The story behind

What do you reckon?

***

We went to a photography exhibition today in which photographers from different countries had been asked to decide on a message or story they wanted to communicate, then create photographs as part of their message. One chose to show children she thought were being neglected in an orphanage that happened to be in a wood by posing the children in sparse rooms with the tall thin pines visible through the windows then decreasing the saturation; another chose to illustrate women’s oppression and isolation with pictures (also with decreased saturation) of an unsmiling woman in various poses. Most of the photos seemed to me to be arty and overthought as if the making of a striking and impressive image was more important to the photographer than the message.

An exception was Grigoris Digkas, a Thessalonikan who recorded his thoughts, feelings and reactions as he left his family in Greece to go and study in London. He wrote more than the others and his images were much simpler but both were completely convincing.

All of which set me thinking, yet again, about whether/when images need words.

***

And the story of this man by the fence? I’d caught his eye and smiled as we were wandering round the pleasant area near the port is that is home to Thessaloniki’s photography and film museums as well as a couple of nice cafes overlooking the water. He wandered over to the fence because... (for all I know) he was interested, as I was, in the shapes of the cranes against the clouds. But maybe because he wanted to give me an ambiguous image. As he moved away, we smiled at each other again.

Were you anywhere near right?

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