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Digital photography: communication, identity, memory

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, J.F.T.M.vanDijck{at}uva.nl

Taking photographs seems no longer primarily an act of memory intended to safeguard a family's pictorial heritage, but is increasingly becoming a tool for an individual's identity formation and communication. Digital cameras, cameraphones, photoblogs and other multipurpose devices are used to promote the use of images as the preferred idiom of a new generation of users. The aim of this article is to explore how technical changes (digitization) combined with growing insights in cognitive science and socio-cultural transformations have affected personal photography. The increased manipulation of photographic images may suit the individual's need for continuous self-remodelling and instant communication and bonding. However, that same manipulability may also lessen our grip on our images' future repurposing and reframing. Memory is not eradicated from digital multipurpose tools. Instead, the function of memory reappears in the networked, distributed nature of digital photographs, as most images are sent over the internet and stored in virtual space.

Key Words: Abu Ghraib pictures • digital technology • identity formation • memory • photography • visual culture

Visual Communication, Vol. 7, No. 1, 57-76 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1470357207084865


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