Here's something interesting in this morning's New York Times
The Racial Bias Built Into Photography
Sarah Lewis explores the relationship between racism and the camera.
Can a photographic lens condition racial behavior? I wondered about this as I was preparing to speak about images and justice on a university campus.
“We have a problem. Your jacket is lighter than your face,” the technician said from the back of the one-thousand-person amphitheater-style auditorium. “That’s going to be a problem for lighting.” She was handling the video recording and lighting for the event.It was an odd comment that reverberated through the auditorium, a statement of the obvious that sounded like an accusation of wrongdoing. Another technician standing next to me stopped adjusting my microphone and jolted in place. The phrase hung in the air, and I laughed to resolve the tension in the room then offered back just the facts:
“Well, everything is lighter than my face. I’m black.”
Thanks John. I don’t often comment but .....
Interesting? It (not you) pisses me off that an article about racism was inspired (promoted, initiated, CONTRIVED) and published over a lighting issue. Really? Good Lord. The answer “I’m black everything is lighter” was perfect and it should have stopped there.
Well hey, why not write an article about why the jacket was chosen and who is the maker? Was it meant for blacks to wear? Was the photographer black? White? Why or why not? Who didn’t know about special filters for skin tones or high/low key situations? I’m being snarky.
Reasons for promoting and acknowledging “racism” seems to be raised in any case for any reason anywhere if one needs attention.
People need to LEAVE IT ALONE. I’m sick of these horseshit writings creating adversity out of every day situations. New York Times has contributed another to its self serving burn pile, IMO.
On Fri, Apr 26, 2019 at 5:52 AM John Palcewski <palcewski@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
