Photography and Ethics (Professional Studies)
Today I read a very insightful article on Visual Culture Blog by Marco Bohr. He discusses the ethic and moral codes in regards to photographic practice based around natural disasters. More specifically, Bohr is writing about Japanese photographers and their decisions as whether or not to photograph post-tsunami scenes in Japan.
Bohr writes that photographer Naoya Hatakeyama was present in a situation during a meeting in 2013 which prompted him to question "what exactly is a ‘good photograph’ in the context of a disaster."(put small 1 here) His concern with a fellow colleague's announcement that a disaster would be "an opportunity to produce [...] good photographs" points to his feelings about the ethics inevitably surrounding such a statement. An example of differing opinions like this brings to mind how strong a dichotomy there can be from one person's moral and ethical standing to the next. The man who called this out in that meeting was clearly not at all hesitant about photographing disasters; which are viewed by many as quite an unethical thing to do, given the context of horrific destruction and loss experienced by those involved.
In the article, Bohr also mentions how disasters and what may be to the majority - uncomfortable - situations to photograph, can also be very intriguing to many people. He writes “In the epilogue of [Kishin Shinoyama’s] photobook Atokata he describes his bewilderment encountering a totally new landscape for the very first time." This 'bewilderment', subsequently leading to a series of photographs produced at the scene, demonstrates just how powerful newness, unfamiliarity and drama are as factors in each individual's ethical framework. In Shinoyama’s case, his reaction was of fascination, and he felt the urge to photograph. To others, this may not be the case, depending on their personal stance. In an everyday context it could be put like this: a photographer notices an accident such as a car crash; they may either feel compelled to capture this unique dramatic and disastrous scene OR they may feel it would be wholly inappropriate to photograph such a horrible scene where those involved may have been injured or killed.
As Bohr puts it: "the ethics of photography [...] continually morph depending on the social setting they are considered in." There will always be global debate regarding the ethics of photographing in a plethora of situations. Ethics in photography largely involves personal opinions and every photographer's moral views will come into play alongside ethics for as long as photography is a practice.