less ignorance . more bliss .
view at gras
by joseph nicéphore niépce
the world's first photograph
made in 1826
"ignorance is bliss"
there is that proverbial adage
claiming that those who know less are
happier for all that they're missing.
anyone who is surviving 2008 will tell you...
OF COURSE that's true.
but does it have to be?
isn't there something that could be done
to make the truth better and therefore
resulting in more truth-telling & seeking?
i've always been partial to non-fiction.
in a lot of ways, i feel that if you tell the truth
you have no need to feel ashamed
[ heh, exceptions to every rule of course]
when photography was first developing, [no pun intended]
the japanese called a photograph
写真
which means, ' copy of the truth'.
yesterday, i read [to say the least]
a very arrogant, and obnoxious rant
about the future of photography from my previous college dean.
at random intervals ever since i have been
sad, discouraged, and disappointed.
alright, no one uses film anymore
alright no one has a darkroom or can afford the chemistry
to design a make-shift one without a lot of heart and ambition.
but, because digital photography exists,
do we NEED to omit the entire alchemist process and
world-altering history, which photography has composed?
that's like saying once we invented the wheel, no one
needs to walk anymore.
because we have the internet
no one needs to write a post card ever again.
it takes an understanding of evolution to make an effective progress.
if someone who has never touched a camera in their life begins with a nikon coolpix 3.0
then we may never see anything remotely close to the renaissance ever ever again.
why is it necessary to eliminate the old to create the new?
you can't have one without the other, and if you could
would you want to?
i don't hate the future
but i do hate the thought of losing all the important beautiful moments
that have taken us to the present.