The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Don't misuse technology, photographers told

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Don't misuse technology, photographers told

By Our Staff Reporter

The Governor of Maharashtra, S.M. Krishna, at the exhibition of photographs organised by Karnataka Photo News in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE, DEC. 30. To increase circulation and make news spicy, some newspapers misuse the advances in technology by manipulating photographs, and this should stop, S.M. Krishna, Governor of Maharashtra, said here on Thursday.

Inaugurating the Karnataka Photo News annual lecture and exhibition here today, he said photographers should try to be ethical and work with integrity. Visuals make a news article more interesting and effective. Modern gadgets have made photography easy and effortless. It enables even a layman with no experience in photography to take quality pictures, he added.

Many changes

The Editor of Deccan Herald and Prajavani, K.N. Shanth Kumar, said news photography has undergone a sea change driven by the major developments in technology. The widespread growth of television has resulted in newspapers losing prominence.

"The onslaught of television implies increasing visual audience. Visual image is gaining prominence at the cost of the written word. A good picture is capable of speaking 1,000 words." Newspapers have now been challenged to cater to an audience which gives importance to visuals, he noted.

As a result, the role of a photographer has gained importance. He is under pressure to deliver quality. However, the advent of new equipment has helped him to perform better. "Photo is a marriage of art and science." None of the technology developed has had the same impact as that of the digital revolution, Mr. Shanth Kumar.

Elimination of film

He said the elimination of film has helped photographers. The latest cameras are powerful computers with lenses attached. With this technology marvel, it takes a lot of effort to create a bad image, he remarked.

Mr. Shanth Kumar said it is unfortunate that photographers sometimes intrude into the privacy of celebrities. This gives rise to the ethical question of how much privacy a celebrity is entitled to, in public places. Editors are forced to take a difficult decision on such issues. Leading companies are coming up with jammers to avoid unwanted shooting of photographs inside their premises, Mr. Shanth Kumar added.

T.S. Sathyan, renowned photojournalist, was felicitated.

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