The Image World

"Photography, which has so many narcissistic uses, is also a powerful instrument for depersonalizing our relation to the world; and the two uses are complementary. Like a pair of binoculars with no right or wrong end, the camera makes exotic things near, intimate; and familiar things small, abstract, strange, much farther away." - Susan Sontag

I found this quote to be interesting because it truly illustrates the "double-edged sword" of photography. I don't believe Susan Sontag had any idea how much this would ring true almost four decades after she wrote it. The camera, if only by design, is objective. The photographer, however, still has the ability to manipulate how the subject is perceived. In an information age complemented by pervasive technological advancements, depersonalization has simply become one of the many by-products of photography. Photographs and media combined are responsible for creating an unnatural, coincidentally unattainable standard by which our lives are measured. Photographs of models, for example, depict people as objects who, in spite of undergoing extensive work via image editing software, are considered to be the epitome of beauty. Pictures of seemingly "perfect" families in middle-class American suburbia, complete with a neatly groomed lawn and well-behaved dog, have made any family outside of this mold feel strange, abnormal, and sometimes even broken. The disturbing truth of the matter is that we, as people, have allowed photographs to make us believe that what we see in pictures must be equivalent to what we live in reality. Unfortunately, the bitter truth is that giving such merit to a flimsy piece of paper provides for a dissatisfying life and an inevitable feeling of emptiness.

"But some trace of the magic remains: for example, in our reluctance to tear up or throw away the photograph of a loved one, especially of someone dead or far away. To do so is a ruthless gesture of rejection." - Susan Sontag

This quote actually precedes the first quote and yet I chose to write about it last so as to demonstrate a silver lining. I don't believe that photographs are evil by nature, instead I seek to use them sparingly and to understand, as with everything in life, that they are simply a mere piece of something much more vast and complex. I like this quote, however, because it serves as evidence of our humanity and it gives me hope for our future. I don't believe Sontag, at least in this sense, understood what it meant to hold a photograph of a loved one so dearly. The photograph itself is not what we value, it is the idea of carrying a piece of someone you love with you forever, so that you may never have to be without them. It isn't that the photograph replaces the real thing, far from it actually, the photograph simply serves as a comforting tool. I feel that, especially in today's society, it is important to use discipline and discretion in what we consume. It is true that there is a plethora of images available to us at all times, but what images we choose to view and how we value them is ultimately up to us.

This picture was taken in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. It is of a secluded waterfall I found while hiking in the mountains.