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Essay on Photography
Photography (Greek "drawing with light" from photos = light, and graphis = stylus, paintbrush or graphê = representation by means of lines, drawing) is the technique of recording, by chemical or mechanical means, a permanent image on a layer of material sensitive to light exposure. The understanding that prevails today assumes the use of a camera or camera obscura as the image forming device, and of photographic film as the recording medium, but it doesn't have to be the case.
For instance, the photocopy or xerography machine is forming permanent images from a brightly lit original, but is using the transfer of static electrical charges rather than photographic film, hence the term electro photography. Whereas the rayographs published by Man Ray in 1922 are images produced by the shadows of objects cast on the photographic paper, without the use of a camera.
Photography is practised by nearly everyone at some time in their lives, for an enormous number of different reasons. It has been pointed out that very rarely does a day go by when individuals in our society don't see a large number of photographs - the medium has become one of the most important ways of conveying information, whether or not we trust what it says to.
Photography was once prized for its ability to objectively capture what sat in front of the lens. The content of a photo was to be believed without question. Because photos seemed to be able to portray objects exactly as the human eye seemed to, they were taken at face value. But can a photo be truly objective? Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered simply. Yes, the actual camera, with its technologically exact mechanisms is in itself objective. It is the photographer and the circumstances around him or her, which influence the final interpretation....
