The photograph as contemporary art - Deadpan

I was struck by the truth expressed in Rineke Dijkstra view that there is a point of vulnerability as a person leaves the security of the sea and joins the anonymity of the beach crowd.

There must be hundreds of other transition points that would make interesting subjects for study.
Given the vulnerability if the subjects though, is it entirely fair to capture these moments for public scrutiny? This could be a particular issue where children are involved. Being a woman, Rineke, taking these pictures would have been less problematic.

This also applies to the series of deadpan pictures taken by Jitka Hanzlova of women in the street. I suggest that suspicion of men's motives limits their participation in these types of deadpan projects. Unless there is a good 'excuse', for example the party environment used by Albrecht Tubke , a man is likely to be rebuffed.

I suspect that a professional is less likely to have this experience. An interesting study is to be had here. The male photographer with a compact camera versus one with a bag over one shoulder and two SLRs  slung round his neck. This would be a study in sexual psychology than one in photography.


Interestingly, this is not a new problem as witnessed by this poster at the National Media Museum.

With the advent of digital camera functionality in the modern day Smartphone, the issue of privacy has again become a concern.