Having recently played a lot of GeoGuessr, I’ve become particularly interested in the “meta” of different geographic landscapes. Admittedly, my memory is poor for the varying telephone poles, foliage, and Google cars. As a result, I frequently guess based on pre-conceived or understood notions of the differing countries the game generates. For example, I know I’m somewhere in Quebec, Canada if the landscape is objectively North American but the road signs are in English and French. This is both effective and ineffective, depending on the complexity of the region. For example, most of Eastern Europe looks identical, except for language — understanding the “meta” would help a player make informed decisions about their location. My undeniable ignorance in this regard had me thinking about how photographic media influences the perception of people and places.
One of the best mediums for portraying the world in the present is photography. While the artistry of this genre is unfortunately diluted by the spontaneity of the digital age and mobile phone usage, there remains a persistent community of digital and film camera enthusiasts who take calculated images of our world. An interesting aspect of photography is intention; photographers inform their practice depending on the individuals, themes, or emotions they intend to capture. Photography is capable of portraying a true, raw feeling that only the subjects behind the camera possess. This quality makes it fairly easy for viewers to characterize and interpret the people and places photographers skillfully portray.
Hiroshi Watanabe is a celebrated photographer based out of Los Angeles who traveled the world extensively in hopes of capturing every intriguing moment and place. My favorite series of his is Ideology in Paradise, in which Watanabe—born in Sapporo, Japan—agendalessly visited North Korea, a country commonly framed negatively both in Japanese and Western media. Coverage of North Korea’s hostile and totalitarian nature agrees with this sentiment. Unfortunately, in doing so, the media often neglects to represent the lives of the approximately 26,000,000 people living in the country. Watanabe’s series takes a very human-centered approach, frequently including scenes of citizens wearing colorful traditional clothing and living their day-to-day lives. The colorful and seemingly energetic nature of the North Korean people clashes intensely with the mysteriously expansive backdrop of the Pyongyang cityscape. Despite this human perspective, there is something alarmingly uniform about many of the images that bring forth the isolationism of the state. Regardless, Watanabe’s portrayal is beautifully executed, providing a fresh and colorful perspective that runs deep parallels to the heartwarming scenes from the end of Vice’s The Hermit Kingdom documentary (a watch that I would highly recommend).
Contrasting Watanabe’s Ideology in Paradise series with the works of Bruce Davidson—a New York-based photographer best recognized for depicting American social realities—reveals societies with diametric personalities. Davidson’s Subway series provides a raw depiction of New York City in the 1980s. His pictures effectively capture the mixed social realities of the city’s urban demographic and the disruptive nature of New York’s subway culture at the time. Similarly, in Davidson’s earlier series, Selma depicting the famous Civil Rights demonstration from the 60s, Davidson portrays an American landscape both united and divided. The intense ideological disconnect is on full display, offering the commendable composure of the civil rights protestors in contrast to the overbearing presence of state troopers. Davidson’s effective framing and human-centered photography illustrate a rebellious American landscape.
Observing the works of Watanabe and Davidson contributes to a distinct yet complementary way of interpreting the world through photography. While Watanabe’s portraits of North Korea challenge preconceived notions through empathy and restraint, Davidson exposes the tension and resilience of America’s social fabric. Through their work, we are reminded how visual media informs how we picture distant and unfamiliar places. Consciously engaging with these representations helps us paint a better picture of our world.
