1. How does a photograph “elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary”? Relate this to your current task of documentation.
To say that photography elevates the ordinary into the extraordinary refers to how photography can place something routine into focus. For instance, a photographer can take a photo about water trickling down the drain in one’s bathroom sink; with an aim to make others think about something they often take for granted. This notion of “focus” was further illustrated with our task of documenting how we look like in the mirror every morning for five consecutive days. Waking up and checking our physical appearance in the mirror is something most, if not all, people do on a daily basis, so much so it becomes one of the involuntary habits that has been drilled into us. Adding the camera into the equation, we become acutely aware of this habit, making it a special event of our day since it will be recorded and saved somewhere forever. The camera also provides the audience with the point of view of the photographer taking the picture, that is, how he/she sees themselves in the mirror every morning.
According to http://acrossthestairs.tumblr.com/, “What makes a photograph extraordinary is that it captures everything.” The technology of the photograph also allows every detail in the picture to be communicated. Erven if the focus of the photograph was of a plate of food, details like the design of the cutlery, the tablecloth and even the type of lighting would be captured as well. This allows tiny details normally unnoticed by people to become significant.
The photograph is therefore neutral. However, while the medium is neutral, the act of documenting it isn’t. This brings us to the point of how the same photograph can mean different things to different people when put in different contexts. In a food blog, the plate of food in said photograph would be the focus to the audience. Yet, if the photograph was placed in an IKEA catalog, the audience would be focusing on the tablecloth or the china used.
What makes photography so special as compared to other inventions like the typewriter, is its ability to freeze a specific moment, essentially putting a scalpel to time. This characteristic of the camera creates the element of immortality for the subject, thus allowing a moment like your child’s first steps to be re-lived. The photograph thus essentially takes us into a whole new realm. It preserves something from the incessant flow of time and transforms it into a powerful, focused viewpoint with subjective connotations.
You'll have the world at your feet with photography.
2. How is the photograph part of our (or your) vernacular? Examples?When we talk about the use of photographs as a part of our daily expression and language, there is no way we can veer away from the social media platforms that we use. More so, it is becoming a more common and creative way to tell people what we want to express, using pictures to either aid our words, or substitute them completely. Take Twitter for example. The word limit of 140 characters allows its users to only say so much. The image uploading function gives the user an opportunity to express oneself without having to tweet a word, rather leaving it to open interpretation the meaning that the photograph encapsulates.
Similarly, Facebook Timelines are a witness of the prevalent use of images are part of our vernacular, whether we do it subconsciously or not. People upload and share images that document their daily activities, travels, and special events onto Facebook, for reasons beyond mere documentation. Photos are uploaded almost as soon as they are captured, all thanks to the almost ubiquitous ownership of smartphones with cameras.
We create snapshots for various reasons. We want to show people how interesting our lives are, what we are up to, and sometimes, to let people who view our photos understand what we are like. It eliminates the need to explain the situation in words, the need to verbally say, “Look how interesting my life is”, or simply, “Pay attention to me. I’M SPECIAL!”.
The subtleness of photographs in conveying what people want to express, as well as the convenience it brings us, makes them such a popular and common medium to communicate these days.
Communicative technologies that connect people in different countries also make use of visuals to make it more effective and ‘real’. Facetime, a very popular Apple technology, allows users to make video phonecalls that allows parties to see and hear each other conveniently. The conversation therefore gains a new dimension as body language, facial expressions, and even the surroundings of each user can be seen by the other party.
After the rise and success of Google, people now refer to the act of searching for information online as “Google-ing” it (i.e. “Let me Google that.” instead of “Let me search it up online.”). The search function has become, literally, the process, adding a new word into our vocabulary. Similarly, with photographs, we’ve incorporated words like Polaroid, and more recently Instagram, and we have become so familiar with using them that they have started to take up a big part of our lives. Walk into a restaurant and observe the people who have just had their food served to them - you will not see them digging in heartily but instead taking a picture of their meal and then hear them talk about “Instagramming” it.
Photographs also allow visual references to ease explanations. Go to the nearest newsstand and you can see magazines teaching people how to dress “Kate Middleton style”. There is no way the writer is able to fully explain what the Kate Middleton style is, but with the help of a candid photograph of the Dutchess, readers are able to distinguish her style from other fashion icons.
With cameras and their accompanying platforms of distribution becoming more prevalent, we continue to add new words into our daily vernacular. Will we become a world where we will Instagram our Picsart through Whatsapp or “flickr” our way into the future? I guess we’re just a snapshot away.
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