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Motion sensor image capture. West Los Angeles. 2021.

“Memories of Things Unseen” and the Salkeld reading both raise familiar questions about the definition of photography and its progression towards surveillance. Cole defines photography by emphasizing the possibility of retaining an image captured. He argues that as the number of photographs made grows massively the effect is indistinguishable from surveillance. The Salkeld reading raises a similar perspective as it explores photography as an instrument of control, surveillance, and voyeuristic looking. The discussion of street photography as the quintessential form of surveillance and the implication that privacy is relinquished as we enter public space feels hard to accept. The work of Michael Wolf, Jon Rafman, and Geoff Dyer “mining images” from Google street view reminded me of a recent project by photographer Noah Dillon. Dillon set up a trail camera which collected over 1 million photos over the past 4 years. He then selected 38 images from these 1 million to display at a gallery in Los Angeles. This feels like an iteration of the work produced by Rafman, and brought to mind the same question: “does this count as photography?”. I think Dillon’s project speaks to Cole’s definition of photography as retaining things we have not seen ourselves. I believe the labor required in selecting from 1 million images encourages the viewer to take this project more seriously as a creative practice. The interaction from subjects captured—displayed through the collage people covering the lens—is the “very stuff of street photography” Salkeld describes, and reflects an opposition to the idea we relinquish privacy when in public space.

Motion sensor image capture. Los Angeles. 2019.

Motion sensor image capture. Fast food drive thru. East Los Angeles. 2022.

Motion sensor image capture. Los Angeles. 2019

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reveal/conceal

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appropriation

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home

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test

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In the chapter “In Plato’s Cave”, Sontag introduces ideas of the inherent manipulation in photography, and the power dynamics between the photographer and the subject. This discussion reminded me of the famous and controversial Juergen Teller. Teller is known for his candid and unretouched style. Trademarks of his style include harsh flash, overexposed lighting, and awkward/impromptu posing. These choices often result in “unflattering” images that stand in stark difference to the typical polished glamour shots we are used to seeing celebrities in. Teller's work introduces a more vulnerable, less controlled image of the stars he captures. This is a reason why I think his photos can be jarring—he uses Sontag’s notion of the photographs ability to gain power over the subject he is capturing as a way to 'violating' the usual public image of the celebrity, revealing a more human, less idealized characterization. I think Teller’s choices also affirm Sontag’s argument that rather that photographs are never devoid of taste or conscience, since Teller’s choices produce images that stand in such stark contrast to standard photos in this genre that it reminds the viewer of to think about what decisions were made in his creative process to get this effect.