QUOTES:

‘The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras’

‘What are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?’

‘And what does a real photograph look like/Is it something you can see on a screen and alter?’

ESSAY:

Hypothesis: Photography and Truth: Can a photograph lie?

‘What are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?’ Susan Bright in her article ‘Is it Real?’ comments on the accuracy and truth in photography, and how it can be altered because after all isn’t a photograph proof in itself?

Louis Dagueterre was a French painter and physicist who invented the first practical process of photography, known as the daguerreotype. The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plate with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The invention of the daguerreotype posed as a threat to traditional artforms such as painting and drawing, considering it was the first widely used photography process. Furthermore this process was the first ever successfully refined process that created an exact replica of an image reflected into a camera, in which painters had less domination in the work of portraits. As photography has evolved so has technology, as cameras have evolved and the process of developing image is slowly becoming non-existent as now we are able to see the images immediately after they are taken, without having to process them through a darkroom. Technology has severely advanced in such way that artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is able to generate images with a prompt and create life-like images. AI has become has become a significant part in everyday life, and the benefits it has created for the human population, it has become a device humankind are relying on such as google, voice recognition, and generative AI however have we really thought about the consequences and the danger AI has presented us with? AI becomes more intelligent with every resource it collects which become a danger to humanity with what AI will be able to accomplish in the future.

It is assumed that photography before the digital age could not be manipulated however by using different chemicals in the developing process you would be able to alter the image. An example in how photographers would alter an image by the process of Pictorialism. Pictorialism is an international aesthetic movement that characterised photography between 1890 and 1914 approximately, various techniques were used to produce these images: important manipulations in the darkroom, special filters (including soft-focus), unusual treatments during development, use of special papers. My historical case study, being ‘Robert Capa, Death of a Loyalist Soldier; does not concern manipulation specifically within the image, although its circumstances are certainly hard to untangle. Allegedly this image was taken in 1936 on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War, in which it is presenting a man dramatically falling to his death. Presumedly it is said he suffered with a fatal gunshot wound, however no wound is visible in the photograph. For years, research was done into the casualty records from September 5th, at the Battle of Cerro Muriano, in hopes of obtaining details about the man allegedly dying in the image. However, it later discovered that Capa’s image was staged and did not in fact capture the moment of death. ‘The creation of an image can shift fluently from a performative or theatrical act’ this quote by Max Pinckers successfully supports the idea that photography can be staged through a ‘theatrical act.’ Capa’s image supports Pinckers statement as he staged his photograph and made it look like a man had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. By creating this fantasy people had indulged in his performance believing that the man had died however many years later we discovered it was a performance created by Capa which leads to the ultimate question are all photographs a lie? and can they be trusted?

‘You’re going to have truth, and you’re going to have reality, and reality’s going to be a mixture of truth, hallucinations.’ Photography is a way for artists to express themselves, therefore there is no right or wrong. AI has become a way to create extraordinary images that would not be able to be replicated in the real world. My case study ‘Philip Toledano > Trump as a poor man’ shows a different perception of reality, if Trump hadn’t had a gilded life of privilege handed to him what would he look like? Digitally you are able to alter the image through using image manipulation software, such as Photoshop. There are also AI softwares that have been created to produce images that look ‘real’, but are in fact a digital construct, these are constructed by artificial intelligence. Softwares like this include; DreamStudio, Midjourney or DALL E 2, these softwares would create images like the case study by Toledano. The systems generate images by prompts and information they are able to gather from the internet.

In conclusion, I think that both images portray the importance of context and external factors in viewing photography, yet they also differ in their methods of concealment of the truth ‘the process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras.’ Therefore ultimately photography is not a lie yet is not complete truth.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bright, Susan (2019) Is it Real? in Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd

Max Pinckers Interview: On Speculative Documentary

Williams, Zoe (18 April, 2023), ‘AI isn’t a threat’ – Boris Eldagsen, whose fake photo duped the Sony judges, hits back. The Guardian News & Media Ltd. (accessed 19 June 2023)

Pictorialism: https://aestheticsofphotography.com/pictorialism/#Principles_of_Pictorialism