Furthermore, capturing images of poverty is not a new element of photography. However, in previous years many time the photographer capturing the images was a by product of the surrounding community when it was in the United States. Today, there has been a new trend for what has been coined by some as "white-guy photography." No, this does not just mean that a white man is the photographer. Instead, "white guy photography," refers to the tendency for white individual leaving their life of privilege to move to/ or visit those impoverished areas only to capture these images. While I understand capturing images from a trip or practice experience from another country, I don't know if I support the for-profit use of these exploitive photos. Many times, I have come across the biographies of photographers or summaries about how the poverty image collections come to fruition and all of these "white guy photography" collections have almost identical descriptions. Many of these collections start off as an after affect from a "white guy," leaving his happily content life of well-paying employment for some reason or another to find "his calling" and ends up in photography telling someone else's story, for their own personal benefit.
My concern in this is the lack of assistance these collections gives back to the subjects of the pictures, the poor. This is where the exploitation comes into play. While the photographers are doing their part in making the greater public aware that such depths of poverty exist, the lack of any action plan affiliated with helping the subject is disheartening. I do admit that spreading awareness of this poverty is beneficial, since there are some individuals that would never see it otherwise. However, I am not convinced that their work is sufficient. I understand the social documentary aspect, but I just think that in this day and age that incorporating some sort of assistance is more than possible. Maybe I am expecting a bit much?
I found an interesting article that elaborates on the power of photography to change our views on poverty:
PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGES OUR AWARENESS OF POVERTY
Below are three examples:
Humans of New York Project
A Citigroup Trader Took These Pictures Of New York Prostitutes
East NY and Brownsville
I think you bring up some really interesting and important ideas. I took a class last semester called History and Practice of Human Rights, and we spent a lot of time talking about photography. On the one hand, we learned about the power of photography (the pictures of Jews in concentration camps during WWII, for example) to document human rights violations--to create a history--and to provoke strong emotional reactions that might prompt some kind of action. However, we also learned about the potential problems of atrocity photography. You talk about how photography often does not lead to real action, and I agree. In fact, in my class we discussed how viewing photos of victims of human rights violations (or the poor) can often feel like action; once we view the photo, we feel as if the problem has already been dealt with. In other words, photos evoke some emotional response but provide enough distance from the problem to prevent any real action. Thanks for your post!
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