Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/08/06

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Photographic reality
From: Eric Welch <eric@jphotog.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 22:13:58 -0700

What's all this nonsense and turing tests that mean nothing? Any idiot 
can tell the difference between a photo of a window and the window.

And I know cats that DO react to the TV.

There is as much truth in those windows as there is in any phrase 
written in the history of the world. Words are abstractions. Just 
because someone speaks in Urdu and I don't understand a word of it 
doesn't mean truth is not being communicated to those who speak the 
language. The same with photographs. Just because some ancient tribe 
doesn't get them does not condemn the process of photography to fiction.

If there's a photograph of someone being run over by a bus (remember 
last week?) and the photographer says "Yes, that is an accurate 
representation of the facts, the person was run over by the bus," then 
that photograph is telling the truth. You won't get the meaning of life 
out of it, or every single aspect of the incident - or even a 
comprehensive survey of the neighborhood around the accident. But then, 
we don't expect photographs to do that. And yet, that photogrpah spoke 
the truth of what it represents.

Just like ever other truth, in any given medium it might be transmitted 
in, is communicated. In broken, human, conceptions of various levels of 
accuracy, validity and completeness.

Some photographs tell the truth clearly, some perambulate about upon 
the suburbs of veracity, and others economize on the truth.

Holograms might be cooler, but they won't speak much more truth in any 
meaningful way.

On Wednesday, August 6, 2003, at 12:31  PM, LRZeitlin@aol.com wrote:

> What's all this nonsense about photos or music being "realistic"?

Eric Welch
Carlsbad, CA
http://www.jphotog.com

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. - Will Rogers.

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