I went to see a play on the weekend at fortyfivedownstairs on Flinders Lane in the city. It was a cool little venue and an interesting show; a take on photojournalist’s working in war zones, and the bonds and experiences they share, called Bare Witness.
In one sequence of the dialogue, some of the changes that have taken place recently in terms of digital technology were highlighted. Journalist’s no longer need to rely on physically shipping reels of images from geographically isolated areas with minimal infrastructure. Now, a simple click of a button and images are instantly available on editors’ news desks around the world.
The same is true of the paparazzi, who make big dollars by being the first to sell their images to the tabloids in a fast-paced, high turnover environment. This was highlighted in a documentary I watched, Paparazzi: Next Generation, in which young paparazzi were trailed around London as they stalked celebrities and instantly uploaded and sent off their photographs from laptops in the back of their cars. The only real barrier to the profession seemed to be acquiring the necessary equipment, and possessing the necessary bravado to avoid being muscled out of the next great shot of Paris Hilton leaving a club in Mayfair.
In the digital age, photography can be shared quickly and easily. And it’s not just journalist’s and paparazzi. People are documenting their own lives more and more through social media networks like Facebook, where you could spend an eternity trawling through photos of people’s lives.
Gone are the days where you would drop the film at the chemist and come back in three days, hopeful that some of them turned out ok!
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