On Photography

I used Susan Sontag’s “On photography” as a jumping off point to discover my personal views on photography. On Photography presented a new way to view the world through photography and its effects on people and events. Sontag introduced new ways of thinking about photography; my view of photography was completely expanded. Her views were enlightening, but unique to the point that I noticed I did not agree with all of her statements and connection between photography and photographers.


Susan Sontag seemed to play around with how photography could be viewed. One example of this is in her mention to Plato’s Cave. It was smart of her to mention a connection to Plato’s Cave early in the chapter because immediately it makes you think. I wish she had taken the connection a little further, but that might have limited the reader’s ability to create his or her thoughts on Plato’s Cave. The only mention of Plato’s Cave is, “Humankind lingers unregenerately in Plato’s Cave, still reveling, its age-old habit, in mere images of the truth.” This quote quickly shows peoples’ obsession with photographs; the humankind revels in photographs (images of the truth). This idea was shown in Plato’s Cave and I believe it is true. Because this human curiosity still exists photography has power and importance.


While thinking of Plato’s Cave I began to question reality, will we ever know what reality truly is? Is our world actually contained in a locker like shown in the movie “Men in Black,” do other worlds exist? I cannot answer any of these questions, but I can explain the “reality” that I am most comfortable with. “Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.” -Arnold Newman The image taken by the camera is not reality. What my eyes see is reality. If I was told the image taken by the camera is reality I would not believe it and I would want to go back to believing that only what I saw with my own eyes is reality. It is sometimes hard to see the difference between what I see and what a picture shows, but a camera picture never looks exactly the same as “reality.” Even though I know a photo is not reality I can still believe that the moment has happened. Even the exact moment a picture is taken, when reality has not had a chance to change, the photo still is not reality. It is a copy; memories are copies of reality just like photos. One reason why photography is so amazing is because it slightly alters reality. My eyes and my camera will never “see” the same image.


Sontag presented many comparisons and assumptions about why people take pictures. Most of her ideas were simple and easy to agree with and understand, but others were more questionable. Taking pictures for memories, evidence, knowledge, and art all seem understandable. Even taking pictures for a sense of power or participation can be comprehended. Using photography to combat unsure responses to the new and unfamiliar is hard to accept. When in Florence this past summer I took a picture of Michelangelo’s “David.” I did not take the picture because I was afraid of my feelings; I took the picture in hopes of maintaining my feelings of awe. If I could have touched “David” instead of taking a picture of it I would have. I think photography helps create a connection it does not decrease one. The camera helps me see the object more clearly; it does not distance me from the object because it is literally between me and the subject. In relation to my life I have trouble accepting Sontag’s suggestion.


My connection with photography also makes it difficult for me to accept a major metaphor supported by Sontag. The metaphor connecting photography to shooting or murdering a person disturbs me. I do not want my camera to be a “predatory weapon” and even though I use the words load, aim, and shoot to describe acts involved with photography that does not mean I have a fantasy of violating people I take pictures of. Sontag supports this metaphor by comparing photographic safaris to hunting safaris. This connection is not strongly supported. Comparing a viewfinder to a telescope is not enough. Justifying the popularization of photographic safaris due to the rarity of the animals is not enough. Photographic safaris would have become popular even if the animal populations remained plentiful because photographers respect the animals’ beauty and hanging a picture on a wall is better for the animal then hanging its hide on the wall. I believe the competitive nature is similar, but the underlying goals cannot be compared. Malicious intent does not exist in photographic safaris. Photography does not bring harm to the animals; in reality, it does just the opposite because the money spent on the photographic safari is used to better serve and protect the animals. A game hunter will never be satisfied with photography because the click of a shutter does not carry the same effects as a click of a trigger. A game hunter and a photographer have two different intents; therefore, the two cannot be compared.


Sontag explains, “All photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” Photography and time seem to go hand-in-hand. Photography easily welcomes comparisons and connections with time. Sontag presents some convincing relations between time and photography. Because photography intensifies the flight of time; Sontag states, “To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability.” This is a cynical way to view photography, especially coming from a photographer, but in a way it is true. This statement greatly applies to the picture I took of my grandma even though it was not my intent. The picture shows my grandma’s vulnerability to time and cancer, but it also shows her strength by showing her mortality. Sontag’s statement, “Time eventually positions most photographs, even the most amateurish, at the level of art” can easily be grasped. Even the horribly crooked family pictures seem more like art due to their sentimental value and texture given by old fashion cameras.


On Photography introduced new ideas about photography; some more easily accepted than others. The importance and power of photography is represented very well through Sontag’s real-life examples. The Holocaust pictures hit me almost as strongly when I saw then in the 8th grade while reading “Night.” Her ideas on why people take pictures struggled to convince me because she did not have strong examples from actual people to support her beliefs. Quotes from real sources would have really helped her cause and would have better changed my views. Even though I do not agree with Sontag’s statements completely, I still respect her beliefs and think she is an intelligent woman. I enjoyed reading On Photography and appreciate the new perspective.