7. Documentary - Decoding the image.

Documentary photography 'decoding the image as a fact'

What is documentary photography?
Documentary photography is a way that record history, a photographic image thats resembles either a backstory. When you think of a documentation, you automatically assume it is something that tells the truth, its your evidence. Documentary photography can be noted to be truthful. Whenever i personally think of a documentation or a record of something, it usually comes with something I've done, photographed family, weddings, or a piece of evidence.
Documentary photography is a opportunity for people to go out into the world, see what is happening and this is what photographer Stephanie Sinclair did.

Stephanie Sinclair photographed a project based on young children being forced to marry men more than 4 times there age.  'Two Young to Wed' a series of photographs/ films that basically shows the ives of young girls being forced to marry under their perennial convent.

This particular documentary of Child Marriage goes into how Stephanie first came across child marriage, she talked more in-depth about being a photojournalist and her stay and work from there on. 

Focusing on the dramatic times, and lives of young girls lives Stephanie dedicated 10 years of her life to the support of this ordeal. Her documentation provides evidence of documentations, allowing their stories to be heard all over the world. I have had the opportunity to look at her work closely and analyse it, Stephanie's work moved me when i first heard the background story, it makes you think of how other countries and their religion is different to they others share them. Although looking at her work and thinking its outrageous children getting married, having babies while they are babies, but in fact this how they go through life, everyone is different. Documentation is something that can be manipulated into what they want you to view it as, but it is always has a bit of truth in it somewhere. 

These are just a few of Stephanie Sinclair documentary photographs from her time focusing on Too Young to Wed..                                                        

These documentation through photographs show the true nature of how some people celebrate their lives, different cultures hold different ways of living. To someone who has never seen this before it is shocking to visualise. I feel like Stephanie work is beautiful and capture true emotion of life and their future. The work that Stephanie produced came from the heart, she supported these young children, they trusted her and you can tell through her images of the connections. They are true.

Meaning within photographs, Roland Barthes a french philosopher believed and argued that there are two ways toward an image; the Denoted - what you see in front of you, and there is Connoted -  what is it telling you underneath the surface. Below is an image which you can Cannothed and Denoted at use.

Dentioned - This image consists of two presidents, the British president Tony Blaire and the American  president George W Bush. It would seem as  tho both countries support each other with the way the America and British flag a placed betweens them, equal rights. Looking closely at the image and analysing it, it would appear to me that their is more aggression coming from Blaire where as Bush is relaxed about it. Although they both share the equal rights it seems that one person is more involved than the other. Camp D avid in the middle ties them both together, so they are one. 

Documentary photography has the opportunity to show one thing but the meaning be another thing, as for an example the image above showing the two presidents. It is true what they say the came never lies, it you how you interpret for it to say something. 

The denoted way of looking at this image it portrays a man who is in a pool swimming using an American swimming cap. Where as the  cannoted way of looking at this is their is a strong young man, moving through the water at a very fast time, it would assume that since he is wearing an American Swimming cap you would assume he is part of the American team. His body moving swirly across the water, taking and a deep breath. his straight and narrow look toward the camera, focusing on his main priority, winning. his body tenses as his arm come around for another huge ouch against the water.
This is how i would describe the image when first glancing at it and then taking more notice looking at the detail.

Bibliography 

Sinclair, S. 'Too Young to Wed' http://tooyoungtowed.org (18/01/2015)