In Andre Bazin’s essay, The
Ontology of the Photographic Image, he discusses the photograph as a utility
that improves on the existing technology of painting to capture the realism of
the world. The painting as an artifact exists as an aesthetic creation that is
able to demonstrate the talent of its creator but then also replicate a portion
of the world through the mind of the artist. However the limitations of the
photograph rely on the mind of the artist who visualizes reality in order to
reproduce the image that has been interpreted. The camera obscura and the
Daguerreotype allows for an artist to capture a view of the world in its most
detailed and realistic perspective. Although the Daguerreotype prints on a
copper plate through iodine vapor, the technology of capturing light to
replicate an image steals more realism from the image than an artist’s painting
could ever mimic.
The digital
age of photography has allowed cameras to surpass the scope of even of the
human eye so that pixels can be more focused than can be readily detected. This
maximized level of realism combined with a network that allows for an extended
audience gives the artist an ability to recreate the world through a digital
means. The imaging done by satellite photograph through projects such as Google
Earth allows for humans to interact and explore all terrain never previously
accessible. However this form of reproduction no longer contains the artistic
quality of the original reproduction or portrait photography done by analog cameras.
The emotional connection associated with a photograph still allows for a
response to the subject of the photograph rather than the strictly the
perspective of the photographer. This connection is what allows for photography
to remain as an artistic alternative to painting even as the technology
surrounding the photo continues to undermine the integrity of a well-captured
moment in time.
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