www.barbarajminer.com
billmoyers.com/guest/barbara-j-miner/
Questions and ANALYSIS and OBSERVATION
Q. Have you received good feedback (in terms of the influence it may have had on people) from the projects you've done that focus on social issues?
A.
Mandy
Q. Do you prefer to have people acknowledge the fact you are photographing them, or do you feel as though the unplanned is better? Or do you feel as though as a journalist you need both elements to tell a story?
A. Kylee D
Q. How do you decide what to photograph, do you have an idea in your head or is it just based on what catches your eye? For the Anatomy of the Avenue project, why did you choose North Avenue? I feel like many streets that run through Milwaukee also connect different cites and communities.
A.
Hayley I
Q. What made you choose the age group that you did for your series "What's Important To Me"? Do you think any other age group would have changed the message you were trying to portray?
A.
Claire H.
Q.What medium do you find yourself using a lot of the time to create your artwork? what medium have you not used yet and still want to explore?
A.
Deshawn B.
Q. How do you go about approaching and speaking with your subjects for your photographs? How do communities react to your photographing their communities as well as them personally?
A.
Raven M.
Q. What first inspired you to take your work to the realm of social issues, and has the changing political climate also changed how you create work?
A.
Lainey
A.
Steffen
Q. How do you approach people when you want to photograph them? Is there any confrontation or are people generally open to the idea?
A. Barbara Miner talked about how she would have the advantage of being a women and that she is also considered old. Sometimes not being a threatening creature makes it easier to approach people because they know that the person cannot hurt them. What I found most informative is that she found more success in going out to shoot alone then when she went photographing with her husband by her side. In my own experience I find that yes it is easier to approach someone if you are with another person, but then instead of one non threatening person, there is all of a sudden its 2 against 1 encountering. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but you may get a different reaction either of the two ways.
Miner also got to know the people she was photographing. Perhaps it made it easier for them to let her take the photographs. It is important to know that you are taking photos of people, not objects, so giving the person/s a steady connection. Also she said that sometimes she would walk around the location she was going to shoot in and then come back another day to actually shoot. Yet another example of how Miner brings a personal relation to the people she photographs.
Last note is to remember that you are the guest and should respect the people in that neighborhood. Do not force yourself into a community and respect the peoples wishes. They have a say in how they want to be represented in the photographs.
Rebeka
A.
Deshawn B.
Q. How do you go about approaching and speaking with your subjects for your photographs? How do communities react to your photographing their communities as well as them personally?
A.
Raven M.
Q. What first inspired you to take your work to the realm of social issues, and has the changing political climate also changed how you create work?
A.
Lainey
Q.
What drew your interest in photographing mostly of poverty? Were people
of the 53206 community supportive or angry with your photo taking?
A.
Rachel
Q. Have you ever encountered difficulty in separating your own personal feelings from whatever situation you are imaging, or do you find it more 'authentic' in your own narrative to let your feelings and your situations co-mingle?
A.
Robi
Q.Some of the places that you shoot are not the safest. How do you decide where you want to do your project?
A.
Kathryn
Q.
When deciding on a subject for a series, do you fully form the concept
and then shoot or do you begin shooting with a seed of an idea and see
where you end up?A.
Rachel
Q. Have you ever encountered difficulty in separating your own personal feelings from whatever situation you are imaging, or do you find it more 'authentic' in your own narrative to let your feelings and your situations co-mingle?
A.
Robi
Q.Some of the places that you shoot are not the safest. How do you decide where you want to do your project?
A.
Kathryn
A.
Steffen
Q. How do you approach people when you want to photograph them? Is there any confrontation or are people generally open to the idea?
A. Barbara Miner talked about how she would have the advantage of being a women and that she is also considered old. Sometimes not being a threatening creature makes it easier to approach people because they know that the person cannot hurt them. What I found most informative is that she found more success in going out to shoot alone then when she went photographing with her husband by her side. In my own experience I find that yes it is easier to approach someone if you are with another person, but then instead of one non threatening person, there is all of a sudden its 2 against 1 encountering. Sometimes it doesn't matter, but you may get a different reaction either of the two ways.
Miner also got to know the people she was photographing. Perhaps it made it easier for them to let her take the photographs. It is important to know that you are taking photos of people, not objects, so giving the person/s a steady connection. Also she said that sometimes she would walk around the location she was going to shoot in and then come back another day to actually shoot. Yet another example of how Miner brings a personal relation to the people she photographs.
Last note is to remember that you are the guest and should respect the people in that neighborhood. Do not force yourself into a community and respect the peoples wishes. They have a say in how they want to be represented in the photographs.
Rebeka
Q. How has your own experience as photojournalist shaped your views and opinion of the world we live in?
A. Barbara Mine talked to us about how when shooting a series about Milwaukee's North Ave. her friends and family was scared for her safety due the the "nature' of some parts of North Ave.. Yet when she went out in the streets to shoot she didn't feel unsafe ever and found as she talked to different people she was photographing they were very nice and they became friends. She said she understands that she is very nonthreatening being an older lady with a camera, and how she could there being a different response if she was a different gender, race, or age. i think that is very interesting to think about. I had people from my home town who had similar feelings towards me coming to Milwaukee and wanting me to be safe. In the end I don't think this boils down to racial prejudiced but just the nature of perception of these areas. We are told they are bad so we think they are bad, even if we have never been.
Ryan
Q. The question that came to mind as I was looking through Barbara Miner's work has to do with her portraiture. I was wondering if there was a difference, for her, between photographing people in Milwaukee where she is from, vs Cuba where she is a foreigner. I was wondering what questions the people in her portraits had for her and if there were any insider/outsider moments between the subjects and the photographer that changed based on her location.
A.
My question for Barbara Miner was answered by a few different questions. What I got out of her talk was that no matter where you are, or where you're from, the important thing is to communicate your ideas with those you wish to photograph, and follow up with them afterwards. I think the insider/outsider debate is muddled because of people who ignore this advice from successful street photographers. There is a very big difference between wanting to tell someones story and making one for them. By communicating with your subject, your message to your audience will also be more clear.
Q: Anatomy of an Avenue follows North Avenue for 16 miles. North Avenue connects neighborhoods, communities, cities, and counties while uniting and dividing the city. What was the most interesting/weird/scary thing you experienced while photographing North Avenue and did you get any hostility?
A: I think Barbara had great communication and I really enjoyed hearing her talk about her work. Something she talked about that I thought that was useful was navigating properly when going around and photographing people and areas. She gave great advice about when out shooting to be aware of situations, how you come off, the history and tensions of an area and so on. I thought it was clever of her to carry little cards around that had information about what she was doing and why. That helps prevent hostility and make things easier for everyone involved and a way for people to contact her. It was nice that she would go back to certain places and bring prints for people and keep in contact with them so it was not just a one-way street. I really understood that creating guidelines for yourself when out shooting is important for respecting people and making others and yourself feel comfortable and safe. Ashley Doelger
