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Lauren Perry
Professor Smethurst
English 100
September 14, 2012
Comparative Rhetorical Analysis
“Just point your iPhone or Android device, click the shutter button and instantly you’re producing something not short of fine art,” Nick Stern. The prevalence of mobile photography has recently become rather popular. With new iPhone and Android applications like Instagram and Hipstamatic, mobile photography is more accessible and entertaining than ever. These applications have played a vital role in photojournalism, social media, and the art of photography. In the article “Opinion: Why Instagram Photos Cheat the Viewer,” Nick Stern asserts his position on why he feels cheated, as a photojournalist, by Instagram photos. In the article “Through My Eye, Not Hipstamatic’s,” Damon Winter reasonably argues that the Hipstamatic application was the correct tool to utilize, in order to depict his particular story, while on his combat mission in the military. Even though Nick Stern goes into great detail of what it means to be a great photographer, he fails to address any major counterarguments, which is why Damon Winter’s article is more persuasive. Winter’s provides critical support from outside sources, while addressing the opposing view.
In the article “Opinion: Why Instagram Photos Cheat the Viewer,” Nick Stern uses his credibility as an extremely cultured photojournalist to convey the idea that Instagram essentially
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cheats the art of photography and the viewer. He also stresses the fact that professional photographers “spend years learning his or her trade,” and Instagram users can get a similar effect of a good photograph with the click of a button. In Stern’s opinion, a device that lets you capture an image “naked” produces more emotion to the viewer. Towards the end of the article Nick Stern uses a personal anecdote that conveys the emotion he once captured in an image of himself in Haiti, after the earthquake hit. Stern then provides examples of occurrences that have resulted in negative consequences by the altering of photos within the field of photojournalism. Nick Stern closes the article by saying that applications like Instagram and Hipstamatic produce “images that are equally unethical,” and poses a rhetorical question about how we have placed our trust in app developers to bring our news.
In the article “Through My Eye, Not Hipstamatic’s,” Damon Winter addresses the controversy, in which he received after winning third place for a feature picture story from Pictures of the Year International by using the Hipstamatic application on his iPhone. Winter defends his argument by explaining that it was the correct tool to utilize at that particular time, while on a combat mission. He then explains that any question about the validity of his images comes down to the fundamentals of aesthetics and content. Winter compares the processes that are used in both photography and the photo application Hipstamatic. He demonstrates that there isn’t a real difference in the processes used by both techniques, and gives evidence as to why he decided that his cellular device was the best tool to use at the time. Throughout the article Damon Winter explains how using his Hipstamatic application made his pictures more natural and comfortable for the people he chose to photograph. He closes the article by explaining that
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techniques of photography should not rely on visual accuracy, but how effectively they tell their story.