Документалната фотография – от факта до истината
Documentary photography - from the fact to the truth

Summary/Abstract: „Documentary photography” as a term appeared in the mid-nineteenth century to denote photographing various objects and events with the aim of documenting and preserving history. Over time the activity is expanded to investigate the problem fields with purpose - social change (the work of Jacob August Riis and Lewis Wickes Hine on the boundary between the nineteenth and twentieth century in the US) and monitoring dynamic processes in development that are difficult to analyze at the time they are happening (the large-scale photographic coverage of the Great Depression in the US during the thirties, World war II and historical processes in the second half of the twentieth century). The term is fundamental for appearance and promotion in the public space of terms related to a smaller range line of photographic activities as "social photography", "reportage photography", "photojournalism", etc. The historical overview provides an empirical basis for semiotic analysis of concepts and philosophical generalizations. In this study using the term is justified by the curriculum of 46 universities in the world where "Documentary photography" is a separate discipline or a part of multi-disciplinary training. The evolution of the concept is viewed in photographic and scientific-research practice and also the shaping of current semiotic profile of the term is considered.

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