- Quote: “The understanding of war among people who have not experienced war is now chiefly a product of the impact of these images. Something becomes real – to those who are elsewhere, following it as “news” – by being photographed” (Sontag 21).
- Comment: This is a very common theme and concept throughout the first two chapters. Sontag tries to describe the difficulty of portraying war to people who are not present for it; it doesn’t have the same kind of meaning to them. To certain people, it may be just another news update – when the photographers really want to portray the realness and the pain of the war. They want the viewers to feel it, and they try to depict this in their photography. Comparing the reality of the war experienced by others and the viewers perception only from observation and images.
- Question: How does the deepness of the image affect how the viewer at homes perceives the war? Ex: A mother at home seeing an image of a child, could really resinate with her more than the next photo of a destroyed city. Change their perspective on war and feel more “present” in the war scene.
- Comment: This is a very common theme and concept throughout the first two chapters. Sontag tries to describe the difficulty of portraying war to people who are not present for it; it doesn’t have the same kind of meaning to them. To certain people, it may be just another news update – when the photographers really want to portray the realness and the pain of the war. They want the viewers to feel it, and they try to depict this in their photography. Comparing the reality of the war experienced by others and the viewers perception only from observation and images.
- Quote: “Photography is the only major art in which professional training and years of experience do not confer an insuperable advantage over the untrained and inexperienced – this for many reasons, among them the large role that chance (or luck) plays in the taking of pictures, and the bias toward the spontaneous, the rough, the imperfect” (Sontag 28).
- Comment: This quote is wrapped around the paragraph about the 9/11 exhibit, which I thought was so empowering. In this exhibit, they had thousands of people submit photos they had taken during the tragedy. Everyone who submitted work had at least one piece included in the exhibit, and no names were given as to who the photographer was. You wouldn’t know if the photo was taken by an ammatuer or a professional photographer – which is what, I think, is the coolest part. Tying this into the quote about how photography is the most “loose” of the arts. You don’t need years of experience to take empowering, touching, and professional-looking photos. For some it comes naturally, and that is the beauty of it.
- Question: I wonder if these people who submitted work (the amateurs) went on to indulge more into this “war” photography? Did this exhibit help them find their creative voice and a passion for it?
- Comment: This quote is wrapped around the paragraph about the 9/11 exhibit, which I thought was so empowering. In this exhibit, they had thousands of people submit photos they had taken during the tragedy. Everyone who submitted work had at least one piece included in the exhibit, and no names were given as to who the photographer was. You wouldn’t know if the photo was taken by an ammatuer or a professional photographer – which is what, I think, is the coolest part. Tying this into the quote about how photography is the most “loose” of the arts. You don’t need years of experience to take empowering, touching, and professional-looking photos. For some it comes naturally, and that is the beauty of it.
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