Blog Response #3

#3 “Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals. Write a brief reaction to this quote. Is this quote applicable to your experience with photography? What does it mean to you? Do you agree with the idea presented or disagree?

I completely agree with this quote. We have a unique opportunity, as photographers, to capture images and situations in the way we want and necessarily as they are. There are many great examples of this, but I think the most obvious can be found in situations surrounding political unrest. As an avid follower of the news, I gather information and photographs from many different news sources. It is amazing to me to see how different sources portray (in pictures) how situations are happening. In some instances, small protests appear to be HUGE and overbearing. In other instances very violent altercations are downplayed.

I think it is our responsibility as photographers to capture reality and not what we perceive to be what the viewer should see. In our world today, everyone has an opinion - It is incumbent upon us to be as close to reality as we can. To take an opposing perspective, it is also important to capture a more artistic perspective and give viewers and escape. I dont see these two objectives as mutually exclusive.