[Leica] Faking it: Do photos lie?

[lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com)]

 In view of all the sensational pictures coming from Syria should 
photojournalism be trusted? Not at all said a former editor of mine. In news 
reporting, editorializing is an egregious sin. A photographer editorializes 
every time he or she takes a picture by choosing the viewpoint from which 
the picture is taken, by the choice of lens, and what is included in the 
viewfinder. Editors, too, can carefully select photographs to emphasize a 
point of view.?


A traveling exhibition "Faking it: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop" 
attracted large crowds at the New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, 
Washington's National Gallery of Art, and Houston's Museum of Fine Arts. The 
exhibition traces photographic manipulation from the 1840s through the 1980s 
and shows that photography is?and always has been?a medium of fabricated 
truths and artful lies. The web site for the exhibition is:
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/faking.shtm


The exhibition is based on the book "Faking it: Manipulated Photography 
Before Photoshop" by Mia Fineman, ISBN 9780300185010, and is available at 
any bookseller.


You can't lay the entire blame on the photographers. Photography and 
politics are natural bedfellows. The Communist parties of both Russia and 
China shamelessly manipulated photos of the podium at the Mayday parades as 
leaders fell from power. Remember the benevolent photos of Barack Obama 
before his election? The public came to expect and even demand suitable 
photos suiting their prejudices to accompany newspaper stories. If you view 
the news on TV, the administration seems to be beating the drums for war 
although polls show that most of the US population is against it. The media 
has almost infinite ways of editorializing with images and is not above 
using them. FOX News, are you paying attention?


Larry Z