What is the future of Photography?

It is amazing, that although there is a digital divide that exists in relation to the technological advancement of the twenty first century, almost every individual GLOBALLY has been exposed to photography, from a simple encounter with an image to the use of a camera.

Photography has certainly developed over the years from the use of roll film and box camera to the current use of digital cameras. We the users and the audience of Photography are fully aware of its development and the manner in which it has contributed to our current day lifestyles; it has impacted on the way in which we communicate in the current global village. Photography enables us to adopt current trends, formulate our opinions about different topics of concern and it has with out a doubt impacted positively, on the preservation of our memories in a variety of ways.

Digital photography was the last major revolution in the photography industry and it has contributed substantially to the growth of the industry and to the further development of the photographic world. It has impacted positively on the photographic world in that it has contributed to the continuous increase in the use of cameras of present day. The question we should ask our self is WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? Digital photography has impacted to a large extent in the photography industry, so we should certainly consider what the next revolution of photography is and how it will impact on our lives and in the world of photography.

The expressive nature of photography

The capturing of photography is extremely wonderful and incredible because it exists in a wide variety of forms. We the receiver, user, and audience of photographs, do not acknowledge the existence of these significant forms of photography as well as it’s expressive nature. We are often ignorant of the impact that these different types of photography has on individuals. The manner in which photographer’s capture photographs changes our perceptions on the image or the topic of concern. It is essential for us as individuals to understand photography so that we can relate to it to our every encounter with images and our use with a camera. This will enable us to accept and appreciate the wonders of a photographic generation; in that way photography will begin to expand at an equal and proportional rate to technological advancement.

Photographer’s make use of a wide array of shots, which comprise of angle shots (wide angles), aerial shots, long shots, medium shot, close-ups, extreme close ups and a vast amount of others. This wide variety of shots enable the photographer to be more expressive and allow the viewer of the photograph to become more interactive with photography but more especially allowing the viewer to relate to the photograph. These shots allow the photographer to create a desired effect on its audience, enabling them to see the image from a certain perspective and to relate to the emotions of the image on the topic of concern enabling the viewer to be able to read what the photograph is trying to represent. For example, extreme close-up shots are used to stress importance of the object in concern, wide angle shot is usually used as an establishing shot; most viewers are unaware of this when viewing photographs. Aerial photography is usually used when gathering statistic, and used to locate places.


There are different types of photography that exist these are water photography, fashion photography, the modern black and white photography(modern), documentary photography, food photography, advertising, photography, technical photography, crime scene photography and a vast array of others. Obviously, we often take for granted that photography exists in these many forms. It provides us with perceptions of life allowing us to formulate our own opinions of life from these modern forms of photography, in particular water photography. Water photography is an amazing form of photography in that it allows the photographer to capture pictures of water falls, animals underwater using special techniques. We the receivers of the image are not exposed to these type realities in everyday which makes this an extremely impressive site for majority of its audience. The same applies to wildlife photography it allows the audience to experience the wonders of nature. This is indicates that photography is rather expressive and hence it allows the viewer to, respond to and interact with photography in positive way.

PHOTOGRAPHY in the contemporary world!

In the contemporary world, there are several aspects of our daily life of which we take advantage of, and one of these aspects is PHOTOGRAPHY. Photography plays an immensely significant role in our life; it exists in almost all aspects of our daily life experiences.

Photography has developed and expanded dramatically in just a couple of years, in that cameras have become extremely popular and storage devices have become more advanced, accessible, reliable, and less expensive. This relates to the fact that every mobile phone is produced with a camera feature on it, the photographs can be stored on one’s laptop or desktop computers as photo albums, therefore it is more accessible, reliable, and cheaper. Majority of individuals have moved away from traditional photo album’s because they are not easily accessible, takes up a large amount of storage space, photographs are usually damaged and lost, and it is an expensive medium. The advancement of technology has now provided a solution to these problems with the invention and the expansion of digital cameras, which does not require the chemical processing of photographs.

The storage of photographs through an electronic medium constitutes the growth of virtual communities in the twenty first century. Virtual communities are communities that do not require the physical presence of people in order for communication to take place, by means of the Internet to people all around the world. Photography enables the enhancement of communication in these communities in that it is easier and more accessible to upload photographs on one’s online profile, which provides a description of the person to the people that they are communicating with, a typical example of this is “FACEBOOK”, the worlds most current popular social network.

This also contributes to the concept of false identities as well as multiple identities, in that the photograph that represents the individual may not always be the “real” person that you are chatting to, indicating that these individuals have different online and offline identities reinforcing the concept of multiple identities. Photography has contributed to the contemporary world of communication, however the issue of multiple identities is of a major concern and therefore this issue should be prevented by the implementation of an achievable solution.

Lived experiences portrayed through cinema

Cinema and technology are used hand-in-hand to help educate and influence people and their behavior. In cinema so many times you hear the that a film is based on a ‘true story’, but what exactly does this mean; well it simply means that the story/narrative that is being presented, is the actual lived experiences of a person. Media together with the influence and help of technology help convey these lived experiences in the form of a movie.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (2006) directed by Gabriele Muccino was an inspirational true story, and helped millions of individuals around the globe to persevere and live out their dreams. Many CEO’s of leading companies requested that their staff watch this movie, as it portrays the emotional struggles that an unemployed single father goes through in order to make a better life for his child.

Many people do not believe in being ‘possessed by the devil’ but in the 2005 movie, THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE directed by Scott Derrickson really made people question their beliefs. The movie was based on the lived experiences of Anneliese Michel, a young catholic woman from Germany who died in 1976 after several unsuccessful attempts to cure herself from the alleged state of demonic possession. The basis of this story portrayed her strong faith in god and her exhausting struggle and pain which seemed to be supernatural powers that took over her mind and body.

Many people do note of the fact that some movies are based on actual real lived experiences, and that some one in the world actually experience such hardships and sorrows.

MONSTER a (2005) production is a story about a female serial killer, whom happened to be a former prostitute. She was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. This movie was based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos and the power struggles, personality issues and life experiences that she went through. By the end of the movie one can actually comes to understand her state of mind.

These 3 movies are only but a few that represent movies based upon a true story. Some of Hollywood’s biggest hits were movies that were based upon a true story.

Through modern day technology and the media we are able to live other people’s experiences, understand their feelings, and connect with them on a personal basis. Cinema and technology serve as an educational service that work together to connect individuals, and these true stories may one day impact greatly upon our lives.

POSTED BY

NIRVANA DOODLA

WORLD CINEMA

Cinema attention normally falls onto Hollywood cinema. Every time you ask someone, what their all time favorite movie is, 99.9% of the time their answer will be a Hollywood film. Not much focus is on is placed on WORLD CINEMA – world cinema focuses on global cultural flows. World cinema refers to French, Spanish, and many other types of different cinema. World cinema aims to question the notions of classic Hollywood – classic Hollywood refers to the flowing narrative structure that a films flows, the way in which Hollywood films portray social historical facts, and the way in which classic Hollywood creates a stirred universal appeal; and the way Hollywood categorizes their movies into certain genres, example the gangster genre.

French and Spanish cinema is excellent examples of World Cinema that serves to question the notions of Classic Hollywood.

The French New Wave Cinema featured a host of extraordinary directors, from the likes of FRANCIOS TRUFFAU (1932 – 1984), whom directed 21 feature films; to JEAN-LUC GODARD (1930 - ), whom up and until today challenges the classic Hollywood cinema.

FRANCIOS TRUFFAU’s film LES QUATRE CENTS COUPS / 400 BLOWS (1959) reveals personal experiences and portrays the childhood of Truffau. In this movie Truffau challenges the notions of freedom and education in society.

JEAN-LUC GODARD is a highly intellectual film maker; he refuses to meet the normal audience’s expectations, and almost always intertwines Hollywood genres into his films. His 1959 production A BOUT DE SOUFFLE / BREATHLESS contains both the Hollywood gangster genre and the film noir genre; where his characters constantly make reference to or imitate famous Hollywood actors and directors.

These two directors produced some of the best French cinema, and compete with likes if ALFRED HICTCOCK (1899 – 1980), a world famous classic Hollywood director.

PEDRO ALMODOVAR (1949 - ) is one of Spain’s most famous and talented directors. He directed 16 feature films, and his latest production was his 2004 VOLVER. Almodovar questions the notions of classic Hollywood, he constantly questions gender roles and how they are portrayed within society.
He makes his films in such a way that the audience never makes judgments on or about the range of different sexual and social identities that make up the cast of his films, rather we understand the cast. Almodovar is a gay director, and in his movies he looks deep into the friendships that women share with each other. An excellent example of this is his 1999 production ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER.

As individuals we need to explore and take an interest in world cinema, by doing this we will be able to learn so much about the different cultures that surround our very existence. World cinema refers to African, Italian, Asian and many more types of cinema.

We need to look beyond classic Hollywood and start understanding issues and the way in which other countries portray them. World Cinema forms a big part of new media, and definitely impacts on our identities and subjectivities as human beings.


POSTED BY

NIRVANA DOODLA

Technology’s impact on the world of Photography

The technological boom and globalization have continued to expand during the twenty first century. This sudden influx and continuous increase of technology has impacted in several ways towards the world, society, current trends, and more especially identity. The question that one would ask is:

What place does photography occupy in relation to the world of technology?

Evidently, from current trends the answer to that is DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY and in particular DIGITAL IMAGING. This is a method of using sophisticated computer technology to manipulate photographs to achieve the effect and output, which one would like to create. This has contributed in many ways towards changing realities, false identities, and forged documents. Another popular term used for the manipulation of photography is “airbrushed photography”. Airbrushed photography has become an extremely popular form of digital technology. It manipulates a standard an ordinary photograph into an extraordinary and impressive image. The process of airbrushing is made possible by contrasting and addition of colors, editing the image, inserting of additional images and many other techniques to formulate the image exactly the way we want it to be created.

This technology is exceptional in that it is extremely difficult to identify and distinguish between an airbrushed photograph and an authentic photograph. This is an amazing form of technology however it can be a major cause for concern in that important documentation are being forged, false identities are being created, but more especially a contradiction to the belief that every photograph tells the truth. On the other hand, airbrushed photography has its advantages, it enables the enhancement of the image, and it can conceal imperfections and remove unwanted images to our advantage. This concept of airbrushed photography will make every viewer of a photograph question whether that image which they are viewing is a true representation of reality. Although there has been an increase in the amount airbrushed photography, in during the twenty first century, it does not mean that every photograph is a false representation, we can still preserve memories, capture special moments and it can still be used as a contemporary from of entertainment.

FAKING SOUND

MUSIC MIXER

Today there are main musical technologies that allow us to fake sound. What do I mean by fake sound,those sounds that are generated and mixed by musical programs.

It is no surprise that over the years as our interest in technology has grown, therefore it is no surprise that we constantly are experimenting with those technologies in music. Many original sounds such as running water, bells and chimes, live performances etc are being recording or uploaded in to these musical programs. They are stored, sorted and when they are needed they are tweaked to form fake music.

I have found that one of the Major negatives of this, is that record labels make use of these technologies to dupe their listeners.

This has lead to many artists having terrible live performance and even sometimes the artists opt for lip sinking to there recorded studio tapes.

Ashley Simpson

Many fans are left disappointed and their expectations not meet. That is why today many people prefer to listen to music straight from a cd or mp3 player than endure the expenses of seeing live performances.

Mirach Carry
There are many artists that have been caught lip sinking recently, such as Ashley Simpson and Mirach Carry (photos featured above).

However music mixers can be useful to bring about new sounds , they can also store sounds that are nearly impossible for the majority of the population to listen to like the cry of dolphins or wales mating underwater.

Well its just like everything in the world it has both pros and cons.

Today's society however are not to stirred up about listening and see fake images because we prefer the fake stuff to the real. We have come to live in a socially acceptable virtual reality.

I guess its due to the blurring of what is considered real and what is considered to be fake or may be because we are just not that interested.

BY RITANIA GOKUL