Photography as Activism

Photography as Activism

by Michelle Bogre
Released November 2012
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136097096

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Book description

You want to look through the lens of your camera and change the world. You want to capture powerful moments in one click that will impact the minds of other people. Photographic images are one of the most popular tools used to advocate for social and environmental awareness. This can be as close to home as drug use, prostitution, or pollution or as far away as famine, war, and the plight of refugees and migrant workers. One well-known example of an activist photographer would be landscape photographer Ansel Adams, who trudged to Washington with stunning images of the American west to advocate protecting these areas. His images and testimony were instrumental in creating the National Park System and garnering specific protection for Yellowstone National Park. More recently Robert Glenn Ketchum's images of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge raised awareness of why this area should be protected. Nigel Barker's seal photographs advocates against seal clubbing. What is your cause and how can you use your camera to make the world a better place?

This book provides a comprehensive theory of, and history of, photography as activism. It also includes interviews with contemporary photographers. It is a call to action for young photographers to become activists, a primer of sorts, with advice for how to work with NGOs and non-profits, how to work safely in conflict zones and with suggestions for distribution on websites, blogs, and interactive agencies.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. Photography as Activism: Images For Social Change
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Dedication
  7. Introduction
    1. Endnotes
  8. Chapter 1: Activism : Practice and Process
    1. Philosophy and psychology
    2. History: early activism
    3. History: early conflict and war photography
    4. Social reform and the progressive era
      1. Farm Security Administration (FSA)
    5. Endnotes
  9. Chapter 2: Moments in Time
    1. Modern history
      1. W. Eugene Smith
      2. Mary Ellen Mark
      3. Susan Meiselas
      4. Donna Ferrato
      5. British Activism: Chris Killipand Paul Graham
      6. Stephen Shames
      7. Sebastião Salgado
    2. Endnotes
  10. Chapter 3: Constructing a Better World
    1. Eugene Richards
      1. Eugene Richards, Brooklyn, New York, September 11, 2010
    2. Marcus Bleasdale
      1. Marcus Bleasdale, November 23, 2010, London
    3. Tom Stoddart
      1. Tom Stoddart, November 24, 2010, London
    4. Jonathan Torgovnik
      1. Jonathan Torgovnik, New York City and Perpignan, France, 2010
    5. Ed Kashi
      1. Ed Kashi, New York City, January 1, 2011
    6. Brent Stirton
      1. Brent Stirton, Perpignan, France, September 2, 2010
    7. Stephen Dupont
      1. Stephen Dupont, Perpignan, France, August 31, 2010
    8. Walter Astrada
      1. Walter Astrada, New York City, June 22, 2010
    9. Endnotes
  11. Appendix: Resources
    1. Websites, magazines, and galleries
      1. AnthropoGraphia
      2. Autograph ABP
      3. Blue Earth
      4. Burn Magazine
      5. Daylight Community Arts Foundation(DCAF)
      6. Emphas.is
      7. Facing Change: Documenting America(FCDA)
      8. Fifty Crows
      9. Foto8
      10. FotoEvidence
      11. Humanising Photography
      12. On The Ground
      13. MediaStorm
      14. PhotoVoice
      15. Portfolio Magazine
      16. Socialdocumentary.net
      17. Verve Photo
    2. Festivals and events
      1. Fotopub: documentary photography festival,Novo Mesto, Slovenia
      2. LOOK3: festival of the photograph,Charlottesville, Virginia
      3. Visa pour l’Image, Perpignan, France
    3. Nonprofits and NGOs
      1. Charity: Water
      2. Environmental Justice Foundation
      3. Global Witness
      4. Human Rights Watch
      5. Me´decins Sans Frontie` res(Doctors Without borders)
      6. Oxfam
      7. Save the Children (STC)
      8. United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHRC)
      9. War on Want
      10. WaterAid
    4. Miscellaneous projects
      1. Billboardliberation
      2. How We See It
      3. Loca
      4. Nuru Project
      5. The Rights Exposure Project
      6. Through the Eyes of the Children(The Rwanda Project)
    5. Foundations and grants
      1. The Aftermath Project
      2. Alexia Foundation
      3. Alicia Patterson Foundation
      4. Burn Magazine: The EmergingPhotographer Fund
      5. Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography
      6. Getty Images Grants for Good
      7. Marty Forscher Fellowship Fund (MFFF)
      8. Open Society Institute (OSI) DocumentaryPhotography Project
      9. Prix Pictet
      10. W. Eugene Smith Grant in HumanisticPhotography
    6. Photographers and artists
    7. Endnotes
  12. Bibliography
  13. Index
  14. Index Back Cover

Product information

  • Title: Photography as Activism
  • Author(s): Michelle Bogre
  • Release date: November 2012
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136097096