This idea is out there all the time and particularly been on my mind lately. Apparently I’m not the only one as these recent ruminations elaborate.

The first from Jim Casper on lenscultureweblog on the cover image of French mag Enjeux. The prejudice and political nuances of the image seem misleading at best.

The second is slightly older but has a far better title. At photodoto.com – photographers are visual liars delves into the concept of advertising, using an images to sell something, as an example as well.

And lastly, Hollywood Makeovers, Frame by Frame an NPR report covering the film industry is completely compatible with still photography today. This is a great synapsis of how an industry and the public in general have become used to this ‘evolution’ of truth. The idea that “some stars now have digital coloring written into their contracts” doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, I’ve had a similar clause relating to ICC profiles of delivered files in our Delivery Memos for a years.

To quote photographer Kyle Cassidy,

“Photography is about lies just as much as it is about the truth. We use photography to tell partial truths and thereby to create an imaginary reality. Sure models look like that, but they look like that for 1/125th of a second, and sometimes after two hours of makeup. Sure the landscape looks like that, but only if you stand in a particular place. Sure she was floating three feet in the air, but not for a terribly long time.
In a world where truth can be so discouraging, we all like to be lied to a little about the way that things could be.”

In the end, this job/passion/art/drive to photograph is in it’s simplest form a means of translation. Just the way that high level political interpreters may slightly shift tenses & conjugations to better reflect the most minute inflections of a leaders intentions, it is our job to translate the world as it is, or as we see it, or as clients would like to portray it to an authentic two dimensional representation.

Perhaps my concept of translation is skewed due to a travel and language background but I’ve always felt this conviction. What’s the Czech proverb – learn a new language get a new soul. And it’s gaining prominence, even in the current Lowepro catalog as long time color man Eric Meola is quoted as,

“I found myself transfixed by those eyes. My own eyes became the translator, my way into other worlds; it was if I no longer held a camera in front of me. For the first time I couldn’t remember having made certain photographs, because I hadn’t made them. They had made themselves.”

As a location photographer, I think the best thing one can do is bring back 1/125th of the truth ….. and run with it.

Interesting piece in the NY Times magazine this AM though it wasn’t the title that caught me. It was the subtitle – Photo Finish : In a curious reversal, an innovation travels from the mainstream to the creative fringe – and disappears. Written by Rob Walker, it covers the news that’s been out for a few weeks but is just starting to sink in.

Not many examples of anything moving from mainstream to fringe and then disappearing in any field these days. It’s always the other way around, especially with marketing teams and research groups feeding off the independent creations and fads of the Y generation and it’s tech savy masses. If you think about it it’s downright crazy, definite Wired magazine material. The very definition of innovation revolves around the concept of making something new or introducing new ideas, i.e., those outside the mainstream.

Curious how Polaroid has shaped the industry, basically providing the climate of instant feedback that has only escalated today. Would commercial shoots today rely on having a 30″ Mac screen onsite for AD review, would studios have to work wirelessly to provide clients with a chance to participate in the process if Polaroid hadn’t started that process back in the day?

At one time photography was the only one among all the arts where the process couldn’t be altered while it was occurring. Sure one can move objects, change position or shift models but once the button is pushed, that’s it. Think about it, when you paint or draw or write you have the ability to erase a small part or take a step back in order to keep the whole in line with an idea. That has forever changed.

Being a Polaroid fan myself I’m definitely looking to stock up on film and keep using mine for years. Picked up my current model in 2000 at a piano store for $15 and have carried it around and used it for years. In fact those are some of the best travel images and memories I have. Huge disappoint and loss of history to see the Polaroid going away.

And Polaroid has history – it’s been around since 1948 after being founded by a Harvard dropout. Was on the cover of Time magazine with the headline “Here Come Those Great New Cameras”. Ansel Adams was a one time consultant. And who hasn’t been on a high end shoot without using Polaroids (at least up until five years ago).

The brand has since moved into agreements putting it’s name on various products and has even expressed a willingness to license its technology to interested parties but so far no takers. Quoting the article,

“The creative fringe that still loves instant photography does not seem to be satisfied with this. That