Week 4- The Reliability of Digital Sources, and the Analog Sources They Come From

I enjoyed this week’s articles by Errol Morris because they were both thought provoking and interesting but at the same time a little disheartening. Both articles underscored the importance of the use and effect photography in the past print media and in the current world of digital media. “Photography as a Weapon” touched on a subject area that is very important as society is becoming increasingly engulfed into the digital world.  “Which Came First” in a way made me second and become more critical of the photography of the past.

I’m part of a generation where technology didn’t play a large role in my life until I was in middle school. The photography I grew up with was sole print based for the most part. I’ve always been enchanted by the power that one photograph can have. After reading “Which Came First” I started thinking about some of the more powerful and compelling photos I saw in the past and questioning whether or not they could have “staged” as well. While most of them probably weren’t knowing that it could have been a possibly suddenly takes some of the magic away.

“Photography as a Weapon” brought up an issue that I have had to deal with constantly as a college student: reliability.  We have to constantly be aware and critical of where we get our sources. With programs and technologies made specifically for photo alteration, photography has to be looked at with the same critical eye as other sources in way that we haven’t had to do before.

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