Dulce Fernandez
Digital Portfolio
Mr. Powhida
Date: 1/15/08
The advances and history of Technology/Photography

What is collage and how has technology affected the medium? Collage is a way to express oneself and the medium has changed it with the use of technology. What is photography if not a way to show a sense of independence and a form of art?

Photography was a small way of capturing a moment in life. The cameras used in each past life are different the next. The usable process of photography goes back to the 1820s; this is when the development of chemical photography first came into play. Then in 1826 the first permanent photograph was an image produced by French inventor Nicéphore Niépce. But there was a problem with this method; it took 8 hours to expose. Although the process today is quite easy to explore. Many cameras used today are digital cameras. Digital cameras have many functions to get a clear picture. One function is the "night function" it lets us take pictures at night that we can get almost as clear as a picture taken in the morning. Also, many artists use photography in their art galleries like taking a picture of something and putting it up and calling it art. Another method used is taking a picture and painting in the rest of the scenery. The last method is taking many pictures and putting it together with paintings and creating a collage of many pictures that mix as though it is like a real picture that blends together perfectly.
“Photography is finally escaping any dependence on what is in front of a lens, but it comes at the price of its special claim on a viewer's attention as "evidence" rooted in reality.” Peter Plagens from Newsweek said this. I agree with him because many pictures cannot be taken as true. Such an example is with all court cases. Court houses ban the use of photography as evidence because of the alterations that can be made to them. The same goes for celebrity pictures. These pictures can be altered by a paparazzi who wants to make money. They go around and follow all these celebrities. They can take a picture of a tired celebrity with puffy eyes and say that the celebrity is drugged. Many people take photos as being real but when you get down to it most of it is all fake.

In all the history of photography goes all the way back to the 1820s. Also today photography has its bad side to it that can be used against somebody. That is why photography cannot be used as evidence in court matters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography
http://www.newsweek.com/id/73349