
The Shock of Robert Frank’s “The Americans” - simonebrunozzi
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-shock-of-robert-franks-the-americans
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tempodox
This does look like a worthwhile book. Until someone invents a time machine
for traveling to the past, collections like this are the next best thing.

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mc32
Photographers have a POV, a narrative (not in the bad sense), but they have a
story they want to tell.

A better way for this kind if thing is to look at people's shoebox
collections. There is no ulterior narrative and it’s more personal to each
producer. They’re not iconic, they don’t have the imprimatur of a known great,
but they are an honest look at times and places.

~~~
pjc50
> narrative (not in the bad sense)

What is the "bad sense"?

Surely personal photo collections also have a narrative, albeit one focused on
the life of the photographer?

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mc32
Of course people will have their interests’ POV, but it’s a vernacular or even
naive.

When a photographer goes on a project which may end up as a book or exhibit in
a gallery, it has no comparison to the vernacular POV. They may have
statements, but typically have a predefined purpose and also will curate
heavily. In a book like Frank’s you may see maybe 1% of the pictures taken
during that project, if even that.

The bad sense of narrative is beside telling a story it has a known and
purposeful bias.

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galago
In my youth I had a job converting old 8mm and 16mm home movies to video.
About 25% were of people at Disneyland on a sunny day. In general they were
completely biased towards bright happy moments, and I realized that old photos
aren't a very good way to tell what peoples lives were like. In my family
photos, there's a sense that people took pictures of things they were proud of
--someone in a military uniform, a new car, etc.

~~~
mc32
No doubt, but that’s what’s important to people. Most aren’t going to Disney,
and when they take pictures it’s not : “I want to showcase a particular
narrative.” Most just want to keep memories of times _they_ feel are
representative and important. Not what a photographer thinks is or should be
important.

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beautifulfreak
There's an excellent documentary about him, "Don't Blink."

[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4779036/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4779036/)

