As I have mentioned in my proposal. I am going to do a documentary photography project. Personally speaking, I think documentary photography is an art that records everyday life and provides archives for others who do not fully understand the subject that you are taking pictures about. I believe that documentary photography is all about reality, which means that the film subjects do not need to present different poses as the photographers ask them to present, or pretend, like other commercial portrait photographers.
My project is based on one of my interviews. Stony Brook University is a hardcore research university, and that means most of our students would become scientists in the future. I asked them to tell me the first impression in their mind when I say the word “scientist” and “labs” with different majors. Most of the answers, unsurprisingly, give me a picture of a person with a white lab robe and staying in a bright room that is full of different lab equipment.
However, the situation is getting interesting later. When I ask them what about geologists. What they are telling me sounds like Gollum from Lord of The Rings — a strange weird creature staying in the dark small basement, holding a stone and saying “my pressures.” Soon I realize, that many people do not fully understand geology and geologists. Therefore, I will do a project to record the real lives of geology and geologists.
My story has told a fact, that although we are in a well-developed society, we have the internet to search for the information with convenience. There are still many stereotypes and misunderstandings. Documentary photography serves more than its art characteristics: it is a way to record the truth or fact. Because all the pictures are taken in natural conditions, other people or future people could learn what has happened at the time when the pictures were taken. The documentary photo is an archive that would not be influenced by the photographer’s cultural background.