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Stan Documentary photography is a medium that is at odds with itself – and can lead photographers to be at odds with themselves. On the one hand, such images can be seen as intrusive and exploitative because they can profit from the misery of others.  While photography critic Allan Sekula acknowledges that documentary photography has provided an understanding of the pain of human existence, he argues it adds “to spectacle, to retinal excitation, to voyeurism, to terror … and only a little to the critical understanding of the social world.” On the other hand, fellow critic Giles Duley draws a distinct line of difference when he writes, “For me, documentary photography has always come with gre...

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