(English version at the bottom of the page)
2018, année des collaborations ? Pourquoi pas ! Rien de bien important pour le moment. J’ai lancé l’idée d’écriture d’un Blog à deux. Enfin pas vraiment la rédaction à proprement parler, mais chacun écrivant de son côté sur un sujet commun. C’est ainsi qu’avec John Harper, on s’est entendu sur un sujet de Blog. “The form versus the content”. Ce Blog est donc ma vision des choses. Je vous invite à aller sur le Blog de John pour voir sa vision à lui.
Si je devais avoir une résolution pour cette année 2018, ce serait de changer un peu ma façon de faire des photos. Depuis que j’ai commencé, je me suis beaucoup (trop ?) reposé sur l’esthétisme. Des photos pensées, avec des compositions étudiées. C’est assez efficace. Depuis l’année dernière, j’ai commencé à faire des photos différentes dans la rue. J’ai essayé avec peu de résultats d’insuffler une nouvelle direction à mon travail. Une citation de Garry Winogrand a eu une résonance toute particulière chez moi.
Every photograph is a battle of form versus content. – Garry Winogrand
- La forme.
J’ai longtemps mis en avant la forme avant le contenu. C’est assez logique quand on débute car c’est plus facile à faire. On prend le temps de composer une scène, puis on attend qu’un personnage intéressant entre dans le cadre qu’on a définit. On peut aussi travailler différemment avec la forme en jouant sur la lumière, les ombres. C’est ce que je fais le mieux. D’ailleurs j’en abuse aussi et petit à petit il y a une certaine lassitude de toujours répéter le même schéma. J’ai fait l’année dernière une overdose de “silhouettes” et de “light/shadow”. Faut reconnaître que c’est un peu facile là où je vis. Avec une telle lumière on est irrémédiablement attiré par ce genre de photos. D’ailleurs je ne suis pas le seul à en abuser. De nombreux photographes en ont fait leur fond de commerce. Ça en devient même un cliché. Peu d’entre eux surnagent et font réellement du travail qui se démarque des autres. Je pense notamment à Vasco Trancoso, Gabi Ben Avraham ou encore Rudy Boyer.
- Le contenu.
Voilà donc pour la forme. Qu’en est il du contenu ? Contenu ne rime pas forcément avec une histoire. Il doit capter l’attention de celui qui regarde la photo. Ça peut être un personnage atypique, une situation avec une histoire, un ensemble de choses qui ne sont pas reliées entre elles mais qui donnent une tension à la photo ou même une ambiance. C’est parce qu’il est polymorphe que c’est quelque chose de plus difficile à appréhender. D’ailleurs on peut apprendre à quelqu’un comment travailler sur la forme car c’est purement technique. Par contre pour le contenu, il faut apprendre à observer. Et ça personne ne vous l’apprendra. A vous d’éduquer vos yeux. Les livres des Masters sont là pour ça. Mais la rue reste le meilleur endroit pour aiguiser son regard. Chercher l’inhabituel, les situations cocasses, des gestuelles improbables, des personnages.
Je dois reconnaître que j’ai assez de mal avec le contenu dans mes photos. J’ai l’impression de ne pas voir ces situations dans la rue. Mes yeux ne savent pas voir. Ça demande beaucoup d’attention car ces moments sont fugaces. Mon gros problème aussi est de conditionner mon cerveau ou plutôt de le déconditionner, lui qui est irrémédiablement attiré par la lumière et les ombres. Même si je ne recherche plus les situations Light/Shadow, je dois reconnaître que j’ai tendance à me laisser tenter dès que l’occasion se présente… D’ailleurs les moments où j’ai été plus attentif à ce qui se passait autour de moi, c’était des sorties où le soleil arrivait à manquer. C’est pour ça que je ne rechigne plus à sortir maintenant même quand le ciel est plombé.
Vous l’aurez compris, dans mes photos, très souvent c’est la forme qui l’emporte sur le contenu. Cependant, les rares fois où j’ai réussi à équilibrer ces deux éléments fondamentaux, les photos prennent une autre dimension. Est-ce à dire qu’une photo qui n’aurait que le contenu ou la forme ne marche pas ? Bien sûr la photo aurait de l’intérêt, mais au final n’y aurait-il pas un problème d’équilibre ? Il est évident que ces deux éléments sont importants. C’est pour cela que la Street Photography est si difficile. Ceux qui pensent qu’il suffit de prendre des photos dans la rue pour faire de la Street Photography se fourrent le doigt dans l’œil. C’est une vision bien réductrice de la pratique.
Alors oui Mr Garry Winogrand, votre citation reste d’actualité en ce qui me concerne. Je vais essayer en 2018 d’apporter plus de contenu dans mon travail. Je ne suis pas sûr d’y arriver, mais je vais tâcher de garder dans un coin de ma tête cette citation pour progresser. Ça y est j’en ai fini sur ce sujet. Un grand merci à John Harper d’avoir bien voulu développer son Blog comme moi autour de ce thème. Un petit rapprochement après un Brexit !
~ o ~
The form versus the content.
2018, year of collaborations ? Why not ! Nothing really important at the moment. I started the idea of writing a common blog. Not really the actual wording, but everyone writing on their side on a common subject. So with John Harper, we agreed on a blog topic. “The form versus the content”. This Blog is therefore my vision of things. I invite you to go on John’s Blog to see his vision.
If I had to have a resolution for this year 2018, it would be a little change my way to make photos. Since I started, I have relied too much on aesthetics. Thoughtful photos, with studied compositions. It’s pretty efficient. Since last year, I started doing things differently on the street. I tried with few results to breathe new direction into my work. A quote from Garry Winogrand had a special resonance for me.
Every photograph is a battle of form versus content. – Garry Winogrand
- The form.
I have long put forward the form before the content. It’s quite logical when you start because it’s easier to do. We take the time to compose a scene, then we wait for an interesting character to enter the frame we have defined. We can also work differently with the form by playing on the light, the shadows. That’s what I do best. Besides, I also abuse it and little by little there is a certain weariness to always repeat the same pattern. Last year I made an overdose of “silhouettes” and “light/shadow”. I must admit that it’s a little easy where I live. With such a light we are irretrievably attracted by this kind of photos. Besides, I am not the only one to abuse it. Many photographers have made it their business. It becomes a cliché. Few of them float and really do work that stands out from the others. I’m thinking of Vasco Trancoso, Gabi Ben Avraham and Rudy Boyer.
- The content.
So that’s for the form. What about content ? Content does not necessarily rhyme with a story. It must capture the attention of the person looking at the photo. It can be an atypical character, a situation with a story, a set of things that are not related to each other but that give a tension to the photo or even a mood. It is because it is polymorphic that it is something more difficult to apprehend. Besides, we can teach someone how to work on the form because it is purely technical. On the other hand for the content, one must learn to observe. And that nobody will teach you. It’s up to you to educate your eyes. The books of the Masters are there for that. But the street remains the best place to sharpen one’s eye. Look for unusual, comical situations, improbable gestures, characters.
I must admit that I have enough trouble with the content in my photos. I feel like I do not see these situations on the street. My eyes can not see. It takes a lot of attention because these moments are fleeting. My big problem, too, is conditioning my brain or, rather, deconditioning it, which is irretrievably attracted to light and shadows. Even if I’m no longer looking for Light/Shadow situations, I must admit that I tend to be tempted as soon as the opportunity arises … Moreover, the moments when I was more attentive to what was happening around from me were sessions where the sun was hiding. That’s why I do not mind going out now even when the sky is gloomy.
You will notice, in my photos, very often it is the form that outweighs the content. However, the few times I have managed to balance these two fundamentals, the photos take on another dimension. Does this mean that a photo that only has the content or the form does not work ? Of course the photo would be interesting, but in the end there would be a problem of balance. These two elements are obviously important. That’s why Street Photography is so difficult. Those who think that taking pictures on the street is Street Photography are totally wrong. It is a very reductive vision of the practice.
So yes Mr Garry Winogrand, your quote remains relevant to me. I will try in 2018 to bring more content into my work. Not sure that I will succeed, but I will keep in mind this quote to improve my Street Photography work. That’s it I’m done on this subject. A big thank you to John Harper for willing to develop his Blog like me around this theme. A small rapprochement after a Brexit !
This was a fascinating exercise. My thanks go to you Jeff for causing me to stop for a moment and consider, think a little deeper than maybe the usual case. As usual your thoughts on photography make for one of the best blogs around.
We are agreed, content is what we need, more of it..lots of it. The form, technicalities if you like, are clear to anyone who has only the slightest interest in photography. The gestures, interactions between are subjects, a narrative, these are crucial and for me personally with Street/Life Photography so bloody difficult to see.
Stop mentioning Brexit :-)) I’m trying to forget that stupid referendum ever took place…a little more Entente Cordiale I feel is what we need!
Thanks John ! It was a pleasure to work on this subject with you. I’m thinking of other kind of collaboration we might do in the future. Forcing yourself to work on a specific project (doesn’t need to be long) could be interesting. I need to think of something. Of course relative to photography !
You are one of the few regular readers of my Blog. Not a lot of trafic, but this Blog is my photographic diary, that’s why I continue writing stuff. It might not be the truth of everyone but it’s my way of seeing things. I’m working on MY definition of Street Photography. Hard work… Sometimes I find myself in a dead end and sometimes some non sense, but I will keep on writing. I hope to be able to publish the Blog…
Similar with me, I’m not sure how much traffic, there is a way to find out and I ought to have a look sometime…it won’t be much that’s for sure!
Yes, would be great to have another collaboration. My blog is really about my journey photographically and on my motorcycle. Tough to plan any trips in mid-winter, so another topic would be good.
Good luck with that definition of “Street”, I imagine you’ll go up a lot of “blind alleys” before reaching your destination!
Hi!
Je suis touché par tes mots sur mon travail. Merci beaucoup Jeff.
Congratulations on another article on an always interesting, highly debated topic that applies to various types of Visual Arts.
Curiously, I recently wrote about “shades and light theme” in the last photo I posted on the WSP – and it exemplifies how form and content good combination can be associated with “shades and light theme”. In other words, the theme “shades and light” does not limit the possibility of including an interesting content (enigma, story, narrative, etc) in an image.
Usually I let things happen naturally and when I feel there is a possibility of a good shot I try almost instinctively to get a good balance and harmony between the different qualities of the image. Among them are form and content. Of course, the ideal is to coexist both in an image. But unlike Garry Wynogrand, I do not see this as a kind of battle between them but rather an alliance where form and content can enhance each other in order to obtain a good final result – and understanding the full intricacies of photographic form and content. And the percentages of both within each picture may vary by adapting to each different situation. I think it is difficult to make a photo with 100% of form and 0% of content or vice versa. The links and meaning of form and content can be very subtle and difficult to separate.
But a photo that approaches 100% of content and has no formal / aesthetic concern is approaching pure photojournalism where the only important thing is just to document a news item even with poor photographic composition. But as we know, photojournalism is not street photography.
Of course the worst that can happen is the opposite extreme. Neither interesting form nor content. I have always agreed with Joseph Koudelka when he says “It’s not a good photograph without good composition”.
Cheers
Vasco
You’re right Vasco, I was about to say that finally, a good photograph is a balance between form and content. What we usually see on sharing platform is a lot of photographs with a nice aesthetic but with very poor content. I’m also guilty of this. These pictures ar nice to look at but quite boring and they are not memorable. It’s hard to capture a photograph with content, but that’s what makes it interesting in Street Photography.
Still some reflection on the question “content and form”:
Good content will be easier to get if you photograph 3 or more People in the frame where at least someone is doing something to someone else. But this is easier to do in big cities (New York, London, etc.) where the human flow in the streets is enormous and full of interesting characters and events – almost constantly. As we are photographing in the street the main interest comes from the relashionship between things and persons. The gaze between people, the gestures, humor, the adds, juxtapositions, etc.
“You could frame anything: unrelated things, and putting them in a frame suddenly they are related and you have an image that perhaps is surreal, or magical, or prophetic.” – Joel Meyerowitz-
Both you and I inhabit small cities where it is very difficult to get street shots with an interesting content.
In small towns usually only few people pass through the streets and it is difficult to find interesting situations. Everything seems so boring, so everyday, so routine.
So it seems understandable and legitimate that you and I – before a small town – above all we discover instants in which the form is more important than the content. So our atention to Shadows / Light play.
Over the course of several decades, William Eggleston made an incredible body of work of pretty mundane and boring scenes. His city Memphis is not New York City, but he has really made his banal city beautiful only because of great color compositions.
I must confess that I do not sympathize with a genre of street pictures depicting the daily flow of people in the streets of cities who are an increasingly frequent cliche: just people passing by without any kind of relationship. This may be photojournalism and good to document clothes and habits for someone in the future (if it will be one) to know how we used to live in the beggining of XXI century. But it is boring.
Do we have to follow the traditional or politically correct current of the works of the best known people, based on the idea of storytelling, of telling a story?
As if an art form had to have something of photojournalism, in the sense of building a narrative.
It can be confused within this way, being certain that the photojournalism has a representation of the reality that does not allow the deformation of this same reality. Storytelling may already be a hallucination of reality.
The cameras are ways of selecting reality, by itself, and on top of that still aggravate the situation, because it is rare that I do not make a crop of photography. I enjoy cropping photographs – I have friends who say this is distorting reality. But the machine already distorts reality, because it will only get a little bit.
Photography on the streets may also be Art and contemplated as only for its aesthetic and compositional characteristics. That only – being very good – can sustain the image without a significant content. There may be no obligatory messages but just a way of seeing where visual pleasure and color protagonism and composition are decisive.
Cheers
VT
Salient points Vasco ! But content is not only about people in the frame. It goes far beyond this. You can bring content in a picture by capturing a mood. But it’s true that the best way to create content is to capture people’s gesture or interaction in the streets. Living in a relatively small city is challenging. I was talking with a streettog I met in Aix-en-Provence and we were talking about the same places we usually go roaming. Is it a big deal ? I don’t think so. I won’t say more as my next Blog is about this. Sure living in NY or Tokyo is more sexy and would bring you more opportunities for Street Photography. But I’m pretty sure that people overthere are craving for another city that would be more interesting … It’s a never ending story