In the new digital era we are again asking whether photography and photojournalism is dead. Screen grabs from TV, fuzzy phone camera images from the citizen journalist take the front page slot of a demonstration. Laws prohibiting the taking of pictures of police on the street, terrorism legislation and the fear of paedophilia all inhibit photographers from their daily pursuit of making pictures. And yet we live in a world that is more full of images than ever, and photography is celebrated as an art form by the art institution.

Can we say that as one world passes we are entering a new one? A part of me is turning back to the past-- the realm of the studio---which the digital world is leaving for a world of dynamic high-speed, high-sensitivity, high-quality imagery with a fleeting, cinematographic representation.

I've noticed a turn to experimenting with early nineteenth century handmade traditional print technology, the re-making of Polaroid film with the Impossible Project, and the new class of high-quality retro-designed compact cameras.

The new iPhone 4s with its 8Mp sensor is the snapshot camera of today, because it is easy and accessible. It also has a totally new processing (In-camera software filters) and distributing system (wireless internet and social media), which has a disruptive potential for the technique and and craft of photographic image making. Ours is now a world of consumer digital imaging with its automation of the craft.

The classical style of photography is no longer a desirable goal for some of the digital camera designers and the current technological progress in digital image processing and the explosion of imagery will have a profound impact on the visual culture. The new paradigm for the visual arts has h yet to be constructed, and we still are tied to the classical view of what an image should be.

Comments

Posted by: Pam | December 5, 2011 7:31 AM