So what is a good documentary photograph? Take a look at this one. It’s good.
The evaluation of a photograph as good, or something less than good, must take its context into account. The photograph above is not so good if I’m trying to produce art photography. If it’s news about what is happening in this space, I’d say a better adjective is functional. But as a documentary photograph it is good.
Why? Because it is a record of a moment in the re-development of a residential and commercial space in a particular neighborhood in a particular city at a particular time: The intersection of Rua Manuel Firmino and Rua Concelheiro Luís de Magalhães at 13:10 on 14 December 2024 in the Vera Cruz neighborhood of Aveiro, Portugal.
Someday someone will want to see what this space looked like after the old building was torn down and before the new building was built.
So here you go. You’re welcome 😉