User Manual: Don’t Instagram Natural Disasters
By Sam Biddle
Instagram is a nice thing. It’s fun to peek at the lives of others, and it’s fun to make our photos look fun. But there’s nothing fun about a hurricane people are dying in, and scenes from a horrific crisis don’t deserve to be drenched in your sepia.
This article cracks me up. Every photograph is a distortion of reality.
But it got me wondering… what else should we morally oppose in tragedy photography?
Sunlight… we should definitely oppose sunlight. It’s too cheery and that’s unacceptable when people have died. No tragedy photo should be taken whilst the sun shineth beyondths the clouds.
Also… lenses introduce distortions that aren’t realistic enough to convey the tragedy in a respectful manner. No lens will do.
Lastly… film… and digital sensors. None of these can capture color or dynamic range in the same way our eyes do. The realism would be diminished in such a way that no photo could be respectful of any tragedy. You might have to make contrast adjustments in the darkroom or in software and we know for a fact that is disrespectful… especially in the case of a flooded supermarket or demolished apartment.
Also. Every person except for Sam Biddle. Close your eyes. Because your eyes cannot view the world with the same respect as his do.
