Comments on: james whitlow delano – in the eye of burma’s cyclone https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Wed, 07 Sep 2016 08:29:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: james whitlow delano. « academy a https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-54304 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:42:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-54304 […] I suppose that the most gratifying on a certain level was the privilege of exposing the truth about … The Burmese junta did not want the truth about the severity of the disaster to be shown to the […]

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By: tom williams https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46788 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:07:32 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46788 Hello –
I have never left a message on this type of forum but the ‘debate’ i see here has left me with a strange feeling… I have seen Mr Delano’s work many times before and you are a wonderful, passionate, dedicated photographer. This work is very important to see — we rarely see, hear or understand what is really happening in Burma. I appreciate the work and am reminded that we all need to think and ultimately do a lot more about things and places we rarely see and maybe feel more comfortable keeping out of our minds…
At the same time i am constantly aware that there is (growing?) mistrust about photography and journalism (in australia, anyway).. It’s true that to speak on a technical level is obscene when it has to do with a subject such as this — but it is this interaction between subject and technique that makes it important and difficult to talk about. The fact is that you – we – alienate a certain number of people when we ‘clip’ blacks and whites severely and appear to be removing information in pursuit of style. Some people will ‘trust’ the image less and feel less for the humanity because of the photographer appearing to be concerned too much with graphic impact. I admire this work and it has brought burmese people again to my mind – i am not overly concerned about ‘style’ .. but we all have to think about how we want to communicate the meaning of our images to those who will see them.

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By: albertina https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46670 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:23:35 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46670 Grate to see James Whitlow Delano work on Burn!
This publication add surely a big value for all the emerging photographers who were o will be published here… thanks James and thanks David for this!

Jim Powers I am sorry to say you this, but criticizing this work, you really put yorself is the ridicolous side :-/ I have to agree with shibumi… I’m tired to see all your negative comments, especially under a master piece like this… it is an offence for us readers. You don’t like anyone work, not even James Withlow Delano? So please go, shoot, and show us some pictures that you wuold not kill if they were published here… I am looking foward to see tham!

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By: bob black https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46665 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:48:16 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46665 “The discrepancy between human behavior and the rest of the universe has always been a source of anguish.”–Calvino, “Mr. Palomar

I wish to say at the outset that I am prejudiced, and for sake of frankness will offer to the readership firstly that James is a personal friend of mine. I’ve known his work for a long time. With my wife, I’ve been in a personal photographic project with James. I also respect and admire him greatly: as a photographer and as a person. You will be hard pressed to find a kinder, more intelligent, more thoughtful, more aware and engaged person than James. Moreover, he’s one of the kindest and least competitive photographers I know and is open and connected to many, regardless of their relationship to photography. Also, one of the first things I did when I was Editor-at-Large for Burn was to write James and ask him to submit and essay. I was thrilled and excited that he responded with this essay and was overjoyed that David was willing to take it on and publish it. I count James’ participating and willingness as one of the highlights of being the editor-at-large. But more importantly, I respect and admire his work and commitment as both photographer, a story teller and a witness. Because he is a friend, and because i sheparded this essay to Burn, I will not write a long exegesis. As i wrote earlier, i’ve waited for these last 2 essays to write, i hope, something that will shed, for me, the importance of all photography.

It goes without saying that James is one of the finest journalists on the planet and has spent his photographic career telling stories in a way that is both visually refreshing and challenging but also deeply rooted to the places that he has lived in and spent years visiting, traveling through and inhabiting. Burma is no different. He’d been in Burma to continue his work on Burma, amid great risk and danger, to tell the story that he’d begun before and that he’d hoped to tell: about the people of burma, particularly under the repressive Junta. During that time, the country was devastated by the cyclone…and besides the horrific natural disaster, the human disaster consequential directly resulting from the behavior of the junta was as profoundly tragic as the initial cataclsym. For me, it is quite clear, all that is part of this visual record. But, I think too, that we must not confuse the essential importance of this work and story: this was on the ground documentation, the witnessing in the immediate aftermath when many journalists were unable to get into the country. Above all, this work must be seen (how can it now) as a document of both the death and the destruction but also of what happened in it’s aftermath.

there are a million ways to smile and alight with happiness, and yet the smiles contain the same meaning.

there are a million ways to grieve and express grief, and yet the grief contains the same meaning.

that some here, and elsewhere (a long standing discussion/argument in journalism) contend that there is a ‘right’ way and a ‘wrong’ way to photograph grief is, to me, not only odd but frankly profoundly troubling.

There is no way to photograph a dead child. there is certainly no way to ‘properly’ photograph, to ‘properly’ witness death and grief and loss and dignity. If the intent is to speak of that which was seen, to photograph that which appeared, than what matters is that it was spoken upon. A digital, color, automatic, RAW file photograph of that same child (and i’ve seen that too, with another photographer who was with James) is not more profound, or important or journalistic. That some are ‘troubled’ by the ‘appearance’ of the images, or that some are ‘troubled’ by the ‘processing’, of course, is there perogative and honest appraisal. The odd thing, however, to me, is that the images themselves and the way they look seem, for some, to override the essence of what these photographs me. To me, that is a failure on the part of the viewer, not the photographer. For me, that a photographer who has chosen to photograph in the way HE knows how is berated for a style or technique that another fails to like/appreciate, is not an indictment for the work, but for the failure of each of us, tha we have not yet been able to transcend the appearance of things for their true nature…

lastly, something to consider. there is an important chinese tradition in landscape painting, in painting about death and loss, that has to do with the equanimity of place, the equanimity of acceptance of death, as a way to ‘rightly’ speak of the dead…this is also connected to that which transformed….

this is a profoundly important essay…not because it is done by my friend james delano, not because the pictures are ‘beautiful’ but because they are photographs used as language to speak about what happened to this extraordinary country and it’s people….

how is it to value life, but if not to act upon a belief….these are nothing but documents, documents that have not been lost so that others will be reminded of what happened and cannot be washed away by failure of memory or bad re-writing of history…

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By: Nathaniel McMahon https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46643 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:06:29 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46643 Hello,
Debation. Journalism, or another thing?
Photographic stories begin to rub the wrong parts sometimes. I begin to doubt whether I really give a shit about the subject or weather its the beauty that a photorapher attaches to it. I don’t want to see accounts or this magnitude photographically any more, it to crass for my understanding. The abilty to document this with meaning for me lies in transition of mediums, digested ideas, thoughts. I no longer want to be there, or to be a (false) witness.
Before I’ve looked at a picture its become, in its progression to my eyes at least 70% mirror. There are more eloquent ways to put this but not at this time of night.
I used to hate photographs, For some reason I ended up a photgrapher, not to document the horror of the world, but I guess the contraditions that I had doing it. I could and never still reconsile the personal with the apparent, when a photographe claims to do so, in one hit I have reservations, especially when it’s something exotic. I’m ranting, some nice photos though

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By: petrantonov https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46641 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:58:58 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46641 Really stunning images.

Thanks

Petr

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By: frank Michael https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46637 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:51:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46637 Hi James,

I have spent some time contemplating your essay and want to congratulate you on a difficult and horrific assignment. Your dedication to your craft is obvious in the sheer determination to imbed yourself in the most inhospitable places for media and to produce such excellent work. Where to next, Iran?

When I first looked at the images I had the sense of looking at turn of the century pictures from British colonial Indochina. I am not sure if this was your intent to give a colonial feel to the images or to be consistent with your personal style. If you did intend to have this colonial feel to the images what does that say about the message your are trying to communicate? If that was not your intent then maintaining your style above the gravity of the images also makes one wonder about the real connection to the subject. It is this ambiguity that may be at the root of the criticism of the treatment or post-processing of the images.

I personally think your style is intriguing and lends itself to the optical superiority of Leica lenses (I am making the assumption you shoot with a Leica) and would also translate superbly to print. However in this context it leaves me feeling removed and isolated from the Burmese people in the photos. It is difficult to stray from a personal artistic vision which with one has achieved recognition and success, and balancing the needs of the subject matter hence the dilemma in the portrayal of these images.

Congratulations on being published on Burn, and being open to critical review from the passionate followers of photography.

Frank

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By: emcd https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46634 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:58:13 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46634 Hi James,

Thanks for having work here at burn. Your efforts are above reproach I my mind, and your involvement as a concerned photographer is clear to me. But I want to address what you just wrote to Herve:

“You hit on the very issue that concerned me. Working oneself
up over style is beside the point. The Burmese are the point.”

While I have immense respect for your work toward bringing attention to the situation of the Burmese, and while I agree that in general excessive focus on style is a poor use of energy, I am at odds with the surface treatment of this body of work simply because for me it detracts from my being able to absorb and understand these particular images on a level that I would wish to.

I very much enjoy your chosen way of working the image for a great number of your images and stories, (for me it echoes the use of glass negatives, though of course I don’t know what you do..printing in the darkroom with diffusion, then scanning the print possibly?) but here for me it acts as a loss of information and an addition of confusion that detracts from my engagement with the situation. Your hope, I believe, is for the viewer to be able to have a connection / understanding / concern / involvement with the Burmese through the photos, and here the “style” has made that more difficult for me, where as in other bodies of your work, that same style heightens the connection. Just my thoughts as to why the discussion of style may be worthy of thought..

Wishing you all the best and continued success..

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By: Gustav Liliequist https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46631 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:39:38 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46631 Generally speaking I do not think that the comments here are necessarily unfit for Burn. They are critical, and as such they stand in stark contrast to the comments one can find on other sites.

I have had a look at James work elsewhere. To me its exceptional and magnificent. Clearly deserving all the successes achieved to date.

This particular work must have been very difficult to do in a number of ways. It is also important politically. However, I do understand the above comments with respect to the quality of some of the photographs. It doesn’t matter whether its film or digital. Although the posterized look to most of the shots in the essay is certainly possible with film, the end result here to most clearly looks overly processed and ‘digital.’ I don’t think style is beside the point when published on Burn. Many points can co-exist. After all style is part of passing along the message. That said, the Burmese surely are the main point.

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By: Twitted by Carsten_Peter https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46629 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:15:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46629 […] This post was Twitted by Carsten_Peter […]

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By: jameswhitlowdelano https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46619 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:12:35 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46619 Bravo Herve!

You hit on the very issue that concerned me. Working oneself
up over style is beside the point. The Burmese are the point.

I appreciate that this series has opened up a discussion like
this. Someone mentioned the style is more like a dream than a
nightmare. The sword cuts both ways. They are the same thing.

Kenji is right. It was because of that I was fateful that I was
there when the storm hit. Even getting a visa before the storm
was difficult.

I had to show evidence of a day job. This is my day job. So,
I had to take a chance and apply in Bangkok. My wife, who is
Japanese, and I cooked up an English language school in Tokyo.
Had I applied in Tokyo, they could have read the kanji (Chinese characters).

So I brought her letter in Japanese and English and flew to Bangkok
where they do not read kanji. Through an agency in BKK, I was able to
obtain a visa. It was a hit and miss proposition. Some foreigners still
got in a few days after the storm but then the door was slammed shut.

I have been to the country three times now. I have doubts about
whether I could get back in now. When the time is right, I will
try.

The more people who go the share the truth about this regime,
the better.

Cheers,

James.

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By: Kenji Arimura https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46617 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:46:39 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46617 this is a great set of images! Not to mention the story they tell.

I was meant to go to Myanmar after the cyclone last year as a volunteer, but at the time the government weren’t issuing visas for foreigners as many people know, So in the end it didn’t happen at all. But it’s great that a photographer like james was there to capture this striking sad images and show another natural disaster that raises that question: have we done that?

beautiful work!

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By: John Pitsakis https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46611 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:29:19 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46611 Dear James,

Congratulations for being published on burn and for your very successful career in photojournalism. I was quite impressed from your work on your website.

I’d like to say a few words about the commenting here and your “show of hands”.

It is admirable that you had access to this event in a most isolated country. Certainly not anyone can do that. It is also to your credit that in such a catastrophe you had the bravery and professionalism to work consistently for a fantastic piece of photojournalism. Quality photos, movement and diverse approach together with the first hand experience detailed in an informative opening statement.

It’s also obvious that this style, is your style. One can see it throughout your website. You are “at peace with that”.
But this is the point of most comments here. Whether film or digital, makes no difference to me, this work is obviously post-processed (unless there’s a technique I cannot figure out, in that case I apologize). Probably you also took more than 30 photographs throughout this time. If so, the way it is processed and presented and the editing were conscious choices made after the shooting. You chose this style and you chose these photos and their number. It has nothing to do with digital or film or the restrictions of the junta.
You are “at peace with that” but a lot of people feel that a more straight on approach would add credibility and do the photos and story more justice. It IS an artistic choice of yours and people here have an issue with THIS artistic choice. The post-processing/style and loose edit. I have to admit that I agree with them.

It’s not personal and nobody’s going to “unsheath the stalettos”. At least that’s not what I’m doing here.

All the best, and congrats again.

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By: Peter Cleghorn https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46606 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:37:14 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46606 Dear James and to Burn,

I saw these pictures a while ago, quite soon after the event and have to say I was very impressed. To work in such a traumatic situation (which is beyond any of my experience and possibly that of many people here at Burn,) to not only make these images but to then get them out of Myanmar, given the government there, and the difficulty for journalists working there (I’m thinking here of the videographer shot by the Myanmar army during the Buddhist protests,)deserves great respect.

This is one of the most important essays I have seen so far seen on Burn. The photographer has covered an important crisis of humanity and this work records the plight of marginal communities in the face of international indifference.

In the style I can see the influence of Philip Blenkinsop. I can’t usually sit through long essays on-line but I watched all of these. I don’t quite see why people found them too dark to look at, either photographically or in terms of the content. Yes the content is traumatic but these events happened and it should be recognised and noted that such terrible and devastating things do happen. This is a warning of what could befall any of us and to turn away just because it is uncomfortable or hard to look at is morally reprehensable.

However I do feel that some aspects of the processing work to the detriment of the subject. The historical ‘vintage’ atmosphere the images conjure allow the viewer too much distance from the actual event which ultimately dilutes the message.

James, thank you for being there and recording this,

Px

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By: abele https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46605 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:12:54 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46605 I like this essay and the “dirty” way in which the story is told, a stylistic choice which seems to me typical of Delano’s works. It is not a too-long essay imo: there is plenty of interesting details, above all the almost sinister black palm trees which, in many frames, stand high above the grey corpses… as if nature was better accustomed to manage its own disasters; #30 has a “vietnam” feeling, with the hovering helicopter and the naked boy running at the centre of the frame; in #37 the mickey mouse shirt detail conveys a dramatic irony; #3 has a sort of timeless beauty…
Thank you James for joining the conversation here: for what concerns film or digital… really I don’t care: the shown results can be obtained in a darkroom or in a lightroom as well.
It’s more interesting to hear about the restrictions imposed by the junta: my guess is that in the aftermath of the cyclone, due to the chaos, photographers and journalists could enjoy more freedom of movements.

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By: Richard https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46604 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:53:34 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46604 Interesting technique. Almost looks as though the film has been over-processed and pulled back in the darkroom. Nice work though :)

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By: marcia https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46595 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:42:00 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46595 Been following burn for a while but i felt compelled to comment today.

I wasn’t prepared to see some of these images, but they definitely hit me. there are some quite powerful images there. The post-treatment did not take away from the experience, I think it added something, the photographer’s vision. Its not a style i would use, because its not the way I see. And I think that’s important – why does everything ‘real’ have to lack the subjective experience of the photographer?

For my preference, however, I would rather see a much tighter edit of carefully selected photographs. There are some images that were amazingly strong but some weren’t (to me), and with so many, it just didnt feel as strong of a story.

But that’s what I think and James seems seasoned and confident enough to know what he likes, so Im trusting that he will reflect on the comments that make sense to him. Why is everyone always apologizing for other people’s criticisms? I think its great to be able to share work and have people say what they do or don’t like about it. the photographer can take it or leave it. So if you feel bad about negative comments, instead of trashing the commenter just focus on telling the photographer what you like – that will probably be more helpful.

um, so hopefully no one will trash what i said but i welcome your constructive reflection.

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By: Michael https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46594 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:18:53 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46594 Some great photos. Important work. Thanks.

In general,I like the style. Unfortunately, several of the images are extremely posterized, at least on my screen (Apple), so I think more work is in order. And count me among the crowd that doesn’t like the vignetting. I don’t mind seeing so many images though. I think the aesthetically weaker ones are important for the story.

And let me say (first time commenter) that I appreciate the honest criticism here. After the photography, that’s what I like best about Burn Magazine. There are plenty of sites where they’ll tell you how great you are, regardless.

And finally, I’ll take a pass on guessing film vs. digital. I can, however, tell you that they look a lot like how they would look if they were processed with the Power Retouche Soft Filter and perhaps the Black Definition.

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By: Noah Addis https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46588 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:40:09 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46588 I’d love to see this work in high-quality print form, I don’t think that the online slideshow is ideal for these photographs. And I don’t mean that as a negative comment in any way.

There are some amazing images here. I think the essay (in the current online form) could benefit from a slightly tighter edit.

It’s a powerful, important body of work.

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By: skiwaves https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/07/james-whitlow-delano-in-the-eye-of-burmas-cyclone/#comment-46585 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:01:01 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=3762#comment-46585 to respond to James’ show of hands….. film.

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