Rineke Dijkstra - Portraits

I've been checking out another photographer recommended by my tutor - Rineke Dijkstra. She is a Dutch artist  (b. 1959) whose striking portrait subjects tend to be young adolescents, young adults, young mums etc. Originally a commercial photographer who took portraits of successful businessmen,she began to look for more natural poses. In the early 1990s this led to a focus on children and young people on a number of beaches in the US, Poland, England, the Ukraine and Croatia. I found many of these in an excellent collection called  'Portraits' * :

Rineke Dijkstra: Odessa, Ukraine  August 4, 1993

Rineke Dijkstra: Kolobraze,Poland July 26 1992

 

















Many of her portraits are totally opposite to her commercial world where the portrait is 
designed to present an image of the sitter, presumably the image that the sitter wishes to be conveyed. Her beach portraits are not posed. The resulting image in the words of Hripsime Visser* comes not just from the fact that she has chosen adolescents who have yet to fix on what they perceive to be their image  but ' as much from the choice of the photographic moment'. In his introduction to 'Portraits' Visser continues :

'That moment is the result of little direction, of watching and waiting combined with the slow, laborious technique of a 4 x 5 camera on a tripod, with a fill-in flash also on a tripod , limit contrasts and shadows'. ( Visser, 2004,p.11)

Rineke Dijkstra:  Dubrovnik, Croatia, July 13,1996

Rineke Dijkstra: Jalta,Ukraine,July 30, 1993

The stances are often confrontational in that the subjects look directly at you, the background very simple so as not to compete. I think that the vulnerability you can sense here comes from the pose not the almost bland expression. In the left image the pose suggests a sense of  bravado but what does it hide?

Rineke Dijkstra:Montemor-O-Novo,Portugal,May1,1994

Looking at other work such as the toreador above taken after a bullfight, she captures a real sense of vulnerability. It comes from the position of the body and head but more so from the expression or perhaps, more accurately, the eyes...they look out but do not see ..an image of someone having survived a struggle or fight to the death underlined by the faint bloodstains on his shirt and face.

Dijkstra  visited this sense of 'passage' in her portraits of young male Israeli conscripts after their first military exercise...somehow capturing this transforming experience in her images of young men, each standing alone in their battledress against a simple countryside backdrop.

However, I was drawn more to the series of images below of  Olivier (The French Foreign Legion). 

Reading these images top left to right, then bottom left to right taken between 2000 and 2002,  you can sense a change has happened - a transformation from youth to more experienced,  hardened soldier. It comes less from the pose or the clothing but from the eyes, the expression captured.

Looking at  Dijkstra's work makes me reflect on how I approached my first stab at portraiture. Natural poses are hard to achieve..I can see that there is a particular moment which could be described as the telling moment which if you can capture produces 'pure gold'. Certainly you need to think a lot harder about what it is that you're trying to capture in the portrait and this may not necessarily agree with your subject's idea of the end result. Who calls the tune here? I like her approach re backgrounds - the simpler and plainer the better, unless of course, you need some additional factor to help describe the 'character or image ' being sought through the shot.  

My great grandfather

And this brings me to Urs Stanel's comment at the end of this book :

'Rineke Dijkstra's photographs differ from the representational 19th century portrait which contains attributes that are alien to the subject and belong to the studio, attributes which suggest a general bourgeois ambiance independent of the person being photographed. 



Reneka Dijkstra's figures are simply 'there'.
( Stanel, 2004 p.148 )










 *Dijkstra,Rineke. (2004) Portraits  Amsterdam: Schirmer/Mosel Production
















 

The Tory rally that wasn't -photos that reveal how modern campaigning works

Spotted in the Guardian and found on imgur.com, the four images below made me smile and reflect on how images taken at an event can easily be used to say many different things depending on your over riding take on things ... not unlike statistics!!  
 Here's the link to the Spectator's blog where the images are put into context.

These tactics that are not unusual for any party taking a pragmatic approach to electioneering...In this instance the final effect ( i.e. top image) is not as powerful a manipulation of circumstance as the 'Je suis Charlie' image of the world leaders lined up supposedly at the head of the unity march in Paris...

Reflection on Assignment Two

On the doorstep - the political activity of canvassing voters'. 

Back on 3 March I decided my objective for assignment  two :

'I am going to follow a team of canvassers out 'on the doorstep' as they meet and talk to local voters. The intention is to show what is happening and why; to capture the 'feel' of the session; the camaraderie  between the canvassers; their reactions to the responses they get and any interaction with the public'.


What worked well?

The concept of following a group of canvassers worked well. The activity absorbed the attention of people to the extent that they were not distracted by me.This allowed me to take shots close up,even taking a lead from Bruce Gilden and taking shots below the canvassers looking up at them. This particular approach produced some interesting images in terms of composition but nothing which really added to the 'explanation ' of what was happening...

There were enough different actions and activity including camaraderie within the group.
Variety of locations and continuity of canvassers also worked though carrying the work over a number of sessions did mean that people dressed differently in different shots.

And the fact that I knew what canvassing is all about and the kind of activity to expect  helped me plan the kind of compositions I was looking for - even the reality of the day didn't always deliver....

What worked less well?

The speed of canvassing presented problems in keeping up or ahead of the group and worked against changing camera settings to accommodate the changing shots in view. I realised  during the first session that adjusting settings was slowing me down and it wasn't always possible to anticipate what image would suddenly materialise. Changing to a street photography setting worked reasonably well but left some images with loss of definition in the far background. This didn't matter for some images but where the background was important to the composition it resulted in a less than expected final image. There was very little 'static ' action except around the board which sounds a contradiction in terms but those images sometimes came out as looking a little posed, lacking a certain dynamism ...and that dynamism was something that I wanted to get over....

Decision making re composition had to be done very quickly - the constant movement of group led to a number of blurred shots

I would have liked more shots of canvassers interacting with members of the public and carried permission forms with me every time but I had no luck apart from one shot. People on the doorstep and those who were out and about were very wary of me i.e. a photographer working with a political group...

Another difficulty were the lighting conditions on the street on the first outing which proved difficult to master quickly and resulted in over and underexposed shots.

I also underestimated how many sessions would be required to provide decent images covering the range of activities I wanted to show. Also some canvassers wore different coats and carried different carrier bags in different shots ..did this matter? Apart from making it obvious that the images came from different sessions, I wondered if this would be a distraction perhaps?

At the end of the day... 

I enjoyed this project. It gave me an opportunity to 'plan' and capture an activity which most people do not see in action and try out some street photography techniques. Frustrating at times, I think my time was well spent and I am happy with the range of images captured ..images that go a way to explaining what happens when political canvassers go out 'on the 'doorstep'

Assignment 2 'On the doorstep' final images

Here are my images selected for Assignment Two. 

I decided to use images from a number of canvassing sessions, choosing images that best reflected the range of activities undertaken. I also looked for shots that captured the 'camaraderie' that occurs when a group of activists go out together on the doorstep. The images are not consciously posed. Canvassers walk along the route door knocking at some speed so the approach here had to be similar to street photography. While I could  anticipate the kind of territory covered, the impact of the weather and the light available was unpredictable. After the first session I found it easier, quicker and more effective to use street photography camera settings recommended by Eric Kim  i.e.  P, with an ISO of 800 or 1600.

P853: F13 @ 1/400  18mm  ISO 800

P853 Every canvassing session starts with the handing out of clipboards and campaign literature which canvassers can use on the doorstep. 

I took a number of shots around the organiser and team members in a very tight space between two cars. I selected this particular image for a number of reasons. In practical terms, it shows both the preparation of clipboard and the campaign literature. More importantly for me, the composition reveals the action in front of the viewer..the organiser's hands adjusting a clipboard held in a slightly downward position in the direction of the two hands waiting to receive it. Some may say we need to see the canvasser waiting for his clipboard; I disagree, to my mind including the canvasser would draw the eye away from the clipboard and the smiling organiser. What you cannot hear is the banter causing the smile but his expression does register the optimism always present at the start of a canvassing session.

P858: F14 @ 1/320  31mm  ISO 800

P858  My intention in this shot is to show the team working the street... it captures the moment of starting to get a leaflet ready for the next doorstep placed in context by the canvasser seen behind on the right. I think this composition could have been a very static shot but is helped by the angle of the pavement suggesting movement, the inferred hand action and look of concentration on the face of the figure in the forefront. With hindsight it would have been improved by manual focusing to achieve sharper background detail.

P872: F18  @ 1/1000  18mm  ISO 1600

P872 Checking the board ..I think this is a well balanced composition ...it captures the concentrated expressions of the canvassers and board man.You can see the woman pointing to some detail on the board and there is some nice product placement centrally i.e. the plastic carrier bag which clearly announces which party is out on the streets.I adjusted the saturation here as the red jacket seemed to stand out too fiercely....

P854: F11 @  1/320  22mm  ISO 1600

P854 I chose this image to show some interaction between a canvasser and a member of the public. Technically,it is not one of the best shots taken but it is the only one which  illustrates this and as I wanted to show this key activity I had to compromise. 
On reflection the composition does draw the eye away from the canvasser talking to a member of the public to the far figure of the canvasser waiting for the door to open. Though the eye does slide over the discussion going on in the middle ground, the viewer is not  encouraged to linger and wonder what was being said.It would have worked much better had I been able to to come round the two figures and capture the expression on the elderly lady's face. Why wasn't this possible? My reluctance to intrude on what was a very animated discussion and cut off what might have been useful for our canvasser on a day when we were experiencing some local suspicion of me carrying a camera and taking photos of the team.

The image is also rather dark ( it was a dull day and we were in the shadow - I should have compensated better than my camera's P setting did) and the detail not as crisp as I would have liked.

P855: F11 @ 1/400 87mm  ISO 1600

P855 This image works well in visually describing what canvassers do on the doorstep while waiting for the door to open or in response to no one being in..I like the look of concentration  and the leaflet folded at just the right moment to show what is happening.

P873 @ 1/400  18mm ISO 1600

P873 I chose this image as being a little more dynamic an example of  reporting back to the board man showing as it does the canvasser caught in mid sentence emphasising her point with a raised hand. It works from the activity point of view but would have worked better perhaps in terms of composition if I had captured less space between the two figures as the glass panels in doorway tend to draw the eye away from the canvasser.

P865: F8 @ 1/200  73mm  ISO 1600

P865 Leafleting - a surprisingly difficult action to capture in any kind of interesting way. In the end I opted for this shot as it captures some movement through the forward angle of the
body and position of the finger  and it does show where the leaflet came from i.e. the the clipboard.

P867 : F5.6 @ 1/1600  51mm  ISO 400

P867 I had a few versions of canvassers walking along the road ...some showing speed  , some showing conversations or folding leaflets but I chose this one . Why?
I like the composition...the subtle interaction between the two figures...board man captured in mid stride walking ahead intently checking his list of addresses for the next set of houses to visit and oblivious to the canvasser coming up behind looking towards him expectantly..the street is in shadow  but the sunlight highlights the canvasser nicely ..

P859: F16 @ 1/800  87mm  ISO 1600

P859  I think this captures a 'telling' moment on the doorstep...here is a canvasser in discussion with a member of the public unseen on their doorstep. His earnest expression and particularly the way he his holding is hand in such an expressive way suggesting he is clarifying a point or trying to win over a voter.The lack of colour i.e. white backdrop and black jacket create a stark image while the background detail place the figure in context (though it is a little busy).I'd have preferred less door detail to the left. That said, it does work in conveying a 'story' of sorts.

P862: F6.3 @ 1/250  18mm  ISO 100

P862 I wanted to show that our canvassers exchange both doorstep information and their own views. I like the interesting expressions captured in this image of  'chewing the fat'.The street background is understandably busy  but the expressions and body language do stand out.

P864 : F5.6 @ 1/160  18mm  ISO 400

P864  Laughing group....I chose this image of our canvassers sharing a joke partly as a foil to other images when our canvassers looked serious and I liked the composition...originally I was going to crop the image to just less than two thirds to show their faces more clearly but I think the full length version works better showing as it does the relaxed body language .. 

P870:F14 @ 1/400  26mm  ISO 800

P870 I like the image above from a composition point of view. This is the one occasion when the many wires, telegraph and lamp posts that cover this particular ward and intrude into nearly every shot actually worked to my advantage by emphasising the sight line. Not quite a Bruce Gilden angle but a good angle taken by kneeling on the pavement. The detail of the faces, particularly the eyes is not that clear.I know that the canvasser is listening to the voter details being given by the board man while looking ahead to where he has to go...I know this from both experience and actually being there but someone just looking at the image may not and so as a strong activity shot this image works less well.

But is this a telling moment? Maybe not. However, the stance of the canvasser looking into the distance reminds me very much of the communist worker type poster...a certain determination / grittiness of expression. So it can be said to be an illustration of street canvassing in general terms perhaps.

Assignment 2 ...selecting images for 'On the doorstep'

My objective for Assignment Two was to capture the group activity of political canvassing on the doorstep by following a group of canvassers at work. I had in mind the kind of activities that happen when out canvassing based on my own experience so my aim was to look for and take images illustrating the following : 

• team assembling / briefing
• working the board*
• response back to board
• door knocking
• talking to voters
• walking the street
• interaction between canvassers - 'cameraderie'
• individual or groups at work
• post canvass wrap up 

* The 'board' is the list of voters in any street or block of flats and is used to direct canvassers to which door to knock on. 

I went out a number of times with the group until I felt that I had achieved a good range of images within my key activity areas - this meant a large number of images to sort through and rate. Deleting the obvious poor shots that can happen when shots are not posed in any way  (e.g. last minute movement, poor lighting, eyes shut etc. ), I divided images up by activity and rated then within the activity.

Rating images has proved an interesting conundrum. What criteria or combination of criteria to use when rating e.g. composition, technical quality, how well the activity is explained , whether it is a ' telling moment' ? For example :

P871

P863

Does P863 or P871 better demonstrate the speed of street canvassing?

P868

P867

Or P867 or P868 below the working of the board ...

P872: F18  @ 1/1000  18mm  ISO 1600

How  important is continuity of images going to be ? Does it matter that my board man wore a red jacket on only one day....it lends some good branding colour but will someone viewing a mix of images from other days notice that he is wearing a different jacket and think more about this than the 'activity displayed ?

At the end of the day, my final selection focused more on how well I captured the activity (which involved assessing composition) than on those images that were better technically but either less interesting or expressive of the activity.
For example, I liked the image below from the point of 'atmosphere', the expression in the  direct look into the camera of the canvasser waiting on the doorstep for the door to open. But as a rather static composition, it didn't make the final cut.

P874: F9 @ 1/200  37mm  ISO 1600