Documentary

These two documentary photographs by Phillip Jones Griffiths (top) and Dash Snow (Bottom) illustrate vividly the gap between the aesthetics and ideology of the 'humanist' photojournalism of the early and mid-twentieth century; and the more contemporary, concept and image driven practice. 

While Griffiths' practice is rooted deeply in a desire to effect social change, as seen in his choice of subject matter and his propensity to actively use his images to publicise current issues, Snow photographs only those around him in hedonistic social settings. This is mirrored in their visual styles; while the former has been likened by Cartier-Bresson to Goya and purported the philosophy that "Content without form is propaganda-form without content is wallpaper.", the latter purposefully utilises a snapshot aesthetic, free from conventions of formal composition.

In terms of politic aims, Snow's images are apolitical, even apathetic, glorifying hedonism in a world of inequality. In stark contrast, Griffiths images contain a self evident and implicit ideology; by exposing conflict built on global inequality and injustice his aims are clear. 

While Griffiths used the best available technology of the time, up-to-date SLR's and high speed film, to capture action in an indexical manner in order to preserve the truth (he was famous for attempting to defend the veracity of the photographic medium as a tool for political activism), the frivolity of Snow is again apparent in his trade mark choice of Polaroid. An outmoded and inefficient format, which is now tied firmly to the 'Hipstermatic' movement that while contributing heavily to 'Vice Magazine', he helped to create.

Although there are a miriad of marked differences between the two, Griffiths and Snow both have the same attitude to action and lighting. Their images are shot on the fly and with a minimum of staging. Their proffered lighting is ambient and natural, which in both instances contribute to an authentic feeling of time and space within the frame.