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photography Photo Ethics: Are you being deceived? image ethical how o f an i m a g e , re-scale the d i m e n s i o n s o f a picture, and alter the l i g h t i n g and c o l o u r to change a photo's meaning, within minutes. In June 1994, for e x a m p l e . T i m e pictures then c o u l d be deleted and new negatives retroactively manufactured to c o v e r the photographer's o w n crime. T h e i n c r e d i b l e p r e c i s i o n offered by image e d i t i n g software p r o v i d e s a n u m b e r o f w a y s in w h i c h the t e c h n o l o g y m a y be abused. It is important both users o f i m a g e e d i t i n g software and the p u b l i c be aware o f the c a p a b i l i t i e s o f d i g i t a l p h o t o g r a p h i c m a n i p u l a t i o n and the ethical r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s that a c c o m p a n y it. T o be sure, image e d i t i n g software is o p e n i n g the doors to a vast range o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s for g r a p h i c artists and is e x p a n d i n g the d e f i n i t i o n o f art as we know it. F o r the creative m i n d , this technology is powerful and liberating tool. U l t i m a t e l y , the use o f d i g i t a l e d i t i n g software b y m e d i a o r g a n i z a tions to distort fact a n d bolster their o w n particular agendas m a y b a c k f i r e . A s the p u b l i c b e c o m e s more a n d m o r e aware that m a n y o f the i m a g e s it v i e w s d a i l y have little f o u n d a t i o n in reality, the i m p a c t and s i g n i f i c a n c e o f all photographs, natural or a r t i f i c i a l , m a y dc d e v a l u e d . C S " This article originally appeared QuarkXPress Newsletter, Volume 7, N o . 4. in the Arts Alive staff consider photo ethics to be a growing concern for artists, the media and the public.We your comments topic. A n d , we trust you won't find any shoddy attempts misleading in Arts Alive of digital we/come on this The rise of digital editing has widespread on is ramifications photography viewed. JLhe c a m e r a does not lie." caused a national furor w h e n it used a digitally manipulated version of O . J . S i m p s o n ' s p o l i c e m u g shot for its c o v e r art. P h o t o - i l l u s t r a t o r M a t ! M a h u r i n increased the contrast o f the i m a g e a n d added a dark s h a d o w around S i m p s o n ' s face. M a n y readers were outraged, stating the altered photo was essentially racist and i m p l i e d S i m p s o n ' s g u i l t . In its response. T i m e said the cover was intended as a work o f art, and nothing more. T h i s is, perhaps, an a m b i g u o u s e x a m p l e . W h a t i f a photographer had used a d i g i t a l c a m e r a to take a picture o f S i m p s o n before he w a s arrested? W i t h t o d a y ' s t e c h n o l o g y , the photographer e a s i l y c o u l d have painted a b l o o d y knife i n S i m p s o n ' s hand, altered the appearance o f h i s c l o t h i n g , a n d pasted h i m a n d his w h i t e F o r d B r o n c o o n top o f an image o f the c r i m e scene at night. A s k i l l e d artist c o n c e i v a b l y c o u l d create a near-flawless c o m p o s i t e and sell it to the highest b i d d e r as p r o o f of Simpson's guilt. The original That's not so true a n y m o r e . S o c i e t y has taken it for granted that p h o t o g r a phy represents facts and events more accurately than any other m e d i u m . T h e advent o f i m a g e e d i t i n g e q u i p m e n t and software, however, has forced us to r e c o n s i d e r the c r e d i b i l i t y o f the c a m e r a and o f o u r o w n eyes. W i t h e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g regularity, photographs are b e i n g d i g i t a l l y altered to m a n i p u l a t e reality. A n d as image editing technology becomes more w i d e s p r e a d , p o w e r f u l , a n d a v a i l a b l e , e t h i c a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s must be c o n s i d e r e d . Granted, manipulating photographs is n o t h i n g new. A s l o n g ago as 1840. p i o n e e r p h o t o g r a p h e r H i p p o l y t e B a y a r d falsified his o w n death w i t h his " S e l f - P o r t r a i t as a D r o w n e d M a n . " F r o m the 1950s until ils c o l l a p s e , the S o v i e t U n i o n r e m o v e d certain former party o f f i c i a l s from photographs. A n d in 1979, Washingtonian magazine demonstrated h o w strategically c r o p p e d i m a g e s taken f r o m a single p h o t o g r a p h c o u l d be used out o f context to i l l u s trate a story about U S Senator E d w a r d K e n n e d y and his l o n g t i m e f r i e n d s h i p w i t h a r e l i g i o u s leader. Unlike conventional p h o t o - e d i t i n g techniques used in these e x a m p l e s , d i g i tal t e c h n o l o g y g i v e s its users Iremendous c o n t r o l o v e r i m a g e s - even to the extent the c o l o u r s o f s i n g l e p i x e l s m a y be c h a n g e d . T o d a y , photo e d i tors m a y c o m p o s i t e m u l t i p l e photographs seamlessly, r e m o v e undesirable elements photo-editing. Image on the left Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey in W a y n e ' s W o r l d (1992) showing off their first issue of Arts Alive. "expressions,"