1. How digital technology changed the role of photography in the society?
Flickr, Deviant Art, Photobucket, Picasa, Shutterfly, Snapfish…these are just a few of the sites for you to share your photos with anyone you like! Gone are the days of gathering around the photo albums, now we gather around our computers, iPads, iPhones etc. A few of us though still might be inclined to pull out the old albums!
We used to keep and organize the pictures in a photo album usually in a chronicle order for future reference, sharing experiences and communicating with family and close friends. Photography was a tool to save precious memories of past events such as family activities, parties, marriage, trips etc.
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Charles Cuthbert, Moray, Ramona, and Islay Mary Sinclair, in front of the Bungalow, Norway House, circa 1908. Source: Hudson's Bay Company Archives 1981/39/224 |
Digital photography is everywhere you look. It’s impossible to go anywhere without seeing some form of device being used to capture a moment.
Before digital you could feel confident that you would not have your picture taken without your knowledge. Most people would ask permission before taking your photo. Today anything goes. Not all of this is good. I witnessed this first hand at a baseball game where a group of young girls were quite taken with one of the guys sitting near them. They took his picture without his knowledge but one of his friends noticed and let him know. It seemed so invasive and inappropriate for her to do this. He was quite upset but what can you do at that point?
Photography has been used to capture memories, record history and for communication. There seems to be a marked decrease in accountability and respect for others when using photos. They are shared instantly on the web through social networks, free for anyone to manipulate as they like.
Digital photography allows us now to share our lives with other instantly which can be great when families are separated by distance. How we choose to use these pictures depends a lot on our integrity and respect for others.
Digital photography still serves as a tool for remembrance but now plays bigger role as tools for self-expression, self-presentation, identity formation, instant communication or social bonding.
Anthropologist Barbara Harrison (2002: 107) found in her ethnographic study that now people are using photograph as a self-expression tool rather than a memory construction tool.
Due to the development of digital technology, cameras are getting smaller so it’s easier to carry anytime anywhere and getting easier to use so everyone can take a picture without any required skill. “Cameras have increasingly served as tools for mediating everyday experiences other than rituals or ceremonial moments.”(Harrison, 2002)
Digital camera made it so much easier to take and delete pictures. Unlike analogue camera, no need to spend extra money on buying films and no need to wait until the films have developed to see the pictures. This made it so much easier that people take pictures until they have the image of themselves as they want to be seen. Digital technology allows subjects more control over pictures than ever. Using Photoshop individuals can brush up their images as the way they want to look by beautifying faces or slimming bodies. Retouching and manipulating of one’s self image is commonly done as a way of forming identities.
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Image: by casillar, photobucket. |
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Digital photography has also changed the way we communicate. Cameras and camera phones are an integral part of our lives. Individuals now, especially Youth share these pictures on their blogs or social networking sites such as Facebook. They use photos to communicate with their peers. It’s almost like an online photo journal of what’s going on in your life, right now! Photography does not take on the same meaning for the youth of today, pictures are fleeting and temporary, not meant to be saved.
A study showed that “teenagers regard pictures as circulating messages" (Jose Van Dijck, p.61). Digital photographs are now sharing the ‘moments’ rather than ‘memories’. Showing and reviewing pictures between peers have become an integral part of communication and socializing. They want their pictures confirmed by their peers because those pictures are showing who they are and the more they like how they look in the picture, the better they feel about themselves. It’s about self-esteem.
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| Facebook Album |
2. What has been the impact of digital photography on journalism?
Digital photography gave photojournalists more control in the process of taking pictures. Digital camera allowed photographers to check their pictures right after the pictures taken. Photojournalists can easily delete them if they weren’t taken as photojournalists intended them to be.
New digital cameras free photojournalists from the limitation of film roll length, as thousands of images can be stored on a single memory card. They don’t have to go in to darkroom and put films in to wet chemistry anymore. Content remains the most important element of photojournalism, but the ability to extend deadlines with rapid gathering and editing of images has brought significant changes. Now, equipped with a digital camera, a mobile phone and a laptop computer, a photojournalist can send a high-quality image in minutes, even seconds after an event occurs. Camera phones and portable satellite links increasingly allow for the mobile transmission of images from almost any point on the earth.[1]
The new technology has also created a subculture of amateur photojournalists who share their “news” photos on podcasts, blogs and online news, not going to the traditional news outlets. Their photos therefore cannot be checked for authenticity which is worrisome to say the least.
We need to remain faithful to the tried and true, traditional news sources if we care about getting the truth. There is a fine line when it comes to altering a photo for the news. It’s the end result that really matters. Photojournalists should ask this question to themselves. Do the changes you make to the photo distort the truth and at what point do you stop making changes…
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| Nikolai Yezhov and Stali before and after alteration |
Postproduction has been always an issue and existed in the dark room. Development of digital photography gave photojournalists more power to control and manipulate their pictures. Postproduction now is a lot easier and faster. Photographers now play with their images on a computer screen using various editing programs. As digital technology advances, ethic issue becomes more important. When the image is so finely photoshopped, it would be so hard to tell if it’s altered or manipulated to serve the photojournalist’s purpose better. Audiences will take the photo as it is and believe it without knowing that the reality captured in that photo is distorted. Photojournalists gain more power to manipulate not just the images but also the audiences. Audiences on the other hand become more vulnerable.
Digital photography made photojournalists’ job a lot easier and faster. This convenience however comes with more responsibility. Photojournalists have to be always well aware of their job, that is telling the stories as they are without altering to fit their intention.
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The digital manipulation by The Economist for its cover, left, of a news photo taken by Reuters photojournalist Larry Downing, right, is a recent example of the ethical challenges posed by imaging technologies. |
The core of the profession has remained the same: to record the human condition as openly and honestly as you can. Photojournalism is more than megapixels and binary ones and zeros with digital signaling. It’s a process of thought and emotion from people who are not only trained in all of those technical aspects, but are caring and involved documentarians who identify and capture the essence of their subject in many different types of media with many different situations on a daily basis.
The effect that new technologies will have on this industry can be of concern. We do have faith that there are enough ethical photojournalists out there that will uphold the standards that are set today. All the amateurs out there can be more of concern. Who will be checking their sources and making sure they are the “real deal”. Will people care enough to do something about it?
References
Week 12 Slides, Creating the moment/truth: Digital Photography
Week 12 Digital photography: communication, identity, memory by J O S É VA N D I J C K
Photojournalism in the Age of Scrutiny by Kenneth Irby : http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/78172/photojournalism-in-the-age-of-scrutiny/
Pictures from
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/28/familymemory.shtml
http://mymerrychristmas.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14768&page=3
http://www.solemagazin.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/miley-cyrus-twitpic-1024x965.jpg
http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2009/photoshopped.jpg
www.webdesignerdepot.com/.../40-examples-of-incredible-photo-manipulation/
http://www.instantshift.com/2009/07/20/80-excellent-examples-of-photo-manipulation-art
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150309371445713&set=a.10150253364090713.475937.504585712&theater
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