Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 190.
Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
Hosted by DH-Cologne
www.dhhumanist.org
Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
Date: 2025-10-26 10:32:13+00:00
From: Öyvind Eide <oeide@uni-koeln.de>
Subject: Re: [Humanist] 39.165: skill in digital expressions?
Dear Willard, and all,
I asked Oda Bakkeli Eide, a commercial fashion photographer since ten years,
about the changes in and influence of materiality on photography, and here are
her views. Maybe this is relevant also to some parts of scholarship? I will
forward any further comments on the list to her.
”There are pros and cons to the automatisation of photography, and the new way
of making images that grew out of the introduction of digital photography and
more recently smartphone photography.
Today anyone can take pictures by simply pressing a button, and many of todays
‘image makers’ produce imagery for a living without having the technical
knowledge to do what many would consider ‘real photography’ (i.e. by using an
analog camera, or a more advanced digital camera with manual-only settings).
So what is ‘photography’? To some, the technical aspect of capturing an image
the ‘old way’ is a central aspect. To be intentional about how an image is being
made - the light, movement, colour. The choices that are carefully being made
before the photo is being taken, about how that particular moment is captured
with a certain framing and angle. When shooting on film, a specific film stock
is chosen for it’s colours and its light sensitivity, which provides a form of
‘framework’ to work within - certain technical limitations have been
predetermined and will need to be taken into consideration when taking the
photos.
To some however, photography is simply about recording what is happening in
front of the camera without too much pre-planning and too much intention. Most
of us will pick our phones up at random times and snap photos with a quick press
of the button. We let our devices decide the outcome for us, and the aesthetics
of the image is often not front of mind. We care more about ‘capturing a moment’
to later be able to edit down when going through our camera roll. We can select,
crop and create much of the narrative after the image has been taken. There are
no real limits to how many photos can be taken, and each image therefore feels
less important.
In recent years there has been a shift back to film photography, and to what
many would see as the ‘more real way’ of taking photos. Companies like Kodak are
experiencing a comeback and spending hours in the darkrooms hand printing images
is becoming more normal amongst professional photographers.
A very important aspect that gets easily lost in the straightforward, seamless
and ‘perfect’ process of capturing a digital image on an automatic camera or a
smartphone, are the ‘mistakes’, the uniqueness from creating an image
‘physically’. A classic example is the ‘Man Ray mistake’ which refers to his
accidental discovery of the ‘rayograph’ - creating an image by the interplay of
light and shadow when objects were placed directly onto light sensitive paper.
This is one of the most famous photography ‘mistakes’ that lead to incredible
art. This would have never happened if Man Ray had been taking photos with a
digital camera.
Not knowing exactly what the result of an image is going to be, is in my opinion
one of the most exciting aspects of photography.”
Oda Bakkeli Eide, https://odaeide.com/
> Am 15.10.2025 um 07:16 schrieb Humanist <humanist@dhhumanist.org>:
>
>
> Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 39, No. 165.
> Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
> Hosted by DH-Cologne
> www.dhhumanist.org
> Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
>
>
>
>
> Date: 2025-10-15 05:14:44+00:00
> From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@mccarty.org.uk>
> Subject: skill in digital expressions?
>
> Among many other effects of the medium we strive to understand and use
> intelligently, I would question the consequences for the expressions of
> skill, or as I would call it, craft-work. The question applies obviously
> to programming done by humans but also to other work, say in
> photography. Use of a digital camera requires a somewhat different set
> of skills from a film camera, particularly if you develop and print your
> own, but the essentials of taking a photo worthy of lasting attention
> remain. My impression, however, is that the craft-work of fine
> photography tends to get far less attention nowadays than once was the
> case. Of course there are many aspects in the use of such a medium to be
> discussed and have theories about. But I wonder if the automatisation of
> so much of what we do has in effect drowned out attention to the care
> with which we do it.
>
> My interest in photographic skill has grown out of amateur practice in
> part, but at the theoretical end it has been sharpened by inquiries into
> how the camera-machine can be used to explore machinic vision more
> broadly. I'm especially interested in creative, exploratory, epistemic
> use of the smart machine at the level of craft-work. Up until the close
> of the last century attention to the skills involved was not difficult
> to find. Since then there seems to be much less.
>
> Comments on the above, helpful pointers to stuff I may have missed,
> would be welcome.
>
> All best,
> WM
> --
> Willard McCarty,
> Professor emeritus, King's College London;
> Editor, Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts,
> Sciences and Humanities (Berghahn); Humanist
> www.mccarty.org.uk
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