Discussion Board Week 12 Presentation: The Impact of Digital Technology on Photography

Presented By: Patrick Lennard-White, James Briggs, Matt Schwartz, and Peter Polito

Photography began as an activity only used by that of inventors like Joseph Nicephore Niepce. At first photography was considered to be scientific. With the complicated measurements of chemicals and the proper use of the machine, it took one a very long time to learn, let alone master this art. As opposed to now we can see children as young as four creating photographs with little or no instruction. With the introduction of the digital era, we have seen an extreme increase in photography in itself. Within arms reach right now we have access to a camera, be it the ones on our cellphones or an actual digital camera. Photography is always within our grasp. As technology advances we can begin to see a steady increase in the availability of cameras, not only in price but in size. The days of lugging around a full camera set are long gone, we can now take pictures infinitely better than those with a camera that can fit in our pockets. Technology continues to push the boundaries in producing the highest quality of photos while also making it more accessible for society to use.

Since there is an abundance of cameras it appears we are at a point where cameras are just an additional feature to another piece of equipment (ie: phone or monitor) because they have been able to replicate them at high volume. This could create saturation in the photography field as well with more people creating images the higher possibility someone who is pursuing this as an art may be overlooked or under-appreciated. Society has always loved the idea of capturing memories and storing them in shoebox or album but now they are story on a USB stick and maybe you'll get around to printing them. Everywhere you go you see people taking pictures with whatever device they have available and they may or may not be the quality of a professional photographer; because of this they can share experiences or events that happen with other people. We live in a decade where it is easy to see pictures from across the world or anywhere you can think of because the growing number of cameras that have been produced. We know of the past because of pictures taken then even when cameras were harder to obtain, now I only wonder what the future will know since we take pictures of everything and anything.

The incorporation of digital photography into the realm of modern journalism may be considered by some a distortion of the core ethics that define the profession. The ease of skewing a photograph today makes it difficult to ensure an accurate portrayal of an event is being documented. Before the age of digital photography, the role of a photojournalist was to go out and document reality. Today, the process has changed. Media sources look to online hubs for photo resources, where the legitimacy of a photograph cannot be easily be established.

Using a darkroom to process and edit photos could only allow for a picture to be altered to a certain extent. With the advent of modern photo editing software things like lighting, shadow, composition, and even photo subjects can easily be manipulated. These subtleties can portray so much; and when so easily doctored it becomes much too easy to skew realities.

Probably the most famous example in the recent years of photo manipulation in photojournalism was Brian Walski. His altered photograph was used in The Times, Hartford Courant and the Chicago.

Digital photography has had a large impact on identity formation in teens. The argument can be made that photographs lose significance when film is not involved, but for teens, photographs play a large roll in how adolescents identify themselves amongst their peers. Social media has become a norm for individuals in early adolescence, and the avatar or "display photo" is used to represent the individual online. The display photo is often taken at a social gathering or through the lens of a webcam, but is always changing. This is reflective of how teens feel about photography. Our readings tell us that “most teenagers consider their pictures to be temporary reminders rather than permanent keepsakes”. The temporary reminders are often in the form of “albums” on Facebook or photoblogs. Digital photography makes the “life on stage” sensation during adolescence even more difficult. With the potential of a snap from a cellphone camera or a digital camera in someone's back pocket, the social pressures of adolescents is even more present.