New York University professor Fred Ritchin, a former New York Times Magazine photo editor, has watched how image-processing software chips away at what he sees as the credibility of photographs.
Working with a committee of grad students from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, Ritchin has devised a small symbol of a crossed-out camera lens to identify images that, through doctoring or retouching, are no longer simple mechanical reproductions of a moment in time.
Many photojournalists have greeted the NYU proposal enthusiastically. Several major agencies and organizations have adopted the proposal, including the 5,000-member American Society of Media Photographers. Says society Executive Director Richard Weisgrau, "Our position is that no photograph presented as news should be altered, and that other noncommercial images that have been altered should get the icon. Don't give the public the chance to believe that the image is opinion, not fact."
Publications have been less amenable. "Publications will have to get burned a few more times" before they see that keeping fact and fiction straight is in their interests, too, says Weisgrau.
But is there really such a thing as an objective photograph? Even varying the development time can change the message of a photo. As musician/artist David Byrne points out, "All images that appear in the press are manipulated in one way, shape, or form ... If you think what you're seeing is the truth, then you're in for big trouble." The Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU: +1 (212) 998 1891.
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