Languages- Home Closed Category: Lightness
The Brief: 'Lightness'
‘Lightness’ can be interpreted in any way you want. You might choose to portray closeness in a literal, technical way, or from a more metaphorical and impressionistic point of view. Whatever your interpretation, Rebecca McClelland, the Photography Editor at UK political magazine the New Statesman, will be on hand to judge your masterpieces from 3 January.
‘Lightness’ in photography, by Rebecca McClelland:
"I have interpreted this brief, about lightness in photography, in three ways: first, in the literal sense, the physical aspect of the image, its two-dimensional or digital presence, of colour and opaqueness; secondly, lightness as humour or irony; and thirdly, lightness of approach – the delicateness with which photographers approach difficult subjects, the lightness with which they convey powerful messages.
“By this, I certainly don’t mean lightness of subject matter. I’m not hoping for pictures of people’s pets or babies. Instead, I’d like to see clever, layered, complex images. For me, a successful image can convey its meaning in subtle ways, not obvious at first viewing.
“I’ve been looking at images of the hunger crisis in north-western Kenya by Noor’s Francesco Zizola, which I published in the New Statesman magazine. Zizola combines tonal lightness with clever composition, using the willowy silhouettes of bare trees to extenuate the fragile figures within the landscape. Then there’s the photographer Paul Graham, who uses the physical of lightness in ‘American Nights’, a series of photographs that addresses race in modern-day America. Graham introduces opacity to some of the images to symbolise or suggest ‘white blindness’.
“By contrast, absurdity or satire can also be a key ingredient of powerful imagery, especially in politics. Look at the way VII photographer Chris Morris approached a subject like Libya in the spring of 2011, or his take on modern American politics.
“But, of course, I’m not expecting everyone to submit pictures from conflict zones or the White House. I see so many of these type of images in my role as Photography Director at the New Statesman, so I'll be looking for originality of approach and technique to make them stand out from the crowd, whatever the subject matter.”
Entries to this category are now closed. The results have been published.
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