Tom D.
“This fatality (no photograph without something or someone) involves photography in the vast disorder of objects-of all the objects in the world: why choose (why photograph) this object, this moment, rather than some other? Photography is unclassifiable because there is no reason to mark this or that of its occurrences;”
-Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida
By: CaptainQuerty
The photograph I chose reflects Barthes’s thoughts on the confusion of what makes an object worthwhile to photograph. There are various objects, construed randomly throughout the photo, yet each one is of equal importance. It is nearly impossible to pinpoint any one of the objects significance though. Why one object or moment in time is photographed and why another is not is at the core of Barthes’ question. This is also a question that Antonio tries to answer in “Adventures of a Photographer,” but it is hard to say whether or not he comes up with a sufficient answer.
However, it is generally true that when a photographer devotes his or her time to taking a photo of an object, they must think it is somewhat important. Thus choosing something to photograph is completely subjective and up to the person taking the picture. What one person might see as meaningful may be viewed by another as inconsequential. Photography is also a way to communicate with others and raise questions, so in photographing an object one may be trying to illicit a response or reaction. Simply photographing something does not give it any importance, but it does provide a glimpse into some of the photographers views and what they wan to share with the world.
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