Mitchell, W.J.T. “The Photographic Essay.” Picture Theory. Chicago: U Chicago P, 1994. 285-301

Mitchell considers the “interaction of photography and language” known as the “photographic essay”.  Rather than analyze “classic examples” of the form which give a literal conjunction of photographs and text, Mitchell concentrates on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by Agee and Evans, in which the text seems to dominate the subject matter while the photographs are not represented within the text.  Prior to this analysis, Mitchell addresses the genre name of “photographic essay” as the model for the conjunction of photography and language.  Reasons he gives include the dominance of text comprehension over imagery analysis and the ability for text in infer reference upon an image in storytelling fashion.  Mitchell’s focus upon Let Us Now Praise Famous Men lies in that the photographs and text remain alienated from each other in most instances, each telling a different side of the same story.  Mitchell describes this conjunction of writer and photographer as a kind of balancing between perception and truth stating that the reader/viewer find themselves in a juxtaposition of “collaboration and resistance” as do Agee and Evans.

While seeming to get off topic or to go into more detail that the subject elicits, Mitchell presented an interesting analysis regarding the nature of a “photographic essay”.  I thought that Mitchell seemed to contradict himself regarding the definition of “classic examples” of “photographic essay”.  He begins by foregoing consideration of “classic examples” (285) through his desire to focus on an example where the text and photographs do not interact logically with one another, ultimately settling on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by Agee and Evans. Once he decides to settle upon the analysis of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (289), he deems it as a “classic” example of the genre.  The difference in his usage of "classic" confuses me.  Regardless of my confusion, I liked Mitchell’s assessment of Famous Men.  I thought it fascinating how Agee and Evans presented their own perceptions of the three families and how they seemed to keep each other in check.  I have a personal interest in photography and appreciated the insight the article has given me regarding the historical usage of text with photography.