Street smarts and photography.
During week 4 we explored the topic of privacy in relation to street photography. The screening Finding Vivian Maier (2013) was incredibly insightful as it highlighted not only the change in the ethics of street photography when it comes to the subjects of the photos, but also the artists work once they have passed away. During class we discussed questions relating to the ways photography, gender and the arts were displayed in the film. We weighed up the idea that if a photographer’s work is never publicly shown by themselves, should it ever be shown at all and can they really be considered a photographer? Vivian Maier never developed her photographs which raised the question of ‘was photography just a hobby for her?’ We debated reasons Vivian did not share her work considering her gender, ability or personal reasons and commented on the difference in street photography today.
Week 4’s reading was an article by Jessica Lake which commented on the need for further debate surrounding the topic of street photography’s privacy rules. I found the debate between privacy and freedom incredibly interesting. Lake explains how ‘a right to privacy has always been weighed against the competing right to freedom’ Lake (2014) This though encouraged me to consider the privacy of others more when taking photographs in public places. Although I have the right to freely take images of whatever I want, I now will consider more deeply how this may affect the subject of the image. Lake highlights how ‘the annoyance of street photography is almost as old as the camera itself’ and how in 2014 individuals who had had pictures of them taken on the street felt ‘violated and sickened’ Lake (2014) Considering this I thought about the art of street photography has always been fascinating to photographers as it captures an individuals most natural existence. Although it may violate that subjects privacy, by asking permission to take that photo you loose the whole natural vibe of the image. ‘We need to begin an informed debate in Australia about the appropriate balance of legal rights in a photograph. Lake (2014)
Overall, week 4 gave me lots to think about in relation to ethics and privacy of not only those captured in street photography images, but also the photographers taking those images.
Lake J (2014) ‘Is it OK for people to take pictures of you in public and publish them?’, THE CONVERSATION, Accessed on 23 Aug 2023.