wonder.

Finally, to explore street photography further, she recommended researching further:

• Joel Sternfeld
• Stephen Shore
• Saul Leiter
• William Eggleston
• Helen Levitt.

I'm already familiar with Saul Leiter, although I haven't previously mentioned him in my blog, but the others are new.  I will certainly research these photographers!