Imaging Place MOV

Imaging Place reminds me a lot of the Google application, Google Maps. I remember the first time I ever looked at the Virtual Map I was intrigued. Sites, houses, spaces that I hadn't been to were at my fingertips. I could now investigate my new house for the next year without having to actually see it before I signed the lease.

It also wasn't too long ago that I noticed a Google car driving around with a camera on the top. It was very strange. I only believe that this is the beginning of something extraordinary and also detrimental to society. The idea of the virtual world scares me yet also intrigues me. But there is such a disconnect to what you are seeing and what you are experiencing. It is exactly why some photographs are such sensational photographs simply because the space you are in has taken the fear out of it. For example, a documentary photographer taking a photograph of a war first hand. The photograph is of a soldier. Perfect light. Perfect backdrop. Perfect Picture. But what is left behind is the experience. The fear. The smell. The noise. The uncomfortable.

Taking walks twice a week has really allowed me to notice that the experience is far more sensational than the photograph, and I always thought otherwise. Strong contrast or a particular light really brought it all together. But collectively, organically, the experience makes you realize you are human. It unveils the mystery behind the camera.

This is why I find imaging place to have that particular dichotomy within my psyche. I feel that the camera has both destructive and constructive properties. It can unveil truths, and yet fabricate others at the same time. It is only a matter of time that small projects like this will be driving and navigating how we think of ourselves as a society. It is as similar as our newfound navigation through our social sphere, (facebook, twitter, etc.)