Assignment: In Our Own Image Reading Response

Fluidity of the Digital:
Ritchin likely refers to the malleability of digital images, how they can be easily altered, combined, and manipulated. An example of this is the concept of “photoshopping,” where elements of a photograph can be edited or even entirely fabricated. The fluidity of the digital means that images can be shaped to convey different narratives or emotions, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

Ritchin’s work challenges the traditional notion that photography captures an objective reality. Digital photography, with its capacity for manipulation, raises questions about the authenticity of images. In contrast, text, while subjective, relies on interpretation and is less immediate in conveying visual information. Video, virtual reality, and books each have their unique ways of presenting reality, but photography stands out for its ability to capture a single frozen moment. However, even this frozen moment can be easily manipulated in the digital age.

Photography’s Capability to Capture Reality:
The term, less is more differentiates photography from other forms of media. A song can take up to five minutes of your time, a movie for two hours, and a book for several days. A powerful photograph will immerse you in a story worth a million words in a mere second. Take the world-famous portrait photo of Che Guevara, Guerrillero Heroico. Anyone with a hint of knowledge in political history will recognize the photo as the face of freedom and liberation. Even to a naive audience, the sheer determination and yearning for a brighter future on Guevara’s face is enough to inspire them. There is no book, no movie, and no song that can beat Guerrillero Heroico at representing who Che Guevara meant to the world.