Marvin Heiferman's Essay

    I believed people use photography to capture a moment in time or attempt to relive certain memories. I also believe that photography is crucial and important in today’s history. It helps us capture exactly what is occurring and can evoke emotions for us to feel empathy toward other people and maybe even force us to act. Henry Luce said it perfectly, “to see life, to see the world, to eyewitness great events; to watch the face of the poor and the gesture of the proud… to see and be amazed; to see and be instructed” (Heiferman 11). However, as I read Marvin Heiferman’s essay, Photography Changes Everything I learned that photography is more than snapping a picture. Heiferman wants us to emphasize how what, and why people photograph the objects they do, but at the same time, the meaning behind the photos is subjective.

    Even though photography is an art, the meaning behind why someone snaps a picture can be subjective. Heiferman discusses this in the Smithsonian’s Castle building with a CIA analyst. He delves into the fact that the analyst had to use aerial thermographic images in order to determine when drug dealers turned off their ignition (Heiferman 12). While another person, such as politicians, could use photography to have people act upon a certain topic. I would not have considered exactly how often people use photography in their daily lives and in their jobs. Heiferman wants us to take into consideration the photography we consume in our daily lives and how that impacts us, such as the news and articles of clothing (Heiferman 12-13). Most of the time, people consume media and become desensitized to what they are viewing, such as the news. We view something tragic occurring and the next minute we are scrolling through Instagram or TikTok looking at the best shoes to buy. Not only this, but Heiferman explains how the technology of photography has improved drastically so that now we can see the smallest and furthest objects.

While Heiferman was part of the Smithsonian Initiative project, he says that “photography challenges our assumptions and the limits of our perception by revealing to us what would otherwise easily go unnoticed” (Heiferman 17). I would not have taken into account that we are seeing stars millions and millions of light-years away or able to see all the little details of an ant’s face or see the first image of a black hole. Photography has the power to make huge advancements in many fields that many would not have considered in the first place and influence us subconsciously.