Goals and Values Within NYGCC Discourse community
Unspoken Values
Within photography discourse communities, members share some common goals.There are unspoken values and beliefs that have stayed within photography communities everywhere and continue to be emphasized. For instance, both the Lomography article "Not your Grandma's Camera Club" and Mckee's "Framing Democracy: The Role of Photography in Shaping Public Discourse"explain how photography has the ability of putting emphasize on political and social topics and reshaping social perspectives. Mckee explains that photographs have the ability to shape the public opinion by demonstrating political injustices around the world. Similarly Lomography is using NYGCC discourse community as a way to stand up to gender inequality and allow women and people of any sexuality to participate in a male dominated field.
Image by Camera for Girls discussing injustice of genders
Not Your Grandma's Camera Club
Chandler Flannigan, creator of Not your Grandma's Camera Club values empowerment and inclusivity among women and nonbinary film photographers. She doesn't directly state these values but it is shown in the different style of images being shown as well as how the group members interact with one another. She states "women make up a huge majority of this art form, yet they are underrepresented and overlooked in every way"(Lomography). Flannigan shares her feelings of disappointment when she visited other film cameras clubs and realized that there is an under appreciation for female and non binary photographers. In this specific quote she is emphasizing the unspoken values of inclusivity because she believes that women have the right to be seen in these types of communities. Through her own photographs, they represent authenticity to her true self. She says, "I think I am at a point in my portfolio where I have let go of all rules and boundaries. I am making art for myself, and really creating"(Lomography). In this quote, it demonstrates the unspoken value of empowerment through her photos. Her photographs are a reflection of self expression and creative freedom, which is what she encourages her community members to embrace.
Values within Other Communities
Most if not all photography community share similar perspectives and values. For instance, Mckee's goal when it comes to photography is to influence and change the opinions of the audience. With this she has control on how the message will be viewed and who will view it. For instance, she states " The indexical nature of photography allows it to circumvent language barriers, delivering visual narratives from around the world while traversing the barriers of space and time "(Mckee). Photography is used to tell a story without using words. In Not Your Grandma's Camera Club, photographers aim to tell a story within every photograph as a way of self expression and empowerment in order to stand up against societal norms.
In a magazine article by Vice called "A new magazine for Women Photographers celebrate Female Gaze" explains the project of the creation of creating a magazine that only featured "female identifying" photographers. It quotes, "the magazine celebrates experimentation, individuality, and the unique perspective that women bring to analog photography(VICE).” This project began back in 2014, before NYGCC became an official club. They both share unspoken similar goals such as providing a safe community for women to feel like they can be a part of something and encourage the photographers to take risks in their own styles. Photography challenges traditional, male dominated norms in the photography industry.
Photographer as Empowerment
Not your Grandma's Camera Club serves as a powerful example on how photography serves as both personal freedom and a social belonging. NYGCC has grown significantly building a community through Instagram and other social media platforms, where photographers can have the freedom to photograph freely as well as connecting with others around them.
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