Emerling Chapter 3

So far I have enjoyed this chapter much more than the previous two. I felt that this chapter was much easier to deconstruct what Emerling was trying to say and what he wanted the readers to pick up on. Admitingly Emerling stated that the definition of documentary photography is not an easy one which I agree with but he later, I feel like, tries to put very strict boundaries and guidelines on what is considered documentary work which I felt essentially defines it in a way. I also did not necessarily agree with his argument for the relationship of artwork and documentary. Emerling states that a photograph exists between both but later insists that artists work is either one or the other in which he poses the question of which is documentary and which is art. What I really like about this chapter was how Emerling states and doesn't shy away from the idea that a photograph is more than a photograph and how important the context is to the artist when creating their work.

The question that kept coming back to me while reading that I think is specifically important is, Is the a definition of documentary photography and what would you explain and describe it as?