Documentary Photography

ASIA. 2001. TIBET. Lhasa. 2001. Tibetan walking through Barkhor quarter.
By:Steve McCurry

I have never really been a fan of documentary photography. For the most part I feel as though the images can (and do) fall flat. Photography, whether artistic or documentary, is meant to capture the eye. There has to be something engaging about it. It has to tell as story. I know that documentary photography is suppose to be real, and gritty, no frills, just an image of what was. But the image itself has to be evocative otherwise it is worthless. The point of photography is to make people take a second look. To show them something either they never saw before, or in a way they never saw before. Documentary photography is a great way to spotlight an issue or a place or an event. But if the photo itself isn't interesting, it can't do any of that. I selected this image because there is dimension to it. You want to know who the man is, where he is going. It draws you in. Literally. The angle the alley street, against its walls draws you eye through the picture, towards the man. You want to see beyond the man. You want to know where the street goes. That is good photography.