Assignment Four feedback

Pleased with the comments from tutor, summarised as:

"An interesting and well argued essay that raises some interesting questions about the future of landscape photography in the post-digital age. Well referenced and clearly argued throughout."

I enjoyed writing the essay, but was slightly concerned that it might be seen  as 'anti photography', a renegade piece. Tutor even concludes: "I am left feeling a little depressed about the future of photography to be honest!"

In one sense, I am pleased to have received this response, because the essay is designed as a challenge to photography in the academic context. The subtext of my thesis is that adopting the static two dimensional printed image as the gold standard risks detracting from photography as a method of purveying a message: that strict adherence to 'photography protocols' (e.g. don't overdo post processing; shy away from filters; use a tripod) may be at the expense of  the message of the artist.

The counter argument is, of course, that 'good photography' does not preclude sending a message. A message presented to excellent presentational protocols is every bit a message as one that is not. My point (admittedly made a few times in this blog!) is that it not always possible to conform to these protocols in the circumstances required to produce a good 'story'. I recall writing when doing TATP course about the modest standard of photography in an exhibition for The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, There is a place for beautiful and imaginative photography but this is 'single image' photography more suited to competitions (as with the Wildlife Photographer of the Year at Natural History Museum visited recently), and specifically eschewed for this course. 

I do not think single image static photography will disappear any time soon (if ever) but my essay is designed to point out the rapid changes in the way people view the world, (the universe even), and the impact of alternative technologies that most likely will change the emphasis of photography away from the technical (partly due to the accessibility of newer technologies that 'do it all for you', and partly to an exponential increase in image taking) and towards a more electic approach that incorporates a variety of media, and using images that are available in the public domain, that are not even taken by the author.

Tutor mentioned incorporating the work of contemporary photographers to support the thesis. The 2,000 word count precluded this in the essay but the work of two artists (the epithet photographer seems inappropriate when the author does not 'take' the image) come to mind:

Penelope Umbrico started her ongoing Suns from Sunsets from Flickr  in 2006. It is a constantly changing work, this is one example:

  

Penelop Umbrico Suns from Sunsets. Available from the author's blog. Accessed on 18 January 2017.

Umbrico (undated) commenced this project in 2006, when she found 541,795 hits for 'sunset' (the most tagged subject) on Flickr. She describes how she crops the sun  from the images - she mentions no copyright issues - into 6"x 4" images and sets them out as above. Umbrico sets out her rationale thus:

"I thought it peculiar that the sun, the quintessential giver of life and warmth, constant in our lives, symbol of enlightenment, spirituality, eternity, all things unreachable and ephemeral, omnipotent provider of optimism and vitamin D… and so ubiquitously photographed, is now subsumed to the internet – this warm singular object made multiple in the electronic space of the web, and viewed within the cool light of the screen."

In a way that reflects the growth of digital imagery referred to in the essay, Umbrico sets out the growth in hits for 'sunset' on Flickr over the years, up to 30,240,577 by March 2016. She emphasises the collective nature of photographic communities, even claiming that recording the ephemerality of the community is analagous to  taking the image itself (so perhaps she is a photographer after all..):

 "....through the technology of our common cameras we experience the power of millions of synoptic views, all shared the same way, at the same moment. To claim individual authorship while photographing a sunset is to disengage from this collective practice and therefor negate a large part of why capturing a sunset is so irresistible in the first place." (Umbrico, ibid)

 Umrico's example of photographic art as a collective practice chimes with my discussion of the growth of imagery more generally, and the democatization of photogpraphy.

A second example is Jon Rafman's work. Rafman (undated) collects the unusual sights from Google Street View. Examples are in his book Nine Eyes of Google Street View. Like, Umbrico, Rafman collects images and presents them in a random fashion that we may identify as the beautiful and the sublime together. It is not technical in any way, but is a compilation of the way the world is now. In contrast to Umbrico, Rafman uses the static image in a sort of 'balance sheet' way: this is how it is now, a pictorial report of the unusual in a normal setting. Three examples (available from http://9-eyes.com/, accessed on 18 January 2017) are as follows):

The unusual and disquieting sight of a struggling animal in an otherwise deserted scene

A potential competition winning image of a lonely beach walker

A disturbing image that the subjects were clearly unaware was being taken - the power of the remote camera

The last image above demonstrates a further technological development in photography: the use of remote cameras. These are being used increasingly for wildlife photography (see this link for examples) but, as the above shows, have a wider remit.

Other points raised by tutor are incorporated in her annotated comments on the essay. I have incorporated most of these in the Assignment. The summary is as follows:

•  Referencing - have made the amendments where there were omissions. I have left the corporate website references as links rather than Harvard, as there is no individual to whom the quotes may be ascribed. Tutor is not sure of the protocol, and is checking with OCA;
• Inclusion of contemporary artists is included above;
• Discussion over use of 'balder' or 'bolder' is overcome by modifying the statement, which, on reflection was exaggerated; 
• Tutor is concerned (6 in comments) with blanket statements. I have deleted one sentence, as suggested, but the general tenet of the paragraph stands: it is meant as a summary and conclusion of the arguments leading up to this point. 

References

Rafman (undated) The Nine Eyes of Google Street View. Available from http://9-eyes.com/. Accessed on 18 January 2017.

Umbrico (undated) Suns from Sunsets. Available from http://penelopeumbrico.net/index.php/project/suns/. Accessed on 18 January 2017.