Fred Ritchen - After Photography - Book Review
A review of "After Photography" written by Fred Ritchin
I've really enjoyed this book from Ritchin. I found it very engaging, perceptive, thought provoking and very current.
Ritchin talks about the effective end of film photography and the commencement of digital photography and its impact on the digital media. He splices in humour, fact, observation and insight. The book discussed how in the current world how we have all become photographers yet there are even less photographs made and even those made historically are now starting to deteriorate and will be possibly lost forever.
He touches on the perils of digital manipulation which when I read this was quite apt where social media commented on an image posted on Instagram 25/3 where the use of warping to change her body resulted in a kerb being bent and a car squashed into a ridiculous size:
http://calgarysun.com/entertainment/celebrity/kim-kardashian-accused-of-photoshopping-instagram-photo/wcm/76016c1b-e825-470f-a89c-30eaa2fb6b81
What should we now believe as being true or fake. One such comment from Ritchin made me laugh when he suggested a series of photo's could be photoshopped allowing the holiday maker to be seen at all the historic / tourist spots either in advance of visiting them or to perhaps allow to visit alternate places within the time duration of their holiday.
Ritchin argues well the dangers of digital photography, does it any longer represent a moment in time with modern digital alteration techniques. I also reflect on photography from the past where the subject or subjects become camera aware to the extent where the film image can be staged. Images for more decades have been staged, many of which you will find in the family album. Interestingly in contrast to Ritchin's warnings about altered digital images this strongly contrasts with the current and dangerous trend of selfies taken on a train track with a train coming toward the photographer behind their back, same ending with dire consequences. How easily these images could be created in the digital darkroom.
I liked the idea Ritchin mentions of the interactive digital image where mousing over the image can render more information such as the photographer's thoughts or even direct the viewer to a new location. This is great for interactive websites but I feel the beauty of looking at an image is that you are left to interpret it in your own way, sometimes perhaps aligned with the photographer, sometimes at odds. Personally I do not want to be rail-roaded to a conclusion, I want to find one myself.....its my interpretation.
However I think the crux of what Ritchin is saying is that the digital image can no longer be relied upon as a version of the truth which film photography in the main managed to maintain. This said the state is more dependent than ever on CCTV imagery to solve crime and prosecute the bad. Many homes also have CCTV installed externally and internally as part of both crime prevention and perpetrator conviction. Concerned parents install secret cameras to record how their children and being looked after by a nanny or child minder.
We have become less trusting of digital images found in news journals and magazines. Its become harder to distinguish digital fact from fiction and yet social media such as Facebook contains images that we all believe.
Ritchin suggest we may have become over reliant on digital imagery to express our values and way of life and how ourselves and others may judge it. Facebook again examples this, perhaps some using it to express a version of themselves which is remote or untrue. Additionally Ritchin suggest the problem with the bombardment of digital images that one gets immune to them they also become unmemorable and there is no longevity. Its interesting he mentions that many modern day techniques have the roots in modernism and indeed he mentions image appropriation which is something I am asked to do as part of Assignment 2. As my tutor mentions one of the many facets required of the digital photographer includes the important activity of image selection.
Ritchin discusses the shrinking gap between reality and fiction and examples "Second Life" which to a degree has blurred the line between. Ritchin's book was published 2008 when I expect Second Life was at its peak. Doing some research its confirmed that in 2017 there were still around 500,000 active users.
I've very much enjoyed reading this book in terms of the style of writing, some humour, and its thought provoking content. In a sense Ritchin is looking back on the impact of digital imagery and trying to foresee where this will takes us in the future. Of course those 10 years since he wrote the book have resulted in Digital progression in many ways.
I would recommend this book
Ritchin talks about the effective end of film photography and the commencement of digital photography and its impact on the digital media. He splices in humour, fact, observation and insight. The book discussed how in the current world how we have all become photographers yet there are even less photographs made and even those made historically are now starting to deteriorate and will be possibly lost forever.
He touches on the perils of digital manipulation which when I read this was quite apt where social media commented on an image posted on Instagram 25/3 where the use of warping to change her body resulted in a kerb being bent and a car squashed into a ridiculous size:
http://calgarysun.com/entertainment/celebrity/kim-kardashian-accused-of-photoshopping-instagram-photo/wcm/76016c1b-e825-470f-a89c-30eaa2fb6b81
What should we now believe as being true or fake. One such comment from Ritchin made me laugh when he suggested a series of photo's could be photoshopped allowing the holiday maker to be seen at all the historic / tourist spots either in advance of visiting them or to perhaps allow to visit alternate places within the time duration of their holiday.
Ritchin argues well the dangers of digital photography, does it any longer represent a moment in time with modern digital alteration techniques. I also reflect on photography from the past where the subject or subjects become camera aware to the extent where the film image can be staged. Images for more decades have been staged, many of which you will find in the family album. Interestingly in contrast to Ritchin's warnings about altered digital images this strongly contrasts with the current and dangerous trend of selfies taken on a train track with a train coming toward the photographer behind their back, same ending with dire consequences. How easily these images could be created in the digital darkroom.
I liked the idea Ritchin mentions of the interactive digital image where mousing over the image can render more information such as the photographer's thoughts or even direct the viewer to a new location. This is great for interactive websites but I feel the beauty of looking at an image is that you are left to interpret it in your own way, sometimes perhaps aligned with the photographer, sometimes at odds. Personally I do not want to be rail-roaded to a conclusion, I want to find one myself.....its my interpretation.
However I think the crux of what Ritchin is saying is that the digital image can no longer be relied upon as a version of the truth which film photography in the main managed to maintain. This said the state is more dependent than ever on CCTV imagery to solve crime and prosecute the bad. Many homes also have CCTV installed externally and internally as part of both crime prevention and perpetrator conviction. Concerned parents install secret cameras to record how their children and being looked after by a nanny or child minder.
We have become less trusting of digital images found in news journals and magazines. Its become harder to distinguish digital fact from fiction and yet social media such as Facebook contains images that we all believe.
Ritchin suggest we may have become over reliant on digital imagery to express our values and way of life and how ourselves and others may judge it. Facebook again examples this, perhaps some using it to express a version of themselves which is remote or untrue. Additionally Ritchin suggest the problem with the bombardment of digital images that one gets immune to them they also become unmemorable and there is no longevity. Its interesting he mentions that many modern day techniques have the roots in modernism and indeed he mentions image appropriation which is something I am asked to do as part of Assignment 2. As my tutor mentions one of the many facets required of the digital photographer includes the important activity of image selection.
Ritchin discusses the shrinking gap between reality and fiction and examples "Second Life" which to a degree has blurred the line between. Ritchin's book was published 2008 when I expect Second Life was at its peak. Doing some research its confirmed that in 2017 there were still around 500,000 active users.
I've very much enjoyed reading this book in terms of the style of writing, some humour, and its thought provoking content. In a sense Ritchin is looking back on the impact of digital imagery and trying to foresee where this will takes us in the future. Of course those 10 years since he wrote the book have resulted in Digital progression in many ways.
I would recommend this book
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