Insight 
                                                        
Vince Lovecchio says his passion for photography began with a child- hood romance with the cinema. "My obsessive fascination with the projected image inspired me to study the medium in greater depth, but when I did, I discovered the beauty of the single frame. "I also realised after watching hundreds of films that I had unconsciously absorbed many lessons in lighting, composition and narrative from a legion of directors who were masters of their art. The secrets behind their magic have become an invaluable part of my own work today. 

"Before I knew it, I was infatuated with the works of the French master, Henri Cartier-Bresson and others such as Andre Kertesz, Marc Riboud, Bill Brandt and our very own Max Dupain and David Moore. All these photographers have excelled in blending together 'documentary' or 'reportage' photography with fine art." These photographers have inspired Vince to such a degree, he now feels it is his life's mission to explore and develop photography's ability to inform future generations of their past. "In 1984 I began to photo- graph the streetscapes of Sydney and the people who inhabit them. It's incredible how much has changed since then - and proceeds to change in the face of the new millennium." 

Apparatus 

Vince says the equipment needed for documentary photography depends on the approach taken to the work. "The Magnum Agency, founded in 1947 by Capa and Bresson, is a collective of the world's best photo documentary photographers. Their prolific use of 35mm Leica cameras and standard 50mm lenses to capture some of the most famous images of our time is a lesson for us all. It proved that it is what a photographer does with the lens that is important, rather than what the lens does for the photographer. 

"However, with today's technology we'd be silly not to take advantage of the 'afford- able fine quality' wide-range zoom lenses. My outfit comprises two 35mm Nikon bodies, an FE and an FE2. If only I could tell you how brilliant these cameras are. In 1995 I used them on a photographic assignment through India and Nepal where they were subjected to the most gruelling conditions imaginable - salt water, desert sand, physical stress and extreme temperature changes. They both handled the journey brilliantly. 

"I load one body with black and white film, the other with colour transparency. I also use two zooms, a 35-70mm and a 70- 210mm, plus a fixed 24mm wide-angle. The benefit of using zooms is that they can cover the large variety of tasks that photo documentary work requires without having to lug a heavy camera bag around with you. "I find that in my work, I'm always using both wide-angle and telephoto lenses. I like exploring different perspectives by photographing my subjects from up close and from a distance. 

"My preference is for black and white film. I like the control the monochromatic image gives. The black and white rendition of a scene is quite different to that of colour photography. Colour provides greater variation and for documentary work this can be distracting. As a language, the tonal range and control available in black and white offers the photographer a more definite vocabulary with which to interpret the world. But let me add that there are plenty of subjects that don't render well in black and white - there is certainly a place for using colour film too." 

Vince notes that choosing between black and white and colour can be a frustrating decision. "Deciding which film works best with a subject is something that you learn with experience. I see two worlds around me. I see one in colour and one in black and white. So for me, 'which film?' is not a matter of choice, for these two worlds are so far apart that each demands its own. 
"I like trying out different emulsions and often I end up being surprised by what I discover. Try as many films as you possibly can for each emulsion has its own qualities and characteristics, and hence a particular mood that may be particularly suitable for the work you have in mind." 

Kodak's T-Max range is favoured by Vince, especially T-Max P3200 which is great for working in low light. However, Vince has also discovered Agfapan APX 100 which he loves for its fine grain and high sharpness. However, for the image reproduced on page 47 Vince used Ilford HP5 Plus. "I love the tonal range this film has to offer, and the sharpness and fine grain are remarkable for an ISO 400 emulsion." For colour work, Vince shoots mainly Fujichrome Velvia, Sensia and Provia. 

Technique 

So what exactly is social documentary photography. Why is it important and what does it involve? "Not a day goes by without some kind of change occurring in both our lives and the society in which we live. Each day we see new advances in science, technology and social laws which inevitably affect the way we live. Our society, as all others, will eventually slip away to be no more than a memory of our culture. 

"This is where the enormous role of social documentary photography comes into play. It is each generation's attempt to keep a permanent, visual memory of its people and society, and how they interrelate. Social documentary photography is not about tomorrow or yesterday, its focus is on everything that is happening here and now - how we go about our everyday lives, our leisure, labours and accomplishments. 

"Its images, like pages of a social diary, reveal a telling tale about who we are and what we are doing, so that our generation doesn't become lost in darkness, but is pre- served as a lasting record for future generations to value. 

"The first and most important quality you need as a social documentary photographer is the realisation that you are a unique individual, created from experiences and aspirations that only belong to you. "Build upon this reality and then use your camera to make visual statements that reflect your vision of the world around you. Only then will your images stand out from the rest of the flock." 

Vince also believes that being passionate about your subject is essential. "Work on something that is close to your heart. Most of the great photo essays of our time owe their success to this approach. In each one we can clearly see the photographer's own uniqueness coming through. "Ansel Adams once said, 'A great photo- graph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.' 

The Final Image  

"I've always believed that a great image is one whose sum is greater than its parts. An image that works well is one which has a certain radiance about it, and one which points the viewer to somewhere even greater, beyond the image itself. 
"Most of my black and white work is printed by Alan Graney of Alchemy Photographics. The main advantage in using the same printer over a period of time, apart from his talent, is that he has come to know naturally my likes and dislikes, as well as having developed a strong sense of my style of work. 

"For the park image, Alan had lightly dodged the people and the guns during the basic exposure. A very light dodge was applied to the trees to give them a rounding, while increasing their apparent depth. He burnt in the top left hand corner of the image, feathering it out towards the edge. The whole right margin along the pathway has been burnt in, working accurately to the line of the bridge. All the sides have been burnt in approximately 20 percent at the original contrast, and then a further 10 percent with no filtration. 

"The image is full frame. I always do my image cropping in camera (I guess it comes from working with film and TV cameras). I toned the image myself with Photochem Selenium toner to give it a sense of timelessness." 

Inspired to take some social documentary images like this? Vince has some simple advice. "Pick up your camera and get those pictures." þ