For my third pentathlon, I decided to attend a panel of some of the members of the
"Kamoinge Workshop." The "Kamoinge Workshop" was an photography collective of Black photographers that was formed in 1963. They aimed to "pursue photo as an art form and portray the Black community as they saw and experienced it.
The workshop was an "informal network, a circle of trust, affirmation, career development, and experimentation."
The three photographers that spoke at the event were Adger Cowans, Herb Robinson, and Beuford Smith.
Adger Cowans spoke first, talking a little bit about his photographs, as well as his paintings.
Some of the most impactful photographs that Cowans showed were his photographs of Jazz musicians. As a fan of the genre, it was really cool to see these players portrayed so beautifully.
One of things that Cowans talked about was his idea that the photograph and the word should be separated, that the photograph should be able to speak for itself.
As someone pursuing a career in photojournalism, I found this intriguing. A huge part of the photojournalistic process is captioning your photos.
The fact that the photo can speak for itself is something that I had realized a while ago while shooting film in high school, but I'm currently trying to blend the lines between any fine-art photography and photojournalism that I do. I want to see if I can show things accurately while doing so in an artistic way.
After Cowans, Herb Robinson spoke. Robinson spoke a lot about his influences in film and painting and how it affected his photography. My most important takeaway from his segment was the mindset of forming connections. To always see where your art fits in the greater scope of art history.
Finally, Beuford Smith spoke about his experience making "The Black Photographer's Annual" from 1974-1980. He also talked about how he never leaves the house without his camera.
That's something I would want to get in the habit of. Always looking for a good shot.
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