Ain't no such thing as a "real" photograph
Taken with a Nikon D50 and AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G lens
For some reason there are photographers who believe that photographs and the real world have more than a passing relationship to each other. When they see a photograph that has been in some visible way altered, modified or manipulated they cry "foul" — taking on the mantle of protectors of the sanctity of the inviolate image.
Sorry folks, but there ain't no such thing as a "real" photograph. Every photographic image that you have ever seen is but a pale reflection of reality, and a distorted one at that. Let's see what I mean by first looking at the ways in which a simple and straightforward photograph is abstracted from reality.
Reality: Without getting too philosophical about it, let's define this as our direct experience of the outside world. All five senses are involved, not just our sense of sight. As well as seeing the sky we feel the wind and smell the grass and hear the rustling of leaves. We're in reality, not simply observing it.
Direct vision: For example, watching the passing scene outside through a picture window. It is as visible as if we were in it, but input from senses other than that of sight is limited.
Motion picture / TV: This would appear to be similar to viewing a scene through a picture window but we have lost binocular three dimensional vision, and our other senses, other than hearing, are completely absent. Also, we are not seeing the actual subject but rather a two dimensional mechanical reproduction.
A colour still photograph: Here the scene has been reduced to a frozen moment in time. Motion and continuity are lacking.
A Black & White photograph: Colour has been removed from the image, replaced by shades of gray.
Labels: AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6G, Chendering Fisheries Complex, Nikon D50, People, Philosophy of Photography, Photography
