Status and meaning of photography in a digital world drowning in images
October 17, 2018 12:16 PM Subscribe
What next for photography in the age of Instagram? Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian's photography critic, examines the changing landscape of a thriving medium, and provides updates on his musings on an ever-evolving art form from six years ago, covering everything from the absurd number of photography festivals held each year to the value of truth in photography in the age of Photoshopping, in contrast with videos of a fatal shooting at an Iranian protest that went viral. In his prior piece, O'Hagan compared photographs netting high bids at auctions, between the 1906 "old master," Edward J. Steichen's The Pond - Moonrise, and Andreas Gursky's "The Rhine II". Adding to the discussion is the fact that the latter was, as Gursky said, digitally altered to "leave out the elements that bothered me."
Bonus musing on modern photography and artists who "interrogate the medium," with an extra side of the failures of both human and computer fact-checking -- 99 Cent: A Look at the Widespread Confusion Over a Photo Gursky DIDN’T Shoot
Extra bonus: 'The Lost Head and the Bird': A Short Story and Photo Essay -- A short story from the ongoing work "The Coast," by Magnum photographer Sohrab Hura, which O'Hagan recently called "one of the most arresting pieces of work I saw last year" in its short video form (apparently not available online at this time).
Parting gift: the work of John Stezaker, who splices film stills and portraits of actors found in secondhand bookshops, pictures taken from vintages books and old postcards.
Bonus musing on modern photography and artists who "interrogate the medium," with an extra side of the failures of both human and computer fact-checking -- 99 Cent: A Look at the Widespread Confusion Over a Photo Gursky DIDN’T Shoot
Maybe this was Gursky’s intention all along. By creating two very similar images of a generic setting he knew there would be confusion. Perhaps he intended to bring attention to the sheer malleability of the scene. Because although the raw material here depicts a a real place — the 99 Cent store in Hollywood — Gursky’s process involves manipulation, blending, and trickery. He could digitally compose just about any scene he wants and call it 99 Cent. Or leave the photo completely unaltered and call it the same. To someone shelling out $3 million for the photo it’s the idea of 99 Cent that matters, not what’s in it.On that topic of auctions and the value of images: Banksy Self-Destructs Painting Moments After Its $1.4 Million Auction
Extra bonus: 'The Lost Head and the Bird': A Short Story and Photo Essay -- A short story from the ongoing work "The Coast," by Magnum photographer Sohrab Hura, which O'Hagan recently called "one of the most arresting pieces of work I saw last year" in its short video form (apparently not available online at this time).
Parting gift: the work of John Stezaker, who splices film stills and portraits of actors found in secondhand bookshops, pictures taken from vintages books and old postcards.
Great post, thanks. As a full time photographer who would love to stay one, I worry about most of this pretty much constantly.
posted by nevercalm at 1:06 PM on October 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by nevercalm at 1:06 PM on October 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
Probably a good post to drop a link to Kotke's writeup about Insta Repeat.
I've done that, but with my own photos. Worse, I'll notice only after reviewing my photos from a weekend trip, or even a day hike -- I'll hike up a trail, or drive past a view and snap a photo (as the passenger, when driving); then I'll snap the same picture on the way back down.
But back to Insta repeaters: it's pretty easy to copy good framing or structure, even without thinking of it as copying Tent opening as a frame, raising [something] or standing in a sunrise/set to say "I'm here, in this landscape," sounds like a solid photo. It's hard to do something really novel. And as I understand it, "Instagram Influencers" and similar social media "personalities" have to Post. All. The. Damned. Time. to keep up with their competition and keep logging views and likes, so being unique is really hard. As Jason wrote: "If I saw my tent flap hanging open to a beautiful mountain vista, of course I would take the hell out of that photo."
As a full time photographer who would love to stay one, I worry about most of this pretty much constantly.
I had passing fancies of becoming a full-time photographer, but I realize I'm not doing anything particularly special, especially given the sheer glut of digital photos shared now. But I can see a pro photographer's shot and realize "damn, they really nailed the framing, composition, and colors in this image." I imagine that this isn't quite the solace you're seeking, but I'd like to think that some percentage of the population recognizes that their casual photos don't match up to pro photos, even if the barrier to being able to take pro photos is greatly lowered from where it was in the decades past, before digital cameras and cell phones with good built-in cameras.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:14 PM on October 17, 2018
I've done that, but with my own photos. Worse, I'll notice only after reviewing my photos from a weekend trip, or even a day hike -- I'll hike up a trail, or drive past a view and snap a photo (as the passenger, when driving); then I'll snap the same picture on the way back down.
But back to Insta repeaters: it's pretty easy to copy good framing or structure, even without thinking of it as copying Tent opening as a frame, raising [something] or standing in a sunrise/set to say "I'm here, in this landscape," sounds like a solid photo. It's hard to do something really novel. And as I understand it, "Instagram Influencers" and similar social media "personalities" have to Post. All. The. Damned. Time. to keep up with their competition and keep logging views and likes, so being unique is really hard. As Jason wrote: "If I saw my tent flap hanging open to a beautiful mountain vista, of course I would take the hell out of that photo."
As a full time photographer who would love to stay one, I worry about most of this pretty much constantly.
I had passing fancies of becoming a full-time photographer, but I realize I'm not doing anything particularly special, especially given the sheer glut of digital photos shared now. But I can see a pro photographer's shot and realize "damn, they really nailed the framing, composition, and colors in this image." I imagine that this isn't quite the solace you're seeking, but I'd like to think that some percentage of the population recognizes that their casual photos don't match up to pro photos, even if the barrier to being able to take pro photos is greatly lowered from where it was in the decades past, before digital cameras and cell phones with good built-in cameras.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:14 PM on October 17, 2018
I've been taking photography classes every semester for the last four years and have enjoyed the heck out of them but I constantly get this feeling like I've signed on to a dying art form. I've found some solace in going backwards and shooting film, especially large format film and developing it myself. I'm not sure if that makes me an artist but it at least feels more like a real craft and like I'm really doing something.
posted by octothorpe at 1:27 PM on October 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 1:27 PM on October 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
I imagine that this isn't quite the solace you're seeking, but I'd like to think that some percentage of the population recognizes that their casual photos don't match up to pro photos, even if the barrier to being able to take pro photos is greatly lowered from where it was in the decades past, before digital cameras and cell phones with good built-in cameras.
So not only is the barrier greatly lowered, but most people have become very accustomed to garbage quality photos and video. Every time some cropped and compressed-halfway-to-hell video makes one of the big 3 networks marquee news shows, some big executive scratches his chin and says "why are we paying these ENG crews all this money?" and then sends a team of two interns out to do the same thing. I wish I was even exaggerating. The percentage of people who think they don't measure up to pros is vanishingly small.
Further, they literally have no idea what pros do. A friend of mine has been doing product photography for almost 40 years. Back in the day he made a shit ton of money with medium format cameras, lots of lights and a giant studio. Then there was a huge lull where he almost lost his business. Now he works for much less money, and he tells me that almost all of his business is people who weren't satisfied with the pics they were getting with their phones.
In my particular world (set photography/unit stills photography) most shows are perfectly content to have an intern or PA with a phone do a posed photo of their name star with A-list talent literally anywhere. Everyone sees poorly-lit selfie snapshots with celebs every day, so what's one more?
I could go on, but I need this laptop to work on photos tonight and I might *headdesk* it to death.
posted by nevercalm at 1:51 PM on October 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
So not only is the barrier greatly lowered, but most people have become very accustomed to garbage quality photos and video. Every time some cropped and compressed-halfway-to-hell video makes one of the big 3 networks marquee news shows, some big executive scratches his chin and says "why are we paying these ENG crews all this money?" and then sends a team of two interns out to do the same thing. I wish I was even exaggerating. The percentage of people who think they don't measure up to pros is vanishingly small.
Further, they literally have no idea what pros do. A friend of mine has been doing product photography for almost 40 years. Back in the day he made a shit ton of money with medium format cameras, lots of lights and a giant studio. Then there was a huge lull where he almost lost his business. Now he works for much less money, and he tells me that almost all of his business is people who weren't satisfied with the pics they were getting with their phones.
In my particular world (set photography/unit stills photography) most shows are perfectly content to have an intern or PA with a phone do a posed photo of their name star with A-list talent literally anywhere. Everyone sees poorly-lit selfie snapshots with celebs every day, so what's one more?
I could go on, but I need this laptop to work on photos tonight and I might *headdesk* it to death.
posted by nevercalm at 1:51 PM on October 17, 2018 [3 favorites]
Photography has never been more alive. The fact that people with ideas and no formal skills can make well exposed sharp photos with their phones is wonderful. Sure, most photos suck, but most of anything sucks. I teach photography and am amazed how fast students can get to where they are shooting ideas rather than spend forever learning how to load a roll of film on a reel to develop it. Photography is changing, but what isn't?
posted by cccorlew at 1:52 PM on October 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by cccorlew at 1:52 PM on October 17, 2018 [11 favorites]
I've been told repeatedly that I should submit some photos for competitions, but I don't see anything special about my stuff other than it looked cool so I shot it. Sometimes I'll get an inspiration while staring at a scene, sometimes it doesn't even look good but I wanted to capture the moment until after I'm reviewing it later. I assume this is the same for the vast majority of people on Instagram and Flickr. It's very noticeable though that most don't think all that much about this stuff and just post away. It sure does saturate what we consider "photography" nowadays, but like everyone else has concluded, that's the new normal.
TLDR: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by numaner at 2:22 PM on October 17, 2018
TLDR: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by numaner at 2:22 PM on October 17, 2018
I think it’s nice that most everybody with a phone can take photos now, especially for political reasons. I also think it leads to memetic trends within a very niche industry. How many people actually work as Instagram influencers or whatever? I’ve been taking photos for 16 years, I could 100% take any of those photos if I had the opportunity to, but is anybody going to pay me to do that? I doubt it.
And that’s the other part of this: having the opportunity/privilege to drive your jeep out to some desolate environment, spend the night (or multiple nights), and take cliche photos the entire time. I’m really curious as to how this works for some of these people. I know some influencers are getting paid by companies and have to be constantly uploading content, but all the other people, are they just rich? Do they have society jobs? Or are they just driving out to these spots, taking the photos, then immediately leaving? There are some places in Oregon I could get to in a few hours, spend just a single night, and then pack up and come home, but it’d be miserable to do so because I’m trying to camp. I want multiple days out in the wilderness. But then I guess if the wilderness is nothing but a cash grab for you, or a “like”, that doesn’t matter.
posted by gucci mane at 4:05 PM on October 17, 2018
And that’s the other part of this: having the opportunity/privilege to drive your jeep out to some desolate environment, spend the night (or multiple nights), and take cliche photos the entire time. I’m really curious as to how this works for some of these people. I know some influencers are getting paid by companies and have to be constantly uploading content, but all the other people, are they just rich? Do they have society jobs? Or are they just driving out to these spots, taking the photos, then immediately leaving? There are some places in Oregon I could get to in a few hours, spend just a single night, and then pack up and come home, but it’d be miserable to do so because I’m trying to camp. I want multiple days out in the wilderness. But then I guess if the wilderness is nothing but a cash grab for you, or a “like”, that doesn’t matter.
posted by gucci mane at 4:05 PM on October 17, 2018
For me, photography gets me out of the house. It's a good thing. Taking photos and posting them on Instagram is one of the things that's gotten me walking farther and faster than I might otherwise have been at this stage of post-op ankle-fracture healing. I started the account 3 years ago because I'd become involved in a specific Instagram subculture, and bit by bit I just started taking and posting more photos altogether. I'm close to wrapping up a 365 photo project way early this year (though for a while I had to resort to posting never-shared photos from previous years to keep it going while I couldn't leave my house). For me, it's a creative pursuit that gives me an opportunity to practice mindfulness while improving my skills, and when I couldn't leave the house, Instagram was a window to the world.
That said, it's also definitely part of what led to my breaking my ankle in the first place, as I was on vacation and left my deck chair to climb the nearby tower one last time at sunset with the hope of getting a good shot. On the way back down, I slipped, 6 steps from the bottom of the spiral staircase. I know it was 6 steps because I'd halted my descent entirely to stand still and take a photo right before that, of the curve of the bottom of the staircase. So it's not like I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, but I still slipped, in this freak accident that happened while I was out there taking photos. I'll never know exactly how it happened or why I slipped or whether my trick ankle (my original trick ankle, anyway) just went out or what. But here I am, and my Instagram account is definitely part of the story.
When I was in the hospital for a week, then stuck in my house for the better part of a few months thereafter, I had a lot of time to think and look through the photos from that hiking trip. One train of thought I had was that this was what I got for chasing waterfalls, so to speak—from pushing myself to take photos of interesting hiking trails and great sunsets so I could post them on Instagram and project this image of myself as some kind of avid outdoorswoman, in shape and adventurous and desirable as a friend and companion as a result. (Though ironically, it wasn't the hiking that got me, but rather the tower perhaps 100 yards from the lodge.) I've had to keep reminding myself that it was a freak accident, and most likely not some divine retribution for overreaching like Icarus.
But as with many situations before where I suddenly found myself on the outside of some trend or mode of being I'd wanted to emulate, entirely unable to participate, this all did force me to notice and reflect upon similar performative behavior in others. I'm currently a bit triggered by and hypersensitive to this sort of performative behavior with regard to fitness and diet and all that—maybe I have been for a while, to be honest, but this has only heightened it. This makes me feel a bit sad for people who derive so much meaning in their lives and so much of their identity from their physical abilities and photos of their lifestyle, from being seen the right way, by whoever the right people might be. All of that is so easily lost in an instant, and time and age play tricks on us all. And as this post from a day ago notes, Instagram can also be a cesspool of harassment.
Everything else aside, I love photography, and I have for a long time. I've always been an artist of one sort or another, raised by two artists from the get-go, and I love that Instagram provides such a sense of community and connection and inspiration and positivity around this art form. I naturally have mixed feelings about it, as do I think most people who've spent a lot of time with it. But I also get a lot of joy from it.
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 PM on October 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
That said, it's also definitely part of what led to my breaking my ankle in the first place, as I was on vacation and left my deck chair to climb the nearby tower one last time at sunset with the hope of getting a good shot. On the way back down, I slipped, 6 steps from the bottom of the spiral staircase. I know it was 6 steps because I'd halted my descent entirely to stand still and take a photo right before that, of the curve of the bottom of the staircase. So it's not like I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, but I still slipped, in this freak accident that happened while I was out there taking photos. I'll never know exactly how it happened or why I slipped or whether my trick ankle (my original trick ankle, anyway) just went out or what. But here I am, and my Instagram account is definitely part of the story.
When I was in the hospital for a week, then stuck in my house for the better part of a few months thereafter, I had a lot of time to think and look through the photos from that hiking trip. One train of thought I had was that this was what I got for chasing waterfalls, so to speak—from pushing myself to take photos of interesting hiking trails and great sunsets so I could post them on Instagram and project this image of myself as some kind of avid outdoorswoman, in shape and adventurous and desirable as a friend and companion as a result. (Though ironically, it wasn't the hiking that got me, but rather the tower perhaps 100 yards from the lodge.) I've had to keep reminding myself that it was a freak accident, and most likely not some divine retribution for overreaching like Icarus.
But as with many situations before where I suddenly found myself on the outside of some trend or mode of being I'd wanted to emulate, entirely unable to participate, this all did force me to notice and reflect upon similar performative behavior in others. I'm currently a bit triggered by and hypersensitive to this sort of performative behavior with regard to fitness and diet and all that—maybe I have been for a while, to be honest, but this has only heightened it. This makes me feel a bit sad for people who derive so much meaning in their lives and so much of their identity from their physical abilities and photos of their lifestyle, from being seen the right way, by whoever the right people might be. All of that is so easily lost in an instant, and time and age play tricks on us all. And as this post from a day ago notes, Instagram can also be a cesspool of harassment.
Everything else aside, I love photography, and I have for a long time. I've always been an artist of one sort or another, raised by two artists from the get-go, and I love that Instagram provides such a sense of community and connection and inspiration and positivity around this art form. I naturally have mixed feelings about it, as do I think most people who've spent a lot of time with it. But I also get a lot of joy from it.
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 PM on October 17, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think it’s nice that most everybody with a phone can take photos now, especially for political reasons. I also think it leads to memetic trends within a very niche industry. How many people actually work as Instagram influencers or whatever? I’ve been taking photos for 16 years, I could 100% take any of those photos if I had the opportunity to, but is anybody going to pay me to do that? I doubt it.
I think that's part of what's interesting about the current place photography finds itself. I mean, 150 years ago photography was a rich person's play thing and something involving a chemical process that had a good chance of killing you. Then it moved to the box brownie, so it was there if you wanted it. Most people still didn't want it though.
Now? You're practically handed a camera at birth if you live in a developed country.
So originally being successful in photography was a case of "you have to be a bit nuts to try this", to "you have to be able to afford it", then "you have to want to do it", then "you have to be there". Now it's a case of "you have to have an idea". At least if you want to stand out, because everyone is everywhere all of the time with a camera and taking exceptionally well composed, nicely exposed, sharp, beautiful photos isn't going to get you anywhere in the art world because that's no longer interesting. In fact it's utterly mundane, calling yourself an "influencer" doesn't change this.
This is the point the OG link is highlighting. There's some interesting work out there, just ignore the self-proclaimed "influencers".
posted by lawrencium at 12:03 AM on October 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think that's part of what's interesting about the current place photography finds itself. I mean, 150 years ago photography was a rich person's play thing and something involving a chemical process that had a good chance of killing you. Then it moved to the box brownie, so it was there if you wanted it. Most people still didn't want it though.
Now? You're practically handed a camera at birth if you live in a developed country.
So originally being successful in photography was a case of "you have to be a bit nuts to try this", to "you have to be able to afford it", then "you have to want to do it", then "you have to be there". Now it's a case of "you have to have an idea". At least if you want to stand out, because everyone is everywhere all of the time with a camera and taking exceptionally well composed, nicely exposed, sharp, beautiful photos isn't going to get you anywhere in the art world because that's no longer interesting. In fact it's utterly mundane, calling yourself an "influencer" doesn't change this.
This is the point the OG link is highlighting. There's some interesting work out there, just ignore the self-proclaimed "influencers".
posted by lawrencium at 12:03 AM on October 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
I’m a photographer and I LOVE that everyone has a camera. It’s amazing. It’s mind-blowing. It will change photography, eventually (it has, but slowly). I WANT to see everyone’s point of view.
I do a lot of party photography and so often people are like, oh I bet you hate phone cameras! No, I love them. It’s different, it’s immediate, it’s intimate. You’ll take a different picture of your friends than I will.
I’m a professional because I’m reliable and can deal with any problem and I can get you what you want, not because I’m the one who’s rich enough to afford a camera.
(I have so much more to say and these links are all great, thank you)
posted by jeweled accumulation at 5:57 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
I do a lot of party photography and so often people are like, oh I bet you hate phone cameras! No, I love them. It’s different, it’s immediate, it’s intimate. You’ll take a different picture of your friends than I will.
I’m a professional because I’m reliable and can deal with any problem and I can get you what you want, not because I’m the one who’s rich enough to afford a camera.
(I have so much more to say and these links are all great, thank you)
posted by jeweled accumulation at 5:57 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
jeweled accumulation: I WANT to see everyone’s point of view.
I love this idea, and the fact that decent-to-great cell phone cameras makes this so much more of a reality, especially paired with free-to-share image hosting platforms.
About 15 years ago, I got a "prosumer" Canon and because I was going on an extended trip, I also got a funky little digital wallet to extend my compact flash card with a 3 GB external hard drive. On another trip, I backed up my photos at a little internet cafe that had CD burners. Now my phone already has more built-in storage than that device, AND it automatically backs up its images when I have WiFi access, and I have "free" "unlimited" storage.
Then at my wedding 11 years ago, we put "disposable" cameras at every reception table because we wanted everyone to take silly photos, in addition to the professional photographer (with two assistants) we had also hired. With that, we got a bunch of goofy, personal photos from our friends and family. You can probably get that with weddings now, but there's not the explicit ask for photos (though we also got a few CDs of digital photos from friends, even then).
posted by filthy light thief at 8:14 AM on October 18, 2018
I love this idea, and the fact that decent-to-great cell phone cameras makes this so much more of a reality, especially paired with free-to-share image hosting platforms.
About 15 years ago, I got a "prosumer" Canon and because I was going on an extended trip, I also got a funky little digital wallet to extend my compact flash card with a 3 GB external hard drive. On another trip, I backed up my photos at a little internet cafe that had CD burners. Now my phone already has more built-in storage than that device, AND it automatically backs up its images when I have WiFi access, and I have "free" "unlimited" storage.
Then at my wedding 11 years ago, we put "disposable" cameras at every reception table because we wanted everyone to take silly photos, in addition to the professional photographer (with two assistants) we had also hired. With that, we got a bunch of goofy, personal photos from our friends and family. You can probably get that with weddings now, but there's not the explicit ask for photos (though we also got a few CDs of digital photos from friends, even then).
posted by filthy light thief at 8:14 AM on October 18, 2018
And one additional note on the self-shredding Banksy: Love is in the Bin should have fully shredded -- the test runs all worked flawlessly, but there was a technical issue and the shredder stopped part-way (which makes it look even better, IMO, particularly with regard to the title)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:42 AM on October 18, 2018
posted by filthy light thief at 8:42 AM on October 18, 2018
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posted by octothorpe at 12:58 PM on October 17, 2018 [4 favorites]