Sejanus.Aelianus
Veteran
I agree. I owned a paperback of "On Photography" and made several attempts to read it, with very little success. Not much in the essays agreed with my own experience and I really didn't enjoy her writing style, so I donated it to a charity shop.
goamules
Well-known
The purpose of most "image captures" is to Prove I Was There. A Kodak Brownie, 110 Instamatic, or Smartphone works nicely. You can quickly find 1950s Kodachrome "selfies" or vacation pics in front of the Eiffel Tower, that look the same as cellphone shots this week. That's what his article is about, how he decided he didn't want to be a photographer, but wants to "prove" where he is and what he's doing.
On social media, I find it very boring to know what my friends are eating for dinner, or that they're munching on Doritos. Every shot of my poor nieces (both in their 20s) are IDENTICAL - hand on hip, faked red-eye and muted colors via Instagram. The only thing that changes is the CAPTION - "Having Lobster at Roberts!" "At the beach in Cancun!" "having drinks at XYZ club!" etc. Proving - they were there. It's not Photography.
Image Capture = Proving I was there
Photography = Invoking an emotion from the subject
On social media, I find it very boring to know what my friends are eating for dinner, or that they're munching on Doritos. Every shot of my poor nieces (both in their 20s) are IDENTICAL - hand on hip, faked red-eye and muted colors via Instagram. The only thing that changes is the CAPTION - "Having Lobster at Roberts!" "At the beach in Cancun!" "having drinks at XYZ club!" etc. Proving - they were there. It's not Photography.
Image Capture = Proving I was there
Photography = Invoking an emotion from the subject