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Binaebi Akah | PROJECT 1.A I590 Spring 2010 | Meaningful Methods of Producing Digital Imagery | SKETCH 

Photographic

technologies diminish

meaning of 

photographic acts

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Binaebi Akah | PROJECT 1.A I590 Spring 2010 | Meaningful Methods of Producing Digital Imagery | FINAL – DESIGN RESEARCH

19th

Century Camera 20th

Century Cameras 21st

Century Camera

19th

Century camera with stand and satchel

(source: Binaebi Akah)

Photography in the 19th

Century was one of those

newfangled inventions which had the potential to change

the world. Suddenly, images weren’t only in the hands of 

painters and sculptors, but also in the hands of scientists

who knew the process to take and develop photographs.

That said, photography was still time-intensive, though not

as intensive as painting, sculpting, and other such acts. To

photograph an object, person, or place, one was required todedicate time to getting the details of the image fixed

clearly onto glass or metal

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography#History). Every

photograph at this time had its purpose, whether it was to

document an event, reflect upon acts of war, or memorialize

a child who passed away (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-

mortem_photography).

The importance of the photograph, then, reflected the time

and care that went into the creation of the photograph. The

act of taking the photo was as important as the photo itself,

because the cultural association of photography was

considered a craft.

1950s spy camera, flash camera circa ??

(source: Binaebi Akah)

As snap photography gained popularity in the 20th

 

Century, the meaning of taking a photo lessened a bit. No

longer did photographers have to carry around an

awkward bundle of equipment in order to get a barely

decent photograph by today’s standards. Rather, cameras

had technologically improved so that the paparazzi

became a cultural norm, the government relied on s py

cameras to retrieve state secrets, families took vacation

photos at the beach, etc.

Thus, the meaning of taking a photo waned in the 20th

 

Century. Photography was no longer an act for scientists

and artists alone, but the everyday man and woman. The

culture around photography shifted because of this.

People weren’t expected to dress their best for a photo,

nor were the photos as precious as in the 19th

Century.

This is not to say that photos were not treasured in the

20th

Century, only that the act of taking a photo had

lessened in importance, as more people learned the art

and craft of producing decent photos.

Modern digital megazoom compact camera

(source: Panasonic)

The point of the modern 21st

Century camera seems to be,

as I understand it, to level the playing field. Pictured above

is my camera, the Panasonic Lumix ZS3, with 10 MP and

12x optical zoom. The reason why I bought this camera was

because I wanted the option to get high quality photos for

both near and far distances, and with enough manual

controls to learn something about photography.

However, I am in no way required to learn anything aboutphotography in order to produce decent-to-very-nice

photos. The digital age of p hotography has leveled the

playing field so greatly that only photographers who have

been trained in composition, etc, have an advantage over

an amateur like me, in terms of the associated cultural

understanding of photography.

As such, it is less likely for people to treasure, revere, and

respect the act of photography. Technology has made the

act of photography too easy, and so has diminished the

importance of the act of taking photos, and of the photos

themselves.

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Binaebi Akah | PROJECT 1.A I590 Spring 2010 | Meaningful Methods of Producing Digital Imagery | ATTRIBUTIONS

Primary Attributions

Lynn Dombrowski: The notion of meaning making and photography

Heiko Maiwand: Discussing the difference between the action and the deliverable of photography

Secondary Attributions 

image: 19th

Century camera with stand and satchel (source: Binaebi Akah at Second Street Antique Mall in Bloomington, IN @ January 17, 2010)

image: 1950s spy camera and flash camera circa ?? (source: Binaebi Akah at Second Street Antique Mall in Bloomington, IN @ January 17, 2010)

image: Modern digital megazoom compact camera (source: Panasonic www2.panasonic.com @ January 20, 2010)

source: Photography – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography#History @ January 20, 2010)

source: Post-mortem Photography – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-mortem_photography @ January 20, 2010)