The_Art_of_Seeing

We live in a world where we constantly use our perceptiveness and intuition to grasp and portray our feelings towards our environment. But it is equally important to use our senses of judgement to “see” from all ambivalent perspectives and viewpoints, through both the lens of a camera and the naked eye of a human alike. Photography is a powerful representation of the world that depicts attitude, feeling, and the aesthetic beauty that is uniquely induced within each individual. It also has had a significant impact on influencing public opinion, sometimes through controversial and manipulative methods, and can even be compared to painting to concretely define photography as an art. To fully appreciate photography as a representation of the world, one must be connected to photographs in an emotional and passionate way. Photographs possess symbolic content that can be discerned by aesthetic beauty, as well as emotion. This emotion impacts our judgement and perception of what we see and feel. Emotions transform and morph into photographs that captivate “a nick of geologic time,” as Momaday presents in his essay, “Shadow Catcher” (30). To create appeal and have effective photographs, photographers sometimes have to shock or even mortify their audience. Usually, images that remain distinct are those that are the most compelling and the most horrifying, leaving important imprints in our minds. A memorable photograph must have impact, a visual impression which provokes something within a person looking at a picture. It can be a feeling of vexation or a feeling of affection, evoking an emotional response that haunts us and causes us to ponder. Vietnam war pictures are a quintessence of reality that were seen by the whole world within days of being captured. Many of these images were disturbing and had a profound effect on peoples’ stances on war, moving the world tremendously (“Impact”). The impact of photography through the years has been monumental in influencing public opinion, documenting disasters and events, and showing us war in all of its alarming aspects. Many war photographers tried to enhance one’s perspective of war by taking graphic photographs to help prevent future wars (“Impact”). But many times the works of photojournalists and commercial photographers, greatly influence public opinion through manipulation, which has become a heated topic of controversy. For example, Brian Walski, a staff photographer covering the war in Iraq was fired by the LA Times for using Photoshop to combine two separate war photographs and presenting them as one. While admitting to the manipulation, he used this specific effect to create more impact, and in this case, it did; portraying a U.S. troop in a hostile and threatening way towards the Iraqis ("About").This kind of manipulation is as old as photography itself and the idea of a photograph possessing intrinsic realism and authenticity is becoming less evident; contaminated photographs are hard to detect. From the first recorded case of photo manipulation in the early 1860‘s, when a photo of Abraham Lincoln was altered using the body from a portrait of John C. Calhoun and the head of Lincoln from a famous seated portrait by Mathew Brady (which was the basis for the original Lincoln Five-dollar bill) to improving body image by the use Photoshop on top-named magazines have become a common practice worldwide. Photo manipulation will continue to be regularly used to deceive or persuade viewers, or for improved story-telling and self-expression (Photo Manipulation). But this manipulation must also be defined as an art, because one must have an “eye” for enhancing or broadening one’s perspective. The increasing popularity of photo manipulation has raised much concern as to whether it allows for unrealistic images to be portrayed to the public. In her article, “On Photography,” Susan Sontag examines the impartiality, or open-mindedness in photography, deducing that "photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored and tricked out.” (34) This is a practice that is commonly used in the magazine industry to alter body image, sell products, or create a certain message to an audience, which sometimes can be controversial (“Fine”). For example, during the trial of O.J. Simpson, Time magazine received widespread criticism for manipulating a cover photograph of O.J. Simpson's police “mug-shot” — intentionally altered to make Simpson appear darker and more terrifying. Not only were there concerns in connection to Simpson's right to a fair trial, but these images also fed public debate about racial stereotyping and prejudice (Photographic). Authentic photographs have evolved into manipulated photographs primarily because they portray individual expression, captivating a perspective that is not visually or physically tangible. It is a way of thinking outside your comfort zone and embracing your imagination, rendering an extraordinary effect on an intended audience. Our sensitivity of familiarity contributes to this modification. The human brain wants to envisage new things that allows an audience to ponder and learn more about themselves and their surroundings. As stated in Patterson’s “Barriers to Seeing,” familiarity is a sight barrier that causes labeling. For example, children fundamentally think in pictures rather than words. But once they are engaged in learning at school, this approach is not incorporated within most curriculums, and children become less of a visual thinker. We stop imagining things freely and put word labels on them instead (27). To grasp emotion and create expression from a photograph, it is imperative to consider photography as an art. Art is defined as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance” (“Art”). In agreement to this definition, photography enkindles various qualities and characteristics, both aesthetically and emotionally. Photography can be used as wall decor, to delineate a message, communicate to an audience through personal appeal, or even as a keepsake to preserve your greatest memories. As a photographer and a painter, looking through the lens of a camera and using your imagination to create a scene are very similar and very different. With a camera, it records everything in its field of view, limiting yourself to certain concrete barriers - you snapshot a scene directly in front of you, using nature and manmade objects as your sense of imagination. With a canvas and a paint brush, you abstractly think of dexterous ways to capture the best perspective. But both photography and painting have three vital things in common - discovering an appropriate and creative perspective that will capture attention, the use of manipulation to render a specific effect, and establishing a meaning that will enkindle emotion. With photography and painting, I persistently manipulate my compositions to achieve its greatest potential impact, allowing others to interpret my artwork ambiguously. This is what makes all art so unique in creating a representation of the world. In conclusion, through the impact of photography, we can reminisce and recall a nostalgic moment from our childhood and adulthood. Photographs evoke emotion and epitomize the greatest and worst times in history. Because a photograph can capture and restore any facet of life, we can easily make our memories forever permanent. Through a photograph we have a record not only of our past, but of our present as well. We can consider the medium of photography to be a prime witness and recorder of the world, and the life we have fashioned upon it.