Lynsey's Commercial Photography Blog: December 2017

Tales by Light-Paper 2

Episodes 5 and 6, "Life and Death"

These two episodes were eye-opening. They were not just about taking pictures of life and death, but also about learning from these natural experiences and taking something meaningful away from them. The photographer, Stephen Dupont, had a perspective on life and death that was unlike anything I had heard or seen before. He didn’t view death as a bad thing, just more of a natural and wonderful (if not sad) phenomenon. He understood that everything comes to an end eventually, so being afraid to photograph death is irrational. People must see the gruesome reality of death, because that’s what it is: a reality. His goal is to get people to respect life, and so he takes pictures that make people appreciate the beauty in not only their life but other people’s lives around the world.

Stephen Dupont was extremely respectful and did a great job at photographing the scenes without being too invasive. He did have to insert himself into the culture to be able to get an accurate story and picture, but he was always sure to be respectful of boundaries and the differences between him and the people he was photographing. He made an effort to learn about the people’s culture and talk to them directly, which I thought was cool. He could have just taken photos and left, but he didn’t. He got a story to go behind the photo, which is the true essence of documentary photography.

Stephen Dupont’s eye for photography was also spectacular. Taking pictures of the sand dunes from a drone to get a birds-eye view was pretty genius, and turned out in some really great photos. He would also do pretty much anything to get a good shot. From standing extremely close to a hundred fires burning bodies to laying in the grass in the desert, he never hesitated when it came to getting the shot he needed. This, coupled with his perspective on life, is what makes him stand out so much in my eyes as a great photographer.