# Do you "believe in" of photgraphy?



## tirediron (Aug 6, 2016)

What a stupid question, of course I do.  I've seen photographs, photography exists, ergo, I believe in it.  

Well...  no, that's not quite what I meant.  Do you believe in the power of photography?  Aside from all the platitudes that those of us who try and earn a couple of bucks in this game put on our websites about "creating and preserving memories" and such, do you, as a person, believe that a photograph, even if it's not a great portrait by the likes of HCB has the power to have a significant impact on people (nb:  I'm primarily referring to photographs of close family members, not "great portraits") and to be or become something genuinely treasured rather than just a nice of memory of how we looked back then?

Why, or why not.  Discuss.


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## Gary A. (Aug 6, 2016)

The ability to capture a fraction of a second in time and then freeze it for possibly all of eternity, is a very very powerful instrument.  Unleashing the potential power of photography rests solely in the operator and not in the instrument or the process.


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## tecboy (Aug 6, 2016)

I still keep my old photographs that are blurry, underexposed, overexposed, and a lot of noises.


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## baturn (Aug 6, 2016)

I have family photos that go back to the turn of the last century. They have helped give four generations a sense of belonging to something. I continue to try to keep it going. I hope my kids and their kids do the same. Knowing who you are comes from knowing where you came from, and photos are an important part of this.


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## Overread (Aug 6, 2016)

Sure but I suspect that on the whole the majority of photos that have a real life impact to people are not the kind that get displayed in galleries. That shot of someone cheating on their wife; that mugshot; the photo of someone stealing from a shop et c.... Those are true life-changing photographs that impact upon peoples lives every single day. 

Photos still have power; but I think starving children, destroyed rainforest, oil coated seabirds. They still have impact, but we are bombarded by such images so regularly today that they have less and less effect. Now what has greater impact are those showing successful transformations from poverty to normality; regrowth; clean beaches etc... Success not just failure. 

Photos impacts us every day and much of it we won't even realise.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 6, 2016)

Today, photography is a form of self expression available to anyone. Photography can be an intimate and meaningful method of communication.


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## table1349 (Aug 6, 2016)

I believe that sometimes you gotta wreck the truck to get the insurance money to make the truck payment.

I believe that guns don't kill people, husbands that come home early do.

I believe that if you want to wear a thong, you should have to go through an application process.

I Believe, that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade. And try to find somebody who's life gives them vodka, and have a party.

I believe you show me a three year old running around a flea market in his underpants drinking Coca-Cola out of a baby bottle, and I'll show you a future NASCAR fan.

 I believe... that Britney Spears should be one of Baskin Robbins' 31 flavors.

 I believe that the way to a man's heart is not through his stomach. It's a little further south.

I believe that the phrase "time in a bottle" refers to the amount of beer you can drink before last call.

I believe that ignorance of the law is no excuse, and I'm quoting a New York City judge on this one.

I believe the only thing worse than having diarrhea is trying to have it quietly in a public bathroom.

I believe that if you let somebody cut in front of you in traffic and they don't give you the little "wave", it should be perfectly legal to get up underneath 'em, get 'em loose, and put 'em into the wall.

I believe that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can not baptize cats.


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## pixmedic (Aug 6, 2016)

photos are so 19th century. 
video is the now. 
Images sent and stored directly to brain-drives (AKA-grey boxes) are the future.


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## chuasam (Aug 6, 2016)

Some times (more like always), the only way I can remember vacations I have taken and the wonderful feelings that accompanied is to look at my old photographs. In that sense, the cellphone camera reigns supreme because it is always with me.
I would 10/10 pick a photo that makes me smile vs a photo that satisfies the inane tastes of this forum.


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## chuasam (Aug 6, 2016)

pixmedic said:


> photos are so 19th century.
> video is the now.
> Images sent and stored directly to brain-drives (AKA-grey boxes) are the future.


Where can I get one?


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## pixmedic (Aug 6, 2016)

chuasam said:


> pixmedic said:
> 
> 
> > photos are so 19th century.
> ...



in the future?
the only place that survives the franchise war, of course...
WalMart.


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## table1349 (Aug 6, 2016)

pixmedic said:


> chuasam said:
> 
> 
> > pixmedic said:
> ...


Oh Great, you mean this is the kind of thing I can look forward to???


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## chuasam (Aug 6, 2016)

Image #3 is kinda hawt


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## table1349 (Aug 6, 2016)

chuasam said:


> Image #3 is kinda hawt








She looks like a hooker that the Crayola Crayon factory threw up on.


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## chuasam (Aug 6, 2016)

gryphonslair99 said:


> chuasam said:
> 
> 
> > Image #3 is kinda hawt
> ...



Yes, it's called being young and not a fossilized old fart. Also, Go look up images from Vancouver's Pride Parade.


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## table1349 (Aug 6, 2016)

chuasam said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
> 
> 
> > chuasam said:
> ...



I did and none of these women look anything like that Walmart mess.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2921/14822082932_310753c9db_b.jpg

http://images.glaciermedia.ca/polop..._gen/derivatives/original_size/pride-2013.jpg

http://thesociables.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/20130804Pride011.jpg


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## table1349 (Aug 6, 2016)

tirediron said:


> What a stupid question, of course I do.  I've seen photographs, photography exists, ergo, I believe in it.
> 
> Well...  no, that's not quite what I meant.  Do you believe in the power of photography?  Aside from all the platitudes that those of us who try and earn a couple of bucks in this game put on our websites about "creating and preserving memories" and such, do you, as a person, believe that a photograph, even if it's not a great portrait by the likes of HCB has the power to have a significant impact on people (nb:  I'm primarily referring to photographs of close family members, not "great portraits") and to be or become something genuinely treasured rather than just a nice of memory of how we looked back then?
> 
> Why, or why not.  Discuss.


On a serious note, Photography is what it is.  Different for every individual.  For some photos may have meaning, for others they may just be a thing of enjoyment.  Sadly for some they can even be things of great displeasure or even hate.  One's view of life and what is important to the individual as well as their history is going to greatly influence how they perceive many things including photographs.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 6, 2016)

Oh no, here we go again....


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## chuasam (Aug 6, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> Oh no, here we go again....


Be nice now or the Walmart yokels will be voting for the short fingered Cheeto in Nov.


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## imagemaker46 (Aug 23, 2016)

Photos preserve moments. I have always said that what I shoot are not my memories, they are the memories of the people I shoot.   I remember when the photos were shot, but they mean less to me than the people in the photos.   I hear at least once a week from the pro football players I shoot how much they mean to them and their families, that's enough for me.


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## JoeW (Aug 24, 2016)

Yes, I do.  Not b/c I"m a photographer.

I believe in the power of still photography as an art form.  And the single best illustration I can think of is this:  there was moving picture film taken of the second flag raising over Iwo Jima.  Google it.  It's nice.  But it's not very inspirational.  A bunch of guys raising a flag.  Happens quickly and it's over.  Not much to note to it.  And I've seen other artistic depictions of the same event (the roof of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico VA is a nice architectural statement for instance). Now, look at Joe Rosenthal's picture of the exact same event....except it's still photography.  And it's a gut punch it's so powerful.  I've seen video of the time and location when RFK was shot...the sound of the shots, the chaos, the shouts.  But I've seen Bill Eppridge's stills of the exact same event.  Some of Eppridge's work (particularly the Fillipino bus boy kneeling down next to the mortally wounded Robert Kennedy, looking up helplessly, unsure of what to do) is so freaking powerful.  I watched her swim in real time and in video, I've commentators at the Olympics talk about her remarkable performance but to me, the definitive explanation of the utter dominance of Katie Ledecky are the still photos showing her either lapping the pool (she is swimming in one direction and 5 other swimmers are going the other way) or a distance shot that looks as if she's swimming by herself.  Powerful stuff...and watching it real time or on tape didn't convey that complete utter dominance in her field to me that the still work did.

My point is not that video or moving pictures (or other depictions of an event or statement) pale next to still photography.  It's that you can look at a range of different art forms of the same message or event.  Sometimes you'll pick video or a sculpture or a painting (Picasso's Guernica is a great example) as the definitive statement that just grabs you and won't let go.  But often times it's a still photo.  That's for a variety of reasons.  That ability to unnaturally stop the motion at a key moment, allows us to focus, won't let us move on or gloss over what is happening (Capa's shot of the Spaniard that's just been shot), or the knowing of what comes next from the photo (like the story where the ending isn't explicit...the protagonist heads off to the gunfight and we already know he is going to die...but he doesn't know)....that ability can move us in ways at times that are superior to other art forms.


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## TamingRoman (Aug 24, 2016)

And that is what you have to hang on to.  Some funny photos here.


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## unpopular (Aug 24, 2016)

chuasam said:


> Image #3 is kinda hawt



The camera phone has been a great tool for passive bullies to humiliate people anonymously in a socially acceptable manner.

Without this, these bullies wouldn't have a voice. It's really been a great thing to further democratize cruelty and body shaming.

You know, though. I am ok with #2.


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