The image as Documentary

Documentary photography is supposed to present a fact of time and record the truth, which does not lie. However the way we see and decodes things leads to the questioning of photographs, that are meant to be documentary. Roland Barthes, french theorist created an analysis called 'The Photographic Message'. Barthes explained that there is two levels of meaning when looking at images, which are Denoting the image for what we can see in front of us and connoting the image for what we can see is telling us that is also purposely put there. Press photography is generally believable from first glance because it is placed next to information that is presented on the television news and newspapers, that we believe is truthful. Newspapers such as The Guardian and The Times display how press photography can be perceived. The Guardian is the type of newspaper to put across more political and left wing opinions of events that are happening around the world, however there is a danger than when we see an image, it is seen from just one point of view, rather than denoting it and looking deeply into the other meanings. Barthe's argument is further extended to how the meaning of a documentary image is produces. The artist e.g the photographer selects what they do and do not want in the image and has a certain attitude towards the events they want in the image. This straight away creates the first opinion of the documentary photograph. The next step is the text that goes along side the image, which automatically can change the thoughts when read next to something depending on what it is about. Finally the viewers opinion on the image is how successful the story is and if it is going to be believed. Documentary photographers such as Steve McCurry and James Nachtway show how their work can be perceived when next to text. Below is one of Nachtway's images for TIME magazine, showing how the image can be one thing but when it is presented with text it shows a whole other layer to the story.

Overall it seems that for ever how long press photography has been used to record an event or object, the meaning depends on how the photographer captures and feels about what is selected for the image and how the viewer also see's it.