If you’ve ever questioned the power of an image, consider the current news cycle. The US government has decided it won’t show images of the dead Bin Laden.
If you’re wondering why, the answer is simple. A photograph–an image–is an incredibly powerful thing. It can be a tool, intentionally or incidentally. It can tell an entire story of a month, year, decade, or a generation, captured in perhaps just 1/1000 of a second. An image change a life, end a war, start a riot, bring someone joy, inspire a revolution, open or close a debate. An image can move the world.
My point has nothing to do with the governments treatment, or lack thereof, of the Bin Laden image…should or shouldn’t, left or right in America, good versus evil, or any other debate along political lines. That is not my point, and this is not the forum here for those discussions. Don’t go there. Instead it has everything to do with the proof of the power of an image. Therein lies the only reason that this debate rages on. If it weren’t powerful, there would be nothing to say.
My point is a simple one and specifically this: if you’ve ever doubted if, in this modern era with technology moving a light speed, whether there is still respect and value for the 130 year old concept of a photo, think again. If you’ve ever wondered if the power of a photograph is waning, think again. The power of a photograph is at an all time high. Sometimes we… need these reminders.
Consider this as you go to work with your camera.
Very insightful..
But what is the point of a photograph that is never seen?
Maybe the fact that it was kept from going public shows how powerful said image was…
Amen!
I’d agree but the even more powerful would be the video of it all going down. And with video being the big feature on most new cameras, I’d say that’s also telling of where the industry is going.
I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot and don’t know where I fall on it. Videos take up more space in your life – you have to sit and watch them. Unlike a photo which can hang on your wall and enjoy over and over in a matter of miliseconds each time, you have to engage with a video more, and for longer. I think that’s a major disadvantage for video.
I agree that the EXPERIENCE of a video holds huge promise for the way we remember and capture things. I’m just not sure that – in an age where everything moves so quickly and we have to fight for time and attention now more than ever – whether video will ever trump stills. I guess we’ll see! 🙂
Agree. Video is far more powerful than photos.
There was an interesting debate on this in the UK yesterday. They raised the point that an image of Che Geuvara’s body was released to try and break his status. It failed and the iconic image of Che Geuvara alive still appears on t-shirts and posters now.