“Besides, to write particular words or to take specific pictures is to stand at some remove from the entire range of what can be said or photographed, and to take such a step moves one at least a measure away from that full participatory zeal that some activists hold up for themselves and for others as ideal”
Robert Cole, Doing Documentary Work (page 33)
This quote from Robert Coles’ “Doing Documentary Work” offers a perspective on the tension between observation and participation in the field of documentary work. It highlights the nature of documentary work and challenges the notion of “full participatory zeal” embraced by activists.
What strikes me the most about this quote is the idea that by engaging in a subject, we are inevitably distancing ourselves from the unfiltered experience. In other words, the act of documenting creates a degree of detachment, we must select and interpret what we observe.
Finally, this quote reminds us that as documentarians, we must navigate the line between engagement and objective representation. Our choice of imagery and words convey and shape a narrative. And with that, we must depict reality honorably.
