Chatting the Pictures: Trump Kim Long Faces; Cohen’s Big Check; Billy Porter’s Oscar Stunner
by Michael Shaw
Chatting the Pictures is a weekly, 20-minute webcast for which RTP publisher Michael Shaw is joined by writer and historian, Cara Finnegan to discuss three prominent photos in the news.
The program is broken into three segments: “The News” examines a hard news image for its content value. “The Look” focuses on a news photo for its artistry and style. And “The Pick” asks what made a high profile photo so unique to editors or the public.
The News
Taken by Saul Loeb for AFP, we see Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump during their failed summit in Hanoi. In the discussion, we discuss the “accuracy” of the photo, the surprising mirror effect, and Trump’s unusual display of listlessness.
The Pick
Jonathan Ernst for Reuters photographed from Michael Cohen’s live Congressional testimony. Ernst’s image shows a check on a video monitor that Trump wrote to Cohen to buy the silence of porn star, Stormy Daniels, during the presidential campaign. We discuss how the photo of the document diverts in a powerful way from the realm of personality coverage. Besides spotlighting “the money trail,” and the display of hard evidence, we also consider the significance of the young staffers beneath the display.
The Look
Josh Haner for The New York Times, photographed actor Billy Porter on the Oscars red carpet in a stunning half-tuxedo, half-ballgown. We analyze the difference between Porter’s self-described political act, and the photograph of it. We also break down the body language, and the tone of the statement in the current political environment.
You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.
Originally published by Reading The Pictures, the only site dedicated to the daily review of news and documentary photography. Sign up for the Reading The Pictures Week in Re-View email. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
