Photography Essay

Sontag's whole focus is on the flaws of photography, making photography in itself look like an ugly thing, yet one could also focus on the beauty in photography, making photography in itself look like a beautiful thing. However, for me to take a stance on either side would make me a liar. I would only be giving half of the facts to photography which would only be half of the truth making whatever my overall claim was only partially right. Coming to this realization helped me to develop my view on Susan Sontag's essay "In plato's Cave". I couldn't agree more with Sontag in what she puts forth about the flaws in photography, yet What I don't agree with is how she makes photography look bad in its whole essence of being photography only based upon one side of the spectrum. Because there are two sides to photography both good and bad I believe it is not the "camera" that is the problem, the problem is how a person chooses to use their own judgment, when using a camera themselves, or viewing photographs taken by someone else. This is precisely why In Robert Scholes essay "on reading a video text" he stresses the idea that with all the manipulation and different uses in photography it is so important to be critically aware of whatever it is being potrayed on the big screen. Also in the essay "Expanding the concept of Literacy" by Elizabeth Daley she makes an effort to depict the importance for teaching .....

Just maybe we are not addicted to approving and ratifying reality through photography but rather are so excited about the earth and what is reality we are addicted to the ability to taking photographs that we will be able to hold on to and cherish, a moment in time kept as a photo and used for future reflection. For instance, when I go on a Hike, after the sweat evoking climb it takes to reach a peak and find an awe inspiring view, that is a piece of reality I may want to take a photo of. Not because I want to prove it is reality, but because I am so excited about it being reality. However on the flipside, I agree that many are addicted to approving and ratifying reality through photography. For instance, recently when I told a friend about how I do swing dancing and that my absolute favorite move is the candel-stick she didn't have much to say. She later told me that it wasn't until she was looking through my facebook pictures and came across my photo where I was being held up, my legs straight in the air with my feet pointed above my head, and keeping a straight body line that she believed the story I told her about doing the candle stick move. She told me, It wasn't until she saw this photo, for her to actually believe me. For me this esperience is a parallel to the very thing Sontag said. In this day and age our society expects all events that are fact to have a photograph as a piece of evidence to them being fact. This makes me wonder, What if I would