Sunday, December 14, 2014

What Purpose does Photography Have in Our World?

This can be a very simple question to answer and a very difficult one at the same time. Photography means different things to different people. That’s why it can have different purposes.

“The purpose of photography is to create an emotion about the world through what has been carefully seen and selected”. (Eli Siegel)

The purpose of photography can be:


*to participate in life,
*to promote social change,
*to earn money,
*to reach self-realization,
*to share some experience with other people,
*to communicate with other people,
*to educate people,
*to make discoveries,
*to keep a diary,
*to learn to think in non-verbal terms,
*to provoke emotions,
*to capture the reality,
*to escape from the reality,
*to create a new reality
*all of the above and even more.

There are facts to illustrate what the purpose of photography could be:
Early in the 19th century the power of photographs was proven when Carleton E. Watkins and William H. Jackson’s images of the Yellowstone and Yosemite landscape persuaded the U.S. Congress to set those territories aside as national parks.

A photograph (digital or film-based) can be admitted into evidence in court.

Documentary photographs may serve as historical evidence.

Comparisons of photographic maps taken through telescopes has helped to discover the planet Pluto.

X rays taken at hospitals are the photographs which are taken with x-ray light.


The photography has become an inseparable part of my life. The main purpose of the photography for me (recently) is to reach self-realization.


What is your opinion about the purpose of the photography? I would appreciate it if you take the time to answer. Let me know what you think in the comments section.





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