A picture is worth a thousand words

Photography is both an art and a science. Photography allows us to express our feeling and emotions, but to do so we need to master the scientific part of the medium. Unlike a painter, who is in direct contact with his subject and his canvas, a photographer is separated from his subject by the camera and from his “canvas” by computers and printers today and by darkroom equipment previously. These times give us many opportunities in how to capture a moment. Some decide to take pictures using modern technologies; others, however, stick with a more traditional way which includes visual art. It seems that there is still a discussion whether photography and painting can have an equal sign. There are many similarities and dissimilarities between photography and painting; they are both incredibly valuable and important to art, dissimilarities and similarities way in capture moments. Something that painting and photography interestingly share is each other. That is, the incorporation of photography in artistic paintings.

Though most painting can be done digitally now, there are some studios and artists that still prefer to touch up their photographs the old fashioned way, with paint. But, digital touch up of photographs and paintings is the new way to incorporate both with each other, and there are many programs to aid in modern artists’ quest to utilize both mediums. Overall, in my opinion painting and photography share many similarities, but these also help to make them each unique mediums, while at the same time linking them throughout history. Even though modern day sometimes separates and devalues the other medium, they are both incredibly valuable and important to art in past, present and future. Painting and photography have their own way to capture a moment; artist use paint to draw and a photographer uses light.

True that light cannot be mixed or manipulated exactly the way you want like paint but a photographer can always work within its limits. But in a studio the controlling of light becomes more feasible. An artist uses a surface to draw, sometimes a canvas and sometimes a sheet of paper or even a brick wall. While a photographer uses film to do the initial sketch and then film paper to finish. In digital age, just like digital drawing both uses the pc and the monitor. Most importantly while an artist draws using a brush a photographer uses a camera to ‘draw’ his piece of art. Even some aspects like the rule of the thirds apply to both drawing and photography. A good piece of work always comes out with similar understanding of each aspect, rules, and methods of creation. This is one reason why I see that all photographers must be good admirers of arts and all artists must be fans of photography. Even though there is a sector who are good at both arts, not having the skill is not a limit to admire. There are many similarities between paintings and photography.

First of all, photography and painting are similar in that they can both capture moments in time that are accurate. Although some consider photography to be the truth in capturing moments, painting is able to do the same whether it be actually on site or from a photograph. They are both able to manipulate their “subjects” as well, which has become more apparent and prominent in modern day photography. Photography and paintings are both able to use the artists imagination in order to capture what they are thinking, both can be abstract, precise, indirect, direct, etc. Some consider the main difference “between a painting and a photograph is that the painting alludes to its content, whereas the photograph summons it, from wherever and whenever…” however, I disagree, because I feel like, especially in modern day, artists have created ways to simulate both photograph and painting with the other.

Although photography and painting are both incredibly valuable and important to art, and have many similarities way in capture moments, but they have their own way to represent art. Photographs make us stop and look at the world in a different way. They can make us focus in on a particular aspect of a subject, look at the familiar from an alternative viewpoint. Visual art as a form of expression is probably just as old as human kind itself. From the most primitive drawings on the walls of caves, it has turned into the most competitive and demanding art of time.