- What does Ritchin mean with the “fluidity of the digital”? Give an example of digital imaging/digital photography that exemplifies this.
by “fluidity of the digital” Ritchin highlights the wide range of ways to manipulate the digital image, especially if viewed in contrast with the film/paper photography. for example, a “digital artwork” created by merging two images together by Alex Goljakov.
- Reflect on the extent to which photography is capable of capturing reality; and compare it to other media (technology) (e.g. text, video, virtual reality, books).
from my perspective, photography is one of the mediums that, if needed, is definitely capable of depicting reality. surely, unedited video or books might be a bit more elaborate on that as they tend to carry a more information – wether it’s written or visual – however photography certainly remains a way to do that. in my opinion, digital photography that was manipulated to the extent where the perceived imagery is completely different from the originally depicted object or scenery should not be regarded as photography – it should be digital art. virtual reality, following the same logic, should be also referred to as digital art.
photography, to my mind, is a depiction of the moment: something that a person could see with their own eyes if they were there. any further editing, with or without the use of technology should, by the definition, moving the image to another kind of art making practice.
speaking of staged photography, however, i still believe that it, as long as not manipulated in any editing program, should also be considered photography as it depicts, even though carefully chosen and, one could say, “fake” reality. it is still, despite being intentionally outlined, an embodiment of reality.
the revolutionary approach to digital photography that we have been observing for decades now is changing the way we perceive images. in my own experience, i unconsciously started doubting every picture i see. this made me realize how much my perception of how images are created changed.