Photography Videos - The Documentary Network

The story behind the Image most viewed

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 16:46:56 +0000

The one thing everybody will always remember of Windows XP is desktop image 'Bliss', with it's green rolling hills and bluer than blue sky. Doesn't the most viewed picture of all times asks for a worthy goodbye? We certainly think so! That's why we hopped on a plane to Los Angeles and went to visit the photographer Charles O'Rear. He told us the incredible story behind the famous desktop image.

The Art of Portrait Photography

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 14:23:57 +0000

Humans have been creating likenesses of each other for thousands of years, but with the introduction of photography, a new language developed for capturing the human image. Photography created opportunities for not just for biography and documentation, but also depth, empathy, and experimentation. Many portrait photographers today elevate their work from mere photo to art, communicating ideas and capturing the human subject with dignity, all while exploring the meaning and potential of portraiture. Featuring: Matt Hoyle, Bex Finch, Jamie Diamond, Ethan Levitas

Back to the Future

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 08:05:18 +0000

Documentary on Argentinian artist Irina Werning whose Back to the Future project went viral on the internet, made using footage from Irina's personal archive of the project in which she painstakingly recreates people cherished old photos.

The Beauty of Space Photography

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:22:55 +0000

Space presents a fantastic mystery to human life. Unfathomably large, with characteristics that defy our experience and understanding, the stars have perplexed and amazed humanity for our entire recorded history, and likely before. In the present, astrophysicists and astronomers are aggressively studying the universe in an attempt to solve critical scientific and philosophical questions. One of the primary tools for measurement and observation is imaging using cameras connected to powerful telescopes on Earth and in space. And although it's not the primary motivation for photographing space, beauty is one of the most intriguing byproducts. Images of space communicate the grandeur of the universe, and spark essential curiosities about what may be out there waiting for us once we make our way into the stars. Featuring: Emily Rice, American Museum of Natural History Zolt Levay, Space Telescope Science Institute David Hogg, New York University

The New African Photography: Emeka Okereke

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:45:54 +0000

Emeka Okereke leads a busload of artists and photographers for the Invisible Borders road trip of a lifetime as they search for new ways to portray their continent and explore their art. "A photograph is a window, and not the view. Don't photograph what you see, photograph what you feel," says Emeka. It is something he will try and teach young photographer Lilian Novo, for whom the trip is a first attempt at art photography. The group set off from Lagos and head overland to the Democratic Republic of Congo in a minivan, but soon discover that driving across Africa during rainy season presents environmental, psychological and bureaucratic challenges.

Beijing Silvermine – Thomas Sauvin

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:55:07 +0000

Beijing Silvermine is a unique photographic portrait of the capital and the life of its inhabitants following the Cultural Revolution. It covers a period of 20 years, from 1985, namely when silver film started being used massively in China, to 2005, when digital photography started taking over. These 20 years are those of China's economic opening, when people started prospering, travelling, consuming, having fun. Film by Emiland Guillerme

The Light that Shines

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:48:12 +0000

Jill was married only 3 month when she lost both breast to breast cancer, she was only 32 years old. Now 35, she has been diagnosed with incurable stage 4 bone cancer. Photographer Sue Bryce invited her to Paris for a photo shoot. This documentary shows the outcomes of this trip and portraits Jill, a powerful woman. This is not a story about cancer. This is a story about love, and it's a story for all. A moving and touching documentary for all women and their families going through their battle with cancer. Film by Hailey Bartholomew http://www.youcantbeserious.com.au/blog/the-light-that-shines/ Producer & Photographer: Sue Bryce http://www.inbedwithsue.com/the-light-that-shines/ Find Jill at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillBrzezinskiConleyBreastFriends

Photographing the Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 19:40:34 +0000

We follow photographer Donald Weber to the buffer zone at Fukushima, Japan, where the eerie silence mirrors that at Chernobyl, and follow him as he attempts to document the unfolding nuclear crisis.

Men at Lunch – Documentary about the Iconic Photo showing New York Construction Workers [TRAILER]

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:11:12 +0000

Everyone knows this world famous photo of construction workers taking a break in New York City. They are sitting next to each other eating lunch. Sounds quite normal but they are set at a very special location: On a long steel girder, high above (850 feet) the ground. Filmmaker Seán Ó Cualáin explores the story behind this photograph and focuses not so much on the technical part, instead he tries to peer into the photograph itself. The picture was taken on 29 September 1932 by Charles C. Ebbets during construction work of the GE building at Rockefeller Center. The official description of the film: New York City, 1932. The country is in the throes of the Great Depression, the previous decade's boom of Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants has led to unprecedented urban expansion, and in the midst of an unseasonably warm autumn, steelworkers risk life and limb building skyscrapers high above the streets of Manhattan. In Men at Lunch, director Seán Ó Cualáin tells the story of Lunch atop a Skyscraper, the iconic photograph taken during the construction of the GE Building that depicts eleven workmen taking their lunch break while casually perched along a steel girder, 850 feet above the ground. For decades, this image has captivated imaginations the world over. But who are these men? And where did they come from? Ever since the photograph was published anonymously in the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932, the men's identities have been a mystery. Many of those who have been fascinated by the photo throughout the years have shared the conviction that one of the workers is a distant relative; others, meanwhile, have questioned the photo's authenticity outright. Accessing the vast photography archives at Rockefeller Center and the Iron Mountain storage facility in Pennsylvania, Ó Cualáin follows the clues in an attempt to discover the photo's long-held secrets. With the meticulous, painstaking precision of a detective, Ó Cualáin tracks down the original glass-plate negative, and then reconstructs the photograph as a digital projection with actors recreating the workers' poses, allowing the minutiae of the image to be studied from every possible perspective. Interviews with archivists, photographers, and historians eventually uncover compelling evidence that a few of the photo's subjects may have roots in the small village of Shanaglish, Ireland. Yet no matter the secrets that Ó Cualáin uncovers in his dogged search, he is by no means seeking to dilute or demystify the magnetic power of the iconic image. Taken at a time when the utopian dreams of the previous decade had run up against desperate economic reality, the photograph speaks to the enduring fortitude of a nation of immigrants resolutely soldiering on, shrugging off their astonishing accomplishments as merely another day's honest work. As Men at Lunch eloquently demonstrates, the satisfaction of answers is perhaps dwarfed by the evocative power of the questions.

Gravity Defying Photography with Artist Li Wei

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 11:48:49 +0000

Li Wei takes us behind the scenes of his unbelievable photo productions, tells us what it feels like to be suspended from the side of a tall building, and speculates on "unseen forces."

The World’s Most Downloaded Man

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:38:28 +0000

Today publishers and newspapers spend more and more money on stock images instead of hiring a photographer. Fernando Martins travelled to Denmark to meet the king of stock images: Jesper Bruun. He is always with you, everywhere you go. He is omnipresent: He is The World's Most Downloaded Man. A strange meeting of a model and a photographer. While there is no confirmation of Jesper Bruun being really top 1 stock model, we like idea of the film (actually more than the film...).

Farewell Kodachrome! (and Kodak!?)

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:54:17 +0000

In commemoration of its 75th and final year, a documentary look at the first color film and the last lab in the world that processed it. And it won't get any better: The 130-year-old Photography pioneer Kodak filed for bankruptcy last week. Just sad or is digital the future anyway? Please share your thoughts! Eastman Kodak, the US-based company which brought photography to the masses over a century ago, has filed for bankruptcy protection after years of failing to become a profitable seller of modern consumer products.

Light Painting

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:28:31 +0000

Light painting dates back to Man Ray, but contemporary photographers are taking the practice of “painting light” onto long-exposure photographs to a new level. Patrick Rochon and Aurora Crowley, two light painters in love with color, form, and the expressive possibilities of light, discuss their work and their unique process.

Kitty & Lala – 80 Impression

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:52:17 +0000

80 Impression illustrates the diverse, personal, and emotional role that technology plays in the everyday Visual Life of two young Chinese wedding photographers - Kitty and Lala.

The 360 Project – Dance Moves captured simultaneously by 48 Cameras

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:46:43 +0000

“The 360 Project” is an exploration into the crossroads of photography and motion pictures. It is a study of peak dance movements, captured simultaneously by 48 cameras aligned in a circle. There are two components to “The 360 Project” – “Ballet 360” features ballerinas from Canada’s National Ballet School, “Krump 360” features dancers from Northbuck Krump. The two styles of dance represent polemic perspectives in both technique and origin – one is beauty, the other beast.

The resulting images resemble a type of digital statue – a frozen, peak moment, embodying the essence of each dance form in 360 degrees. Link: Director - Ryan Enn Hughes