Sunday, September 21, 2008

Is Photography Dead?

Is photography dead? I think not. However, I do think that photography is in an ethical debate. Photography was once thought to be synonymous with truth. We now know that that was never really true. Photographs have a long history of being altered and staged. Does it make a difference if the photograph is manipulate before it is taken or after the fact in Photoshop? I'm not sure that it does. I think the real confusion for photographers is where to go next. The "easy" photographs of real life have taken. In an age where most people have their own digital camera and one on their cell phone, pictures of real people in their real lives are going to be taken for future history by most of us anyway. I think that the line between high and low art is very blurry, especially in photography. When I think of high art in photography, I think of famous photographs (like the one of the sailor kissing the woman after returning from the war) that capture emotion on very important days or for very important issues (like Ansel Adams landscapes did for the environmental movement). I think that photography's future is very similar to its past. What do you think is the future of photography as high art? - Tayler Black

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