“It’s been a bad day, please don’t take a picture.....”

Stills Director, Ben Harman, and Stills Research Associate & Tutor, David Grinly, will debate some of the pros and cons of photography in historical and contemporary contexts.

In doing so, they will attempt to get to the bottom of their obsession with the democratising medium via the frustrations, shortfalls, wonders and paradoxes that it presents.

Using the format of an illustrated debate, we will aim to spark public discussion about the problems and powers of photography. We will encourage debate and reflection on our uses of everything from early “alternative” techniques all the way up to our mobile phones and social media sharing.

To illustrate the debate, they will refer to numerous examples ranging from works by William Eggleston, Richard Avedon and Barbara Kruger to press photographs, anonymous images and social media posts by celebrities.