The Human Condition the 30's & Now

torags

I was sent some pix of the dust bowl effect of the thirties. It occurred to me that today some people are suffering the same effects, but perhaps in the cities (rather than rural)

I propose the following format: Take one of these shots ( or if you have one of your own from the period) and post a shot of someone suffering the same condition today... post them NEXT TO each other. It will facilitate other viewers & posters with the comparison.

The pics are in the link following.

http://ragspix.smugmug.com/People/0911-Depression-Era/10163926_Ne2P2#699376129_erpGY

rutt

Are there credits for these shots?

bdcolen

torags wrote:

I was sent some pix of the dust bowl effect of the thirties. It occurred to me that today some people are suffering the same effects, but perhaps in the cities (rather than rural)

I propose the following format: Take one of these shots ( or if you have one of your own from the period) and post a shot of someone suffering the same condition today... post them NEXT TO each other. It will facilitate other viewers & posters with the comparison.

This is one, the others are in the link following. I call this pic "despair" I'll have to get some matchups myself..



http://ragspix.smugmug.com/People/0911-Depression-Era/10163926_Ne2P2#699376129_erpGY

T

Two thoughts about this interesting idea - one is Rutt's question about the credits.

The other is that this should be approached understanding that many of those iconic images were either posed, or shot to order. That is, the photographers for the FSA and WPA - government employees working for government agencies - went around the country with shooting lists, specific photos that their editors in Washington wanted. This doesn't make the images any less compelling, and it isn't to suggest that the poverty wasn't real. But it's important to know.

Richard

rutt wrote:

Are there credits for these shots?

Just to be clear, Dgrin's policy is that if you are not the copyright holder, you may not post an image inline. You may post a link to any image you like.

bdcolen

torags wrote:

I was sent some pix of the dust bowl effect of the thirties. It occurred to me that today some people are suffering the same effects, but perhaps in the cities (rather than rural)

I propose the following format: Take one of these shots ( or if you have one of your own from the period) and post a shot of someone suffering the same condition today... post them NEXT TO each other. It will facilitate other viewers & posters with the comparison.

This is one, the others are in the link following. I call this pic "despair" I'll have to get some matchups myself..



http://ragspix.smugmug.com/People/0911-Depression-Era/10163926_Ne2P2#699376129_erpGY

I'd begin thinking about this idea by going here, to the archive of 160,000 Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information images. You can search the archives by photographer, subject, and geographic location. You can order prints, and you can down large, printable digital scans for free. This is an incredible treasure trove of work by Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rubenstein, Ben Shan, Jack Delano, Andreas Feininger, Lewis Hine, and on and on and on.

bdcolen

Tina Manley wrote:

Or:

Attachment not found.

Tina

They're really wonderful images, Tina, but I believe the suggestion is to find scenes in the U.S. that show people suffering from the current recession. No?

torags

Richard wrote:

Just to be clear, Dgrin's policy is that if you are not the copyright holder, you may not post an image inline. You may post a link to any image you like.

I didn't see any copy write info on the images. Do you want me to just post my link or delete the post? your call.

Tina Manley

bdcolen wrote:

They're really wonderful images, Tina, but I believe the suggestion is to find scenes in the U.S. that show people suffering from the current recession. No?

Oh! I thought it was just Human Condition today. Sorry. :cry

Tina
www.tinamanley.com

Tina Manley

torags wrote:

I didn't see any copy write info on the images. Do you want me to just post my link or delete the post? your call.

Most of the photos by the WPA and FSA are in the public domain, but it would still be nice to credit the photographer.

Tina
www.tinamanley.com

Richard

torags wrote:

I didn't see any copy write info on the images. Do you want me to just post my link or delete the post? your call.

Rags,
Since the Dgrin rules do not include any considerations of fair use, I would say that the idea is Better Safe Than Sorry. If you just change it to a link, that would be fine. If you know that they are in the public domain, then anything goes.
Cheers,

torags

bdcolen wrote:

They're really wonderful images, Tina, but I believe the suggestion is to find scenes in the U.S. that show people suffering from the current recession. No?

Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to keep it urban and in this country.

that said I realize this is a community and these threads sometimes have a life of their own and go in a direction the OP didn't intend.

That's what has happened here. I thought it would be a good personal project, but then thought people here might enjoy it also. I was looking forward to seeing some of the efforts of the posters on this thread.

Shooting people is an effort at acquiring a taste for PJ and an opportunity learn a bit more about B&W.

But this PJ forum has become a tedious experience.

It lacks the free form experience I'm looking for.

I'm going to pass on this forum (I don't add much/if anything); I wish you all luck & BD keep 'em in line....

Richard

torags wrote:

Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to keep it urban and in this country.

that said I realize this is a community and these threads sometimes have a life of their own and go in a direction the OP didn't intend.

That's what has happened here. I thought it would be a good personal project, but then thought people here might enjoy it also. I was looking forward to seeing some of the efforts of the posters on this thread.

Shooting people is an effort at acquiring a taste for PJ and an opportunity learn a bit more about B&W.

But this PJ forum has become a tedious experience.

It lacks the free form experience I'm looking for.

I'm going to pass on this forum (I don't add much/if anything); I wish you all luck & BD keep 'em in line....

Hey Rags,

I wish you would reconsider. I liked your idea and think it would make a good exercise. It just needs a little refinement, that's all.

The pics on the FSA site that BD mentioned are in the public domain, so that gives us a great source of images to start from. I guess my main question is whether the contemporary shot has to be a new one taken for the exercise or any shot that we already have taken. As an exercise in seeing and analysis, I could see it working either way.

pathfinder

bdcolen wrote:

I'd begin thinking about this idea by going here, to the archive of 160,000 Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information images. You can search the archives by photographer, subject, and geographic location. You can order prints, and you can down large, printable digital scans for free. This is an incredible treasure trove of work by Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, Arthur Rubenstein, Ben Shan, Jack Delano, Andreas Feininger, Lewis Hine, and on and on and on.

I want to thank you for this link BD.

The FSA and OWI shots - (ordered for political reasons as you said ) are a great resource that I was unaware was available online -

I wrote a very brief book review of "Bound for Glory" a few years ago that was a book of Kodachrome images shot by the FSA and OWI photographers. Most of the images from that period were B&W, but not all.

Now the color images are online as well as the monochrome images. Very interesting.

bdcolen

pathfinder wrote:

I want to thank you for this link BD.

The FSA and OWI shots - (ordered for political reasons as you said ) are a great resource that I was unaware was available online -

I wrote a very brief book review of "Bound for Glory" a few years ago that was a book of Kodachrome images shot by the FSA and OWI photographers. Most of the images from that period were B&W, but not all.

Now the color images are online as well as the monochrome images. Very interesting.

It is startllng seeing color images from those FSA photographers, because their work is so associated with black and white. And I love those early Kodachrome's of your family. They're in really terrific shape - or appear to have been when you scanned them.