Photographing women.

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I photograph people on the street, candidly. Lots of those people happen to be women. Roughly, half of them. I do my best not to be noticed, even when being face to face with someone. Sounds stupid, but it’s a skill you develop with time.
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There has been some articles recently in few influential places that described street photographers as basically perverts with cameras with rape on their mind (for example:
 http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2013/04/the_ethics_of_street_photography/ and:
 http://www.sfchronicle.com/art/article/Garry-Winogrand-s-uneasy-eye-4377685.php ).
 I do not really consider myself a ‘street photographer’, but that is a different matter and not the topic today. I hope you can judge for yourself if I am a pervert or not.
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Obviously, since I do photograph women in various situations, I do not find it unethical. I believe that for example fashion photography, Hollywood and celebrity culture are doing much worse things to us all, not only women but men as well, in general than me. Anyone with any interest in contemporary imaging is aware of photoshop magic, has a rough idea how advertising campaigns are made etc. After all, ‘photoshopped’ has become just another English word, and ‘airbrushing’ (even if it’s actually something completely different) is a term every teenager can explain.

The issue of ethic has nothing to do with someone agreeing to have their photo taken, if you ask me, and has way more to do with how that photo is affecting the audience when viewed, creating our contemporary culture, making a statement and influencing all of us every day. Mass media takes no responsibility for the damage created.

I’m not naive, surely there are some weird guys out there getting their hands on modern digital gear. No helping that, but let’s not talk about mental issues here. Calling me a pervert, because I photograph in public, is rather stupid. Let focus our attentions on the twisted art directors and their clients, making anorexic children into sex symbols everyday, on a mass scale.



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