What is a photograph?

[welly]

I'm working on another college project at the moment and just wanted to throw out a question in the name of research!

So, in your opinion, what is a photograph?

This could be from a technical or philosophical point of view!

 

[Icee]

A moment in time that is frozen with a shutter click.

 

[Blundred77]

a biased opinion and not fact

 

[Flash In The Pan]

A moment in time that is frozen with a shutter click.

See above

 

[EdinburghGary]

I like to think of it as an interpretation of a scene, captured and presented for viewing pleasure.

Thats just my romantic view.

 

[BenMottram]

Something produced from a camera (rather than 32 hours in front of Photoshop - 10 mins is Ok though)

 

[..MD..]

whatever you want it to be



md

 

[andy_fozzy]

Something produced from a camera (rather than 32 hours in front of Photoshop - 10 mins is Ok though)

Totally agree.........

 

[LA-AL]

A memory caught in time.

 

[AndyB]

a graphical representation of the reflection of light rays from a subject. thats the photograph. What you get after photoshop is a photographic image which is something completely different

 

[Dangermouse]

simple its a photo .....something your brain cant remember so its an image you can see forever on paper so its a hard memory

 

[Mart61]

It's an oblong thing, sometimes square, with a picture on it.

 

[EdinburghGary]

Remember he is looking for opinions, not the dictionary definition

 

[kryssy]

Evidence of a nanosecond that will never come again - so treasure those pieces of evidence if you can.............

 

[Dangermouse]

Remember he is looking for opinions, not the dictionary definition

Like I said its a hard copy of a memory

 

[KayJay]

a biased opinion and not fact

Interesting response. But how can it be opinion if what is actually captured happened? I can see what you mean though, through subject manipulation and photographic trickery you could change the meaning of a photograph.

 

[Pippy_Neville]

A (semi)permanent recording of light as reflected from a scene? An artwork created using electromechanical light recording devices?

But basically a beautiful artform with myriad possibilities and a myriad of opinions regarding every individual image (if this place is anything to go by!)

 

[Yantorsen]

well the word photo mean "of, from or containing light." It comes from the Greek word phos, which means "light." Whilst a graph, is a visual representation of data that displays the relationship among variables. So I guess technically it is something containing light that is visually represented. Although I guess anything represented visually would contain light, so may as well just be called a photo, which is just anything to do with light basically.

 

[Defiance]

Simple..a memory which you can look back on and see, and remember

 

[Jayst84]

Something produced from a camera (rather than 32 hours in front of Photoshop - 10 mins is Ok though)

Why do you need a camera?

 

[Yantorsen]

Simple..a memory which you can look back on and see, and remember

so what is a photograph if it is not one of your own?

 

[Jayst84]

A memory caught in time.

The romantic views are all well and good, but what about satellites photos that are taken without any human input? (After the design stage).

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

An interpretation and transposition of the suns reflection.:nuts:

 

[Defiance]

so what is a photograph if it is not one of your own?

Someone else's memory that they can look back on and remember

Seriously, it's a picture, like one you would maybe hang on your wall.

 

[grim8634]

It's one of those things that I have stuck to the fridge.....

 

[Yantorsen]

Someone else's memory that they can look back on and remember

So it'd be nothing to you? So why do people buy other people's photographs?

 

[Defiance]

So it'd be nothing to you? So why do people buy other people's photographs?

Read the second part of my answer....