Guardian Unlimited: False witness Last week David Hockney declared the end of photography in these pages: the rise and rise of digital cameras, and the concomitant ease with which images can be distorted and manipulated, have put paid to the notion of photography’s truthfulness, he argued. Joel Sternfeld, winner of the Citigroup photography prize (for which the Guardian is media partner) begs to differ. Photography has always been capable of manipulation in one way or another. The process of photography itself, with its variables in materials and chemistry, make it capable of manipulation without intention. The camera, even with a wide angle lens, takes in a partial view of the world. Moving the camera changes that view. Developing film with different chemicals is manipulation. The same goes for making a print. Because it has now become easier to do for the less skilled, does that mean photography’s death?
The camera today? You can’t trust it. Hockney sparks a debate.