Posted by Bruce Berman

Family in a 1930s Plymouth, Magdalena, New Mexico, 2010 by ©Bruce Berman

This car was manufactured in one of the same years that Russell Lee worked U.S. 60 and lived in Pie Town, 57 miles west of where this image was made.

But the people?

One thing I notice, the more I look at Lee and the more I self examine, are the smiles on the people. I often ask myself if the smiles are a result of the people who are photographed, the photographer, the alchemy between the two, or what? It is an essential question in photography: whose viewpoint is this all about? I have settled (for many years now) with the idea that the image should be about the people one is documenting, however, the photographer, after all, is there, and is part of the moment.

But…

I do notice that Lee’s people don’t look as downtrodden, as say Lange’s do.

Nor are the people I am attracted to as hang dog as I could make them, as as down and out as, say, Eugene Richards would portray them.

That’s a little debatable, I know, but what I am exploring and asking is, how much does the photographer affect the reality of the situation -the truth- and how much is driven by the subject? I think the answer to the truth part is not found in the photographs but, rather, is found in the biography of the shooter. What’s the track record? What has the career been dedicated to? Have there been “incidents?” What has the photographer said, and therefore, does he or she have an agenda?

If you don’t want to go into Lee’s images -or mine- that deeply or in that way, let’s just say, ”Family in an old Plymouth, Magdalena, NM, 07/10/2010, ©Bruce Berman.”

Tags: 1930’s Photography, Farm Security Administration (FSA), New Mexico, Russell Lee, U.S.60