Documentary Photography

I think we often conceive of documentary photography as documenting people and events, in a sort of fly-on-the-wall mode of operation, attempting to give viewers a close-up look at something they may not have been present for, or may have been too fleeting to catch. I think that on a more fundamental level this is a documentation of he conditions,of people and places which is why this photograph taken by David Hurn in Tombstone, Arizona in 1980 struck me as a standout example. This image isn't fleeting or eventful, but rather static. It captures Tombstone in a state of decay, when even its tourist industry, built on the town's status as a symbol for the fabled American West, appears ghostly and hollow.

Hurn, David. "USA. Arizona. 1980. USA. Arizona. Tombstone, the town that achieved its prominent place in Western lore in a brief eight year period, 1877 (the finding of silver) and 1886 when the mines ended because of flooding problems. The famous showdown between the Earps and the Clantons was in October 1881." Photograph. New York: David Hurn/ Magnum Photos, 1980. From Artstor: Magnum Collection.