Comments on: brennan o’connor – on the run https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 08:29:47 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: Luca Orientale https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-80435 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:47:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-80435 I happened upon this beautiful gallery, I
first saw the baby and the other really
significant, the 19 is really extraordinary
Compliments

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By: msakamoto https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-60025 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:37:27 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-60025 Hi, Brennan. I know this comment is late in the game, but I just (happily) discovered burn magazine. I really appreciated your essay and found it quite moving and pointed. I really don’t agree at all with the criticism about the work being either too slick or unclear. Frankly, I think a lot of people get too bogged down in the details of how to tell a story sometimes that they often lose sight of the simple, direct humanity of a collection of images, all of which connect on the inside, if not fully on the surface or in detail. What I appreciate most about photography and photojournalism in what I experience as their purest forms is the ability to capture a slice of experience and/or state of being. Your images do this quite well. Whatever structure our minds want to weave together from the aggregate experience of the whole photo-essay represents our own subjectivity, the pleasure and uniqueness of which is something I also think educated viewers don’t often enough give themselves enough room for. Too often we define knowledge in purely objective terms, even when we’re talking about creativity and art! I find that sad. If I want the objective facts about a subject, I have brain and energy enough to find them out in addition to the pleasure of experiencing great images drawn from real life.

Also, bravo on the subject itself. I have visited the Shan State this last summer, and I have a very slight impression of the hard life there. I hope to return this coming year as well to learn more.

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By: vanissa https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-59957 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:48:50 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-59957 hi brennan,
from start to finish, i loved it all. my favorites were: 3, 5, 9…19. i was particularly drawn to the ones with children, their innocence contrasting so greatly with the violence they see daily.

personally, i like larger sets – i feel they are more successful at encapsulating the environment that you’re trying to bring visibility to. yes, a great photo can tell a whole story, but hey, when you have a whole set of great photos, you can tell a saga. just my humble opinion.

i don’t understand it when critics criticize a photo for being too technically perfect?? it’s like they’re hating on someone for being well at their craft.

congratulations on getting published on burn!

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By: emcd https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-58251 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:43:13 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-58251 Hi Brennan – I wish I had more time to sit with your piece, but I do not…so briefly, well done on the access and the breadth of your storytelling, and on the obvious ease created in your connections. You seem to have a few different voices in telling this story…I love the classicism in 8 and 9, the emotion in 13 and the personal investment in 19 – for me it would have held together more strongly if the whole essay were coming from one ‘place’ but still you have communicated what others have not…congrats.

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By: Brennan OConnor https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-58249 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:19:26 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-58249 Patricia – Thanks for your comment. I had a look at your work and I was very impressed to say the least.

Tim – It’s reassuring to have someone comment who has spent time on the Thai/Burma border. It makes me feel like I am on the right track. How are the Karen doing in Australia?

I don’t get too hung on technical things but I have found the noise comments very useful. Actually everything that was written was helpful even if I don’t agree. Fortunately I learned years ago how to take critiques and make them work to improve my photography. But I do hope that when people comment on a photographer’s work they take some time to think about what they are saying before their fingers start flying. I’m not saying that anyone did that with my essay but I have seen it happen on other essays.

If anyone lives in Europe there is a cool event this coming Saturday (Dec. 12) in Brussels called ‘We are Burma’.

Now more than ever the people of Burma are in desperate need of our support.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166388414912&ref=ts

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By: tim mehrtens https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-55573 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:56:17 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-55573 The pics of Burma/Thailand were good but I’ve seen a few of KNLA soldiers, AK47s in the mist and things. It was the shots of the folks entering and taking on a new life in Canada that I loved. I worked on the Thai/Burma border for a while, and with some Karen families I know moving to Australia soon these pics poked me in the chest.
Ignore those who wank on about technical this and that, tugging shrewdly on their pipe…they’re like lame-ass musicians wittering on about seeing ’59 Strats on ebay, these strings/those strings, types of picks… Like everywhere on the innernet, forums bulge with pride, self-promotion and the waving of tiny fists. So snap on, they’re fine pics.

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By: Patricia Lay-Dorsey https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54535 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:23:15 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54535 Excellent photo documentary of a subject that is becoming all too common in today’s world — displaced persons in refugee camps and hopefully finding new homes in countries that will welcome them. Brennan, you have showed us the story of why they had to leave Burma, what they endured during their time as refugees, and now their determination to create a sense of home in new environs, in this case Canada. In the 1990s I was privileged to facilitate art therapy sessions with individuals and families from around the world at a refugee shelter in Detroit. All of our guests were attempting to go to Canada because of its more open immigration policies. Brennan, your photos remind me of the people and stories I heard back then.

Photographically this essay is superb. You have a fine eye and a naturalness to your work. I encourage you to continue with this project, going ever more deeply into it. Perhaps you can personalize it by focusing on one family and following them from Burma to wherever they end up settling. You’ve done that to some degree in this edit, but I’d love to see more. And then show us how their lives develop over time.

Congratulations on being published on Burn…

Patricia

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By: Mark W https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54399 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:09:57 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54399 Brennan – heck of a good job on responding to the comments. All good wishes for this excellent project.

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By: Herve https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54355 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:12:00 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54355 Brennan, I did not talk about sanctions at all. Anyway, nothing has worked, be it sanctions or doing business, a little, a lot or not at all. I explained why. Burma is simply not worth the trouble, and its direct neighbours, its ASEAN partners are not great proponents of Human Rights, and do not have special stakes to help the burmese people.

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By: kathleen fonseca https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54340 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:29:32 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54340 Gordon:

Thank you so much for your reasoned response to Brennan regarding quality.

Brennan:

If one does not like the immaculate conception look of a fine digital camera there are sophisticated ways to create a sense of depth or film-like textural quality. Disdain of a clean digital look is no excuse for poor technical quality. I have a D200 and have shot a great deal of ballet in low light with that camera and it can be murder. But with good fast glass and good post processing skills including discreet use of noise management software, results are very professional. Clearly not what a full sensor digital camera can achieve but damned good. Raw and gritty doesn’t mean that anything goes (unless you’re doing conceptual art photography and even there, you’d better pull it off REALLY well). The lack of quality can distract strongly from the power of your photographs. That’s what several of us are trying to say. Great photography, not such great attention to quality.

I would be sorry for breaking the one-post rule but in most cases second comments are not seen in the dialogue section.

Maybe there should be a two-post rule instead (?)
Kathleen

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By: Gordon Lafleur https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54333 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:18:36 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54333 Brennan

Sorry to break the one comment rule, but since you asked,,
I suspect the “slick” refers to the beautiful tonal quality and very clean composition of some of the images. Perhaps some people have an expectation that black and white docu stuff should look gritty and less polished. I’ve heard almost the same criticism before about very clean work.
My reference to images that are a bit wanting are mostly directed at 6 and 12 which suffer from pretty ugly noise and highlight clipping. Even though you may be attatched to the images and the message, it is a jarring note that really disturbs the flow. I understand why you wanted to include 6 since it is echoed later in the Toronto kitchen, it is just a shame that it falls down technically. I do like the image and would be happy to have a bash at it if you like.

Again, congrats. Let me know if you’re ever here in BC, red wine or beer, your choice.

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By: Brennan OConnor https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54331 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:44:45 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54331 Thomas Bregulla:

I think you asked the most important question when you wrote: “it leaves a question open to me – who was not able to resettle to Canada, what happened to those?”.

When I was staying at Ma La Oon and Mae Ra Ma Luang refugee camps I kept hearing people talk about Canada. At first I thought the obvious that they were mentioning it because I was there. But later I realized that it was because so many people have resettled from those two camps to Canada. They were the ones who stayed behind when the others left. Even though they lacked freedom in the refugees camps they didn’t want to leave. Some felt that they were too old to make the journey but others stayed because they hope that one day there will peace in Burma and they can return to their homeland.
In the last year the situation has got much worse. The dictatorship extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention for 18 months because they know that she probably would win the upcoming national elections. She has been under detention for almost 14 out of the past 20 years after she won 1990 election.
They are trying to force ethnic minority armies to become border forces before the national elections. Over three thousand Karen have fled to Thailand, as many as 30,000 Kokang refugees have fled to Yunnan province in neighboring China and up to 10, 000 Shan were relocated by the SPDC. They also destroyed hundreds of Shan homes by burning them to the ground. Later they ordered the villagers to rebuild their own homes.

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By: Brennan OConnor https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54329 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:10:26 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54329 Salvatore,

Sounds good. Lets have a beer. I find all group critique are like that but they are very helpful.

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By: salvatore sacco https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54325 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:17:28 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54325 Hey Brennan,
Great work on the replies, looks like you took something constructive from each comment. This site does at times become a bit of a pissing contest. Anyway I’m also based in Toronto, looking to connect with other documentary photographers. Drop me a line, we’ll grab coffee or a beer and talk pics. sacco@rogers.com 416-561-9444

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By: neven grujic https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54317 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:09:56 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54317 thanks for detais brennan.

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By: Brennan OConnor https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54313 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:31:10 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54313 Mark W,

I shoot in RAW with a D200. When the situation called for I shot at 1600 ISO which did lead to noise in some of the images. Personally I find some of the newer digital cameras too clean. But that said I can’t wait to get my hands on a D3 or D700 so I can work in lower light.

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By: Brennan OConnor https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54310 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:33:51 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54310 First of all I want to thank everyone for responding. In this digital era it’s become so easy for a photographer to send links for critique which has maybe made it a little overwhelming for editors and others. It’s amazing to have so many people respond with comments and critique. It reminds me of when I was student at Loyalist College and we would lay out our freshly printed prints in critique class. I really miss that! Nice to get a taste of it again.

Jim:

I was looking forward to how you might respond as your comments tend to more negative than positive. I’m not sure if it would have be better if you liked the essay or not but I do appreciate that you take the time to comment. Every group needs a dissenter right? Sometimes one can learn more from what people don’t like then what they like but only if they explain what they don’t like it. Although often you fail in this regards I think in my situation you were clear.

Salvatore :

First of all I want to clarify that nothing in this essay is set up. It’s all raw reportage. You wrote: “There’s something surreal about these images, almost too technically perfect, having trouble adjusted to this look.” I’m not sure how I feel about this comment. I certainly never felt that my work was too technically perfect so on one hand I can’t help but feel complimented by this comment even though that was not your intention. But I too feel this way when I look at much of the stock photography out there. Much of the work is too clean but void of feeling and emotion. I found the Karen ( the main subjects of this series) to be quite serious people. I think the fact that they have been fighting one of the longest civil wars in recorded history might attribute to this. When I first started this essay I wondered how I can get past this and document what they are really feeling inside. I think the answer is that my subject matter requires more time than most essays to achieve this.

Hookstrapped:

I agree I would normally edit tighter but if I did that for Burn I would certainly miss out on all of your valuable criticisms, right? Thanks for telling me which ones you like the most. Very helpful.

Jope:

I’m glad you like it! You wrote: “the photograph that made me smile was #17.. It is not a technically perfect fantastic standalone photograph but because you made a similar photograph (number 6, correct me if I’m wrong but a family in the refugee camp?)”

Sadly the Shan soldiers in photo 6 are still trapped on a barren hilltop in between the Burmese and Thai military with no where to go. Although the Shan are one of the biggest ethnic minorities in the country unlike the Karen they can’t apply for refugee protection in Thailand. When they do make it into Thailand they have to sneak around and are subjected to arrests and deportations.

Gordon Lafleur:

You wrote: “Curious to hear criticism for being too perfect of “slick”. No need to apologize for good craftsmanship although a couple of images do fall down in that regard, particularly no.6.”

As I mentioned above I’m not sure how to respond to those comments. I can only assume that they meant to write that some of the photos are slick but lack feeling?? Am I right?

Colin:

Thanks that was my intention. The situation in Burma has been so ignored by the world. It’s really horrible considering how long it’s been going on. They are many American and Canadian companies who still make money off the people’s suffering under the radar of sanctions by operating under subsidiary companies.

Bjarte Edvardsen:

You should start an essay on this subject matter. Obviously you already have the connections. More people need to know.

Andrea C:

Thanks for responding! I shot it in color with the intention of using it in that format but in the end I felt that the colors distracted from the story so I converted to B & W.

Jenny Lynn Walker:

I have a love/hate relationship with editing. Usually I start with the images that I feel are the most powerful then work from there.

You wrote:

“One of my favorite images is of the hands pointing to photos pinned on the wall with the places where the tribal people from Burma now live – scattered around it seems. I would love that as a starting point, and to trace the story backwards… just a thought…”

If you read the cut line you will find that this photo is of a display in the Thai Mai La Oon encouraging immigration to the U.S. The photos in the display depict Karen families who have already made the move.

Herve:

You wrote: “Very few people give a fuck about the plight of people in Burma, and now even less, that president O. wants to try a more conciliatory approach towards the Junta…

There is new school of thought regarding whether sanctions even work. In the case the case of Burma it seems like the sanctions have hurt the people more than the Burmese generals who run the country with an iron fist. China is one of Burma’s strongest trading partners without their participation U.S. sanctions may be ineffective. See links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/opinion/05iht-edkristof.1.19959907.html

http://globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/202-sanctions/41731.html

http://www.bnionline.net/news/mizzima/7192-aung-san-suu-kyi-discusses-sanctions-with-diplomats.html

You wrote:

“I wish there had been a few more that were attempting a more psychological approach of what it is they might feel (and yet, having us ask questions, not throw answers), what they find themselves into. especially as concerns the grand move to another country….”

I agree and I am still working on this. Many of the Karen do not publically display their emotions. For example when a family leaves a refugee camp for resettlement to a western country their relatives and relatives gather to say their goodbyes. Despite the fact that many of the relatives know that they are saying goodbye for the last time and may never see them again its extremely rare for anyone to shed a tear. I think keeping their emotions under control and under the surface may be a coping strategy for dealing with the hardships that they have experienced in their lives. Maybe it’s cultural? I’m still trying to understand….

JKaranka:

Thanks! In Jan. it will be two-years since I started this essay and I feel like I am just scratching the surface. I will continue and hopefully it will get better.

Frostfrog

You wrote: “As for the theme, the feeling of hardship expressed in the words did not come through in the pictures, but, since the photographer came upon his subjects after the worst hardships were behind them, this is not a bad thing. In this case, I think more narration would be a good thing, so that we could grasp what happened in the lives of these people who we see in relative benign situation.”

Some of the locations that I shot the people were not over their hardships but they did find refuge from the worst of it. For my next trip I will focus more of the million or so people who are internally displaced in their own country.

Brian Frank:

Thanks I will!

Peter Grant:

Thanks your words inspire me to push forward.

Bob Black:

Toronto is an amazing diverse city. That’s what I love most about it. But Hamilton (where some of my Karen friends moved to) is also becoming quite diverse, much to my surprise. I agree with your comments regarding that pictures be the be-all-to-end-all of a particular story. And this is works in progress so I hope to fill in many of the blanks as time progresses.

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By: GLENSCOLAN https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54309 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:32:21 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54309 bravo pour ce reportage. immense projet. bonne continuation.

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By: Mark W https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54306 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:18:50 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54306 Immensely impressive project but found there was too much to take in on the first view – realizing how difficult it must be to know what level of detail to pitch it at for photo magazine purposes – and would have prefered perhaps a shorter more literal story, with its focus on what they’re getting away from.

Best image is 16 with Santa looking over his shoulder, also 17 – is the poster with all the writing on significant to their adventure?

I’d also like to know what equipment was used in this.

Was grateful for Nomad coming to my attention here.

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By: bob black https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/10/brennan-oconnor-on-the-run/#comment-54305 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:46:21 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=4490#comment-54305 Brennan!

First of all, congratulations on the publication. It’s great to see something from NOMAD here.

As both a viewer and a photographer, my first inclination toward stories is a simple one: am i engage and is this a story that I know little about and has the narrative and pictures given me something, shed light upon a story with which I had not been familiar. Sometimes i think that the ‘real’ failure often comes from the viewers and a certain expectation that predominates here and elsewhere that pictures be the be-all-to-end-all of a particular story. for me, it is important the a photographer, in the best way and with the most depth possible, allow the viewer a threshhold through which they can begin their own exploration, reading, research, etc. For me, you’ve done this and more so. You’ve allow us a window into a group of people and a story of which I knew little of: I am still amazed at the extraordinary richness of our city and the stories that are here to be mined….but that is true of all places as well. some of the pics are just terrific (i too love the ‘camp-fire-in-the-apartment-sing-along’ picture, especially juxtaposed with the pictures/posters on the wall, it makes for a powerful collision: the reality of their former life (the intial pics) with the life in T-dot)….

strong work,a terrific story which i await even further exploratin. who said photographing in Walmart is difficult? ;)))…..

in the end, i sometimes fear that we extrapolae too much, they we burnden the responsibility on the photographc narrative too much, rather than to allow pictures todo what they do best: offer us, readers, the opportunity to be exposed to a story, to learn or at least begin to learn about the lives of people we had not earlier encountered or thought of….this, as i’ve harped on so often over the past 2 1/2 years, should be the work of the reader, the responsibilty of the reader, if the photographer has done her/his job it making the debth of connection….i would love for this story to have shown even more, more pics, more stuff for Toronto,but then again, i dont have a short attention span…give me more :)))…

the adjustment to life here for these families is only just beginning…and as an immigrant myself married to an immigrant, the journey is all from here and all that messay, difficult, profound journey to shape the making of a new life…

well done Brennan…and big ups for NOMAD!

cheers
bob

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