Marvin Heiferman
explored the medium of photography’s active role in our lives and the world in
his book “Photography Changes Everything.” He described photography as
“notoriously difficult to assess” and asserted that it “resists being shaped by
any set of single imperatives or standards.” Each person’s view on photography
is different and each person shapes what photography is to fit his or her own
views and is in turn shaped by photography.
Society believes,
according to Heiferman, that you need to see more to know more. This comes from
the idea that you can see and experience the world through pictures. Billions
of photos are at our disposal every day, piling visual knowledge on us. 1.3
billion new images span the world in seconds every day and one million of those
photos are added to Facebook alone. People are defined and embodied by the
photos they take, use, share, and respond to.
With so many photos
in circulation it is hard to say what constitutes a “good photo.” I agree with
Heiferman’s belief that what constitutes “good photography” depends on who is
talking. Just because a photo does not get framed does not mean it has no
importance. The importance of a photo depends on the person’s relationship to
the photo.
The “digital
revolution” occurred slowly as opposed to all at once, according to Heiferman.
Technology went from digital cameras, to personal computers, to smart phones,
which can share photos instantly. I personally probably take at least one photo
a day on my smart phone, and that is not including photos on the app “Snapchat,”
with which you can send a photo or video to someone that deletes itself
automatically in a given amount of seconds. These photos are not framed and are
rarely posted, but I often look back on them to remember certain moments, and
if I lost them I would be devastated. Although they not pass for the textbook
definition of “good photography” they are still relevant to photography because
they are of importance to at least one person.
The new
relationship of the viewer to photography creates a contract between the image,
the viewer, and reality. Heiferman states that we should spend less time
focusing on what makes photos good and more time figuring out how they work.”
Photos create an opportunity to explore the medium and its active role in our
lives and world. Photography has no identity and keeps changing. Photography
invites people to interact with it actively. It engages us “optically,
neurologically, intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Photos are not
passive but move us forward.
According to
Heiferman photography changes what we want, what we see, who we are, what we
do, where we go, and what we remember. I found his description of how it
changes who we are and where we go most interesting. Photography is a way of self-expression
and is a depiction of how we represent ourselves. It has the power to shape
stereotypes and change your perception of a person, place, or thing just
through an image. Photography has also “taken” us many places we may not have
the power to physically go in our lifetimes. Not only can it take us across
oceans, but it can also take us inside bodies, to mars, the ocean floor, and
black holes.
The meaning of
photography is ambiguous and varies from person to person. It has no singular
meaning and “urges us not to just reminisce, but to act.” Photography changes
itself as well. It evolves along with the individual’s perception of photograph
and photographs and will continue to do so.
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