Subject: New Communication Technologies
Code: 1501ART
Student: Andrew Lindsay
Student No: 1287534
Assessment Piece: 2- Essay

Digital Photography: Death or New Beginning
The Digital Revolution in Photography and its implications for Society

In 1839, faced with the invention of photography, Paul Delaroche is supposed to have declared, “From today, painting is dead!” A little over 150 years later, the issue of the ‘death of photography’ seems to be poised on the lips of theorists not only of photography, but of digital culture in general (Batchen 1994:47-50). The new era that mankind has entered- the information age- has been defined and is continuing to be defined by the transition from analogue technologies to digital. This transition has had a resounding impact on many facets of technology and, in effect, society, and none more so than the sphere of photography and photojournalism. Since the silicon sensor took over from the silver emulsion, there is no doubt that photography and photojournalism have undergone many fundamental changes as mediums and professions. The accessibility, economy, and ease of use, of digital cameras, and the fluidity with which digital images can be manipulated and morphed, has opened up the world of photography to the consumer, making everyone an amateur photographer, and even photojournalist, in their own right. However, in doing so, it seems to have undermined the very fibre that, up until the digital revolution, has lent the photographic image its power- that a picture never lies. The potential is that photography and photojournalism, as professions and mediums, are losing their credibility in the face of their own advancement. The debate of digital manipulation in photography also leads into deeper, more entrenched issues of a widespread identity crisis. The concern is that, as a society, we are entering a time when the lines of reality and simulation are blurring. The acceptance of digital manipulation may be taking a hand in opening up hitherto inviolable societal doors. Photography then, while in the midst of a major technological leap, is faced with two major anxieties: one technological, the other: epistemological (Batchen 1994: 47-50).
Since its invention, and particularly in the photojournalistic heyday of the 1940s and 50s, the photographic image has been viewed as the ultimate vehicle of truth. Sayings purporting the infallibility of the photographic image abound: ‘a picture never lies’, ‘a picture tells a thousand words’. However, the digital revolution has thrown this idea into contention. Ritchin (1999:xi) states that photography, “a medium that has been mythologised as being quazi-objective and historically reliable, has been restructured in the computer into pixels… it is no longer a reliable ‘trace’ from appearances but an initial sketch which can be and often is redrawn.” The concern is that the traditional sense of the photographer recording the social and physical world with a trained and impartial eye has, in the words of Lister (1995:3) “imploded into the small grey plastic box of the personal computer”, and that this had adversely effected the social functions and political responsibilities associated with the medium. Photographers are becoming thought of more and more as ‘image designers’ and “the meaningful link between the appearance of the world, and the precise configuration of a material image, can no longer be assumed” (Lister 1995:3).
Concerns regarding the manipulability of digital images have implications that reach farther than the erosion of credibility of the medium of photography and photojournalism. They lead into topics of a more fundamental and ethical nature and form an almost metaphorical parallel with many issues that are at the height of discussion and controversy in society today.
With digital technology, an image can be manipulated or orchestrated to fulfil any desire. This implication is especially dire in the world of photojournalism where the photographer has traditionally performed a watchdog role. For example, as a result of photojournalist’s images being relayed to the rest of the world, the actions of many an authoritarian regime have been brought under criticism from the world at large, and ultimately halted. If the fact-based currency of the photograph were undermined sufficiently, this watchdog effect would be devalued- the offending regime could simply claim that imagery had been faked (Ritchin 1999:4). In the face of technological advancement, “it may become more difficult to show a photograph of a victim of torture and expect anyone to be not only moved but convinced by it” (Ritchin 1999:4).
A very different, but equally relevant issue is that of how image manipulation can affect our views and attitudes towards ourselves. Ritchin (1999:xii), for instance, argues that: “genetic modification and cloning may become more acceptable with our growing familiarity with the results of image manipulation software.” It is inferred that if, in an image, a persons eye colours can be changed at a whim and wrinkles and blemishes can be erased, then the prospect of plastic surgery, or even genetic modification may seem less distant or obscure.
These issues converge into a fundamental underlying anxiety, that we as a society are entering a time when it is no longer possible to tell any instance of reality from its simulation (Batchen 1994:47). This issue ties in with a plethora of facets that have become part of our every day life: internet dating as opposed to meeting someone in a bar, chat rooms and text messages as replacement for real conversation, virtual reality in the place of real life experiences, computer generated imagery taking the place of real actors and settings, the mentality of ‘why go to a cricket game when you can get a better view from your living room’. As Robins (1996:3) states, “The proliferation of screen culture is now routinely associated with projections of the coming into being of a new order of simulated reality. Mundane realities and experiences seem to pale in comparison to dreams of virtual life and cyber-culture.”
“Digitisation, prosthetic and cosmetic surgery, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, virtual reality- each of these expanding fields of activity call into question the presumed separation of nature and culture, human and human, real and representation, truth and falsehood, on which our photographic epistemology has hitherto depended” (Batchen 1994:50). Therefore, in the very moment of a revolution in technology, perhaps we are in danger of losing our identity.
In light of these issues, there can be no doubt that the medium of photography is in the midst of a technological upheaval and a fundamental shift in our mindset regarding it. Proclamations of ‘the death of photography’ however, are perhaps misguided. While seeming to present dire implications for society as a whole, the digital revolution in photography is not without its positives. The stain on its credibility, that photojournalism is suffering at the hands of digital manipulation, inspires greater effort on the part of media organizations to answer and vouch for their content. The digital image, while being seen to endorse contentious issues in today’s society, has also opened up new doors for communication and commerce. What is necessary is not a condemnation or abandonment of the digital image, as a window on the world, but an increased awareness and consciousness regarding the identity of photography (Batchen 1994:50). We are faced then, not with the death of photography, but a ‘post-photographic’ era where large organizations and individuals must take responsibility for the trust that is placed in the image, and come to the realisation of the consequences if this trust is flouted. Whatever happens in the future of the photographic image, one thing is certain- photography will only cease to be a dominant element of modern life when the human desire to capture a moment is, itself, eclipsed.



List of References

Batchen, Geoffrey (2002) Each Wild Idea The MIT Press Massachusetts USA

Batchen, Geoffrey (1994), ‘Phantasm: Digital Imaging and the Death of Photography’ in Hawthorn, Booth (ed) Metamorphoses: Photography in the Digital Age Aperture Foundation Inc. New York: 47-50

Druckery, Timothy (ed) (1996) Electronic Culture: Technology and Visual Representation Aperture Foundation Inc. New York

Harrison, John and Hirst, Martin (2007) Communication and New Media Oxford Press Melbourne Australia

Holtzman, Steven (1997) Digital Mosaics: The Aesthetics of Cyberspace Simon and Schuster New York

Lister, Martin (ed) (1995) The Photographic Image in Digital Culture Routledge London

Manovich, Lev (1995) ‘The Paradoxes of Digital Photography’ Text
http://www.manovich.net/TEXT/digital_photo.html

McRobbie, Dr Angela ‘Postmodernism and Popular Culture’
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nZe8tUr0rIgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP7&dq=+photography+and+popular+culture&ots=MgiUQYogsE&sig=MlfV7k2Au3isNZ5kHtg6qqcvZys#PPP1,M1

Migga, Joseph ‘Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age’
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=p94Eew7O2_4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=ethic+issues+in+the+digital+age&ots=2Fon3pqmOT&sig=tdyR9LrI0EQQwdmzeKwjQqwi220#PPP1,M1

Ritchin, Fred (1999) In Our Own Image Aperture Foundation Inc. New York

Robins, Kevin (1996) Into the Image: Culture and Politics in the Field of Vision Routledge London

Gross, Larry, Katz, John Stewart and Ruby, Judy ‘Image Ethics in the Digital Age’ http://www.upress.umn.edu/excerpts/Gross.html