On Photgraphy

In the first chapter of "On Photography" Susan Sontag focuses on the meanings of photograph and on the art of taking photos. As Sontag writes "...photographs alert and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have the right to observe." (pg 3) and that photographs are are "...ethics of seeing.." (pg 3) Photographs allow us to explore all different kids of experiences and allow us to what what is going on in the world. She also goes on to say that photographs are mysterious that we recognize as modern. You can see photographs everywhere you are, magazines, books, advertisement as well as our personal photo albums etc. Photographs provide us with knowledge that we have about our pasts.They give valuable information from which we can learn. Photographs are sort of miniatures of the reality that we see today. They are like puzzle pieces to the bigger picture.
Sontag also spends a good few pages talking about photography in today's world. That taking photos has become so widely practiced that "...like every mass art form, photography is not practiced by most people as an art" (pg 8) She talks about how photography, just like many other different technological things has become a way for people to make their lives more interesting. That it is no longer about having those meaningful memories to have, it is about showing other people that you are having a good time. As she writes "Photographs will offer indisputable evidence that the trips was made, that the program was carried out, that fun was had." (pg 9) Not many people anymore go on a trip without having their cameras with them. Some people take it for the memories or to admire the beauty of what they are seeing, but for a lot of people it just becomes proof of having done something. It is no longer about the beauty of a natural pictograph, it i "a way of certifying experiences..." (pg 9)