Paradise – © John Neel
Photographs are a wonderful way to realize the world.
Our photographic images remind us of the world as we imagine it to be. However, we must always remind ourselves that what we are looking at in a photograph is only a representation of reality. It is the simulated resemblance of real world objects. It is an illusion.
In our attempt to fabricate the best images, we tend to embellish the realities we encounter by selecting what to shoot, the lighting, the lens, what aperture, what shutter setting, and where to focus. We crop the subject to fit a framework, choosing to leave out anything that we think doesn’t belong. We influence the subject by the way in which we compose, and by choices we make with the computer or darkroom processes we utilize. The concept of the thing photographed is greatly altered by our self-imposed interactions and idealistic notions.
I know this sounds obvious, but to take a picture of anything doesn’t replace the real thing. The reality doesn’t change when we take its picture. Yet it is possible that the image of the things that are out there can alter how we see those things imaged.
The photographic work is a totally different experience from the actual world. When we look at an image, we might think many things about the subject. More often than not, pictures convey nothing more than simple appearances. That in itself may promote a sense that the world is somehow different than it’s reality. I believe it is possible that a photograph can be used to ask questions and possibly convey a truth.
It is easy to create imagery that tends to beautify, inspire awe, or dazzle the mind. That is because the world is all those things and more. Nature is stunning in its design and its interaction. But these days, there is some danger… if that is all we see and feel.
I guess the point I want to make is that the world is not exactly like we see in those beautiful calendar images, those magnificent HDR renditions or those spectacular, exotic and far off panoramic vistas. At least it isn’t anymore. The images we think of when we hear the words, forest, mountains, the ocean, the sky and wildlife are a kind of make-believe that we impose based on our ideal presumptions that all is well. Beautiful photographs are in part to blame for our faulty perceptions.
We must come to the realization that our ideal world has been drastically altered. Man, his machines and his simpleminded ambitions are constantly altering the makeup of the ecosystem. All while corporate advertising renders a world free from disruption. They show us living the good life while gliding comfortably in luxurious cars inside the fantasy of our Disney Kingdoms. We have buried our heads in their pipe dreams.
By now, most of us should be well aware of the problems this world faces due to our neglect and in way too many cases denial. Carbon emissions, nuclear waste, radioactivity, oil consumption, chemical leaks, garbage dumps, product depletion of resources, deforestation, fracking, warfare and a growing list of environmental abuses have made drastic changes to that once perfect world we like to envision.
Many photographs are evidence that beauty still exists. It may mean that the effects of man have not yet consumed everything. However, there are huge scars that have already been made. Major damage has already been done. The world needs to be noticed for what it is now. We need to see its actual condition so that we can attempt to adjust our behaviors. I understand that we all need to see the beauty. But we also need to realize the ugliness caused by our apathy, our greed and our delusions.
The world we live in is always best experienced through our senses. That implies that one must be in the real world in order to experience reality. Granted, the media we use today can give us a pretty convincing semblance of a reality. But the only way so far to actually know the world is to take part in it. The Holodeck is still somewhere far out in a fantasized future. It may be the only “nature” the future will ever experience.
With photographs, it is essential that we portray the things that are right with this planet, but in order to avoid further endangerment to everything we know, we also need to look seriously at the darkness we have created. We need to realize the truth and face it head on.
To make nothing but pretty pictures may mean that all we will have in the future are images of what was once upon a time a beautiful, awe inspiring, and mind dazzling world.
Personally, I am vastly more interested in understanding the actualities of what is happening to my planet, so that we might possibly stop the devastation that is happening and restore what we can of the beautiful world we all desire.
You can read about my book “Rethinking Digital Photography” here.
Please have a look at some of my other posts here.
NOTICE of Copyright: THIS POSTING AS WELL AS ALL PHOTOGRAPHS, GALLERY IMAGES, AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE COPYRIGHT © JOHN NEEL AND ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THE WRITER, THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND/OR lensgarden.com. THE IDEAS EXPRESSED ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE AUTHOR.
