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THE VISUAL VILLAGE Before the age of the smartphone, aspiring photographers had to learn how to use high-tech cameras and photographic techniques. Not everyone had cameras, and it took skill and a good eye to capture and create a greatphotograph. Today, with the huge range of camera apps on our smartphones, we are all amateur photographers. And pretty good ones, too: The quality of smartphone images now nearly equals that of digital cameras. The new ease of photography has given us a tremendous appetite for capturing the magical and the ordinary. We are obsessed with documenting everyday moments, whether it's a shot of our breakfast, our cat—or our cat's breakfast. And rather than collect pictures in scrapbooks, we share, like, and comment on them with friends and strangers around the globe. Even photojournalists are experimenting with cell phones because their near invisibility makes it easier to capture unguarded moments. The Internet also allows photojournalists to avoid traditional media. They can now act as their own publishers— reaching huge audiences via social media sites such as Instagram. A photograph taken in New York can get a response from someone in Lagos within a second of being uploaded. In the past, magazines published unforgettable photos of important people and global events that captured our imaginations. These photos had the power to change public opinion—even the course of history. But if there are fewer memorable images today, it's not because there are fewer good images: It's because there are so many. No one image gets to be special for long. Cameras are everywhere—a situation that is transforming the way we experience dramatic events. When there are major political events or natural disasters, it is ordinary citizens with cell phones— not photojournalists—who often provide the first news images. Quality still matters, but it's less important than what's instantly shared. As people everywhere embrace photography and the media make use of citizen journalists, professional standards appear to be shifting. In the past, most people trusted photojournalists to accurately represent reality. Today, however, digital images can be altered in ways the naked eye might

视觉村 在智能手机时代之前， 有抱负的摄影师必须学会如何使用高科技相机和摄影技术。 并不是每个人都有相机，捕捉和创造一张好照片需要技巧和良好的眼光。 今天，我们的智能手机上有各种各样的相机应用程序，我们都是业余摄影师。 还有一些不错的： 智能手机图像的质量现在几乎与数码相机的质量相当。 摄影的新便利性让我们对捕捉神奇和平凡有了巨大的欲望。 我们痴迷于记录日常时刻， 无论是我们的早餐、我们的猫，还是我们猫的早餐。 我们不是在剪贴簿里收集照片，而是分享，比如， 并与世界各地的朋友和陌生人一起评论他们。 就连摄影记者也在试验手机 因为它们近乎隐形，更容易捕捉到无人防守的时刻。 互联网也让摄影记者避开了传统媒体。 他们现在可以作为自己的出版商-- 通过Instagram等社交媒体网站吸引大量观众。 在纽约拍摄的照片可以在上传后的一秒钟内得到拉各斯某人的回复。 过去，杂志刊登了令人难忘的重要人物和全球事件的照片，激发了我们的想象力。 这些照片有能力改变公众舆论，甚至改变历史进程。 但如果今天令人难忘的照片减少了，那并不是因为好照片减少了： 这是因为有这么多。 没有一张照片能长时间保持特别。 相机无处不在，这种情况正在改变我们体验戏剧性事件的方式。 当发生重大政治事件或自然灾害时，只有普通公民才能使用手机-- 而不是摄影记者——他们经常提供第一批新闻图片。 质量仍然很重要，但它不如即时共享的内容重要。 随着世界各地的人们拥抱摄影，媒体利用公民记者， 专业标准似乎正在发生变化。 在过去，大多数人相信摄影记者能够准确地反映现实。 然而，如今，数字图像可以以肉眼可能看到的方式进行更改

never notice. Any image can be altered to create an "improved" picture of reality. The average viewer is left with no way to assess the accuracy of an image except through trust in a news organization or photographer. The question of the accuracy of images gets even trickier when photojournalists start experimenting with camera apps—like Flickr or Instagram— which encourage the use of filters. Images can be colored, brightened, faded, and scratched to make photographs more artistic, or to give them an antique look. Photojournalists using camera apps to cover wars and conflicts have created powerful images—but also controversy. Critics worry that antique-looking photographs romanticize war, while distancing us from those who fight in them. Yet, photography has always been more subjective than we assume. Each picture is a result of a series of decisions— where to stand, what lens to use, and what to leave in or out of the frame. Does altering photographs with camera app filters make them less true? There's something powerful and exciting about the experiment that the digital age has forced upon us. These new tools make it easier to tell our own stories, and they give others the power to do the same. Many members of the media get stuck on the same stories, focusing on elections, governments, wars, and disasters. In the process, they miss out on the less dramatic images of daily life that can be just as revealing and relevant. The increase in the number of photographs and photographers might even be good for democracy itself. Hundreds of millions of potential citizen journalists make the world smaller and help keep leaders honest. People can now show what they are up against, making it increasingly difficult for governments to hide their actions. If everyone has a camera, Big Brother isn't the only one watching. Who knows? Our obsession with documentation and constantly being connected could lead to a radical change in our way of being. Perhaps we are witnessing the development of a universal visual language. It's one that could change the way we relate to each other and the world. Of course, as with any language, there will be those who produce poetry and those who make shopping lists. It's not clear whether this flowering of image-making will lead to a public that better appreciates and understands images. Or will it simply numb us to the profound effects a well-made image can have? Regardless, the change is irreversible. Let's hope the millions of new photographs made today help us see what we all have in common, rather than what sets us apart.

永远不会注意到。任何图像都可以被改变，以创造一个“改进”的现实画面。 普通观众无法评估图像的准确性 除非是通过信任新闻机构或摄影师。 图像的准确性问题变得更加棘手 当摄影记者开始尝试使用Flickr或Instagram等相机应用程序时-- 这鼓励使用过滤器。 图像可以着色、增亮、褪色和划痕 让照片更具艺术性，或者给它们一种古董的外观。 使用相机应用程序报道战争和冲突的摄影记者创造了强大的图像，但也引发了争议。 评论家们担心，看起来很古老的照片将战争浪漫化， 同时让我们与那些在他们身上战斗的人保持距离。 然而，摄影总是比我们想象的更主观。 每张照片都是一系列决定的结果-- 站在哪里，使用什么镜头，在相框里或外留下什么。 使用相机应用程序滤镜更改照片是否会降低其真实性？ 数字时代强加给我们的实验有一些强大而令人兴奋的东西。 这些新工具使讲述我们自己的故事变得更加容易， 他们赋予其他人同样的权力。 许多媒体成员都陷入了同样的故事，关注选举、政府、战争和灾难。 在这个过程中，他们错过了日常生活中不那么戏剧化的画面 这同样具有启示性和相关性。 照片和摄影师数量的增加甚至可能对民主本身有利。 数亿潜在的公民记者使世界变得更小，并帮助领导人保持诚实。 人们现在可以展示他们所面临的挑战， 这使得政府越来越难以掩盖自己的行为。 如果每个人都有相机，那么老大哥并不是唯一一个在看的人。 谁知道呢？ 我们对文档的痴迷和不断的联系 可能会导致我们的生存方式发生根本性的变化。 也许我们正在见证一种通用视觉语言的发展。 这可能会改变我们与彼此和世界的关系。 当然与任何语言一样， 会有人创作诗歌，也会有人列出购物清单。 目前尚不清楚这种图像制作的繁荣是否会让公众更好地欣赏和理解图像。 还是说，它只是让我们对制作精良的图像可能产生的深远影响麻木？ 无论如何，这种变化是不可逆转的。 让我们希望今天拍摄的数百万张新照片能帮助我们看到我们的共同点， 而不是什么让我们与众不同。

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