Tracing the Individual Body...

It is interesting to think of photography in the way this piece talked about it. Usually photography has been either debated on the idea of art or not? Or it has been condoned wildly as one of the greatest inventions of the 19th century. And this piece does too, in a way, condone it. But it also puts a negative feeling into our heads when we consider how it convicts people and how it finds guilt with no question. It is a continuation of the idea that the camera is a strictly mechanical being that reproduces the truth. There was hardly any mention of the person behind the camera snapping the shot, which I found interesting. Only the camera is to blame, or thank, whichever way you choose to look at it.
The fact that criminals are caught in the act with and the camera “…uncovers a guilty image that the criminal cannot obfuscate…because the criminal remains unawares that a photo was being taken” (17 of reader) creates this credibility that is fantastic. The evolution of the courtroom and the way convictions are made because of photography/film is really an amazing feat. No longer do we use testimonies alone, but a more scientific, fact based approach. I had never thought of photography in this way, many probably take it for granted, but it is something to think about. Also the dichotomy of photography as a very artsy, premeditated art and photography as a quick the-subject-is-unaware science. The fact that this technology is so versatile only adds to the many affects it has on people.
Finally, the idea of the photo making this authoritative relationship between a “deviant…and a recording apparatus…” (16) was something new to me. Again it brings up the question of how the deviant must feel towards an inanimate object. I suppose it was the person taking the photograph that held the authority over the person but the physical camera between them really puts a distance between the deviant and the photographer. I don’t really know what I’m getting at here but it could possibly be entertaining to investigate further.