We live in an ugly world. Yes, people have become crueler and dumber, we have a handful of people owning everything and are still not satisfied, and the planet is covered in war and famine. And, let’s not forget about the climate disaster!
But the ugly I’m referring to is a literal one. Look around. Everything is beige or gray. Movies look flat and actors are overly perfect looking even when the scene clearly calls for sweaty, dirty faces. Architecture is homogenized and music all sounds the same. Even photography has become super bland.
It never used to be like this. We all remember the McDonalds and Pizza Huts of the 80’s. Cars actually came in cool colors like blue and green and had funky styling elements like the fins and white walls of the 50’s. Music has always been changing and experimenting with different sounds. Photography felt real and gritty. It told a story and was full of color. Even black and white somehow conveyed color. So, what happened? Where did that color and uniqueness of style go?
There are a few answers and with everything in life, those multiple factors are all likely playing a role. To start with, there is the obvious answer of money. It’s cheaper to build buildings that look all the same because you can use the most common materials that everyone else is using there by driving down your cost. Unique features like arches and funky roofs cost more because they’re not manufactured as much. And while this certainly makes sense, it doesn’t explain why you can buy a sofa in 15 different shades of beige but only one shade of blue. Choice still exists but the choices are all bland.
Another theory I came across is the newness and hope that technology once brought to people and my favorite example is the Crossness Pumping Station in London. Sewage management as we know it today was pretty revolutionary in Victorian times so extra effort was put into designing a glorious building to pay homage to this glorious new device. Likewise, old lamp posts in Europe show what a celebration electricity was when it first came out. Today outdoor lighting is functional but ugly. But it’s also not a big deal to us. It just has to work and not cause our taxes to go up. But we all go love to go abroad and see those structures so is cost really the only thing stopping us? Apparently, many of those old lamps were mass produced just like we do today so would it really cost that much more?
Still another theory suggests that the blandness of today is a result of corporations thinking that this is what the masses think luxury looks like.
Some of the most luxurious times that we have on film come from the Roaring 20’s. But those films are all in black and white and while we know that they, of course, had very colorful homes and dress, the monotone and muted colors we see in film has stuck in our minds. Or at least, that’s what companies think so they give us what they think we want? I admit that this isn’t my favorite theory but at the same time, we the masses don’t often get a chance to truly influence the design and production of everyday things. Companies may hire other companies to find out what people want but what if we don’t know what we want or what’s possible? What if executives pooh pooh the results of studies? We all want safer cars that don’t cost an arm and a leg but is that really reflected in the cars for sale today.
So, if you’ve made it this far, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with photography. EVERYTHING! Have you looked at any modern photography lately? It’s so bland that you could eat it after having major surgery. The subject matter is often boring or the composition is poor. And where is the color? Why do people – especially portrait photographers – hate color so much?
Once again, there are likely a number of reasons for this and this will likely turn into a regular rant from me but the one thing I’ll talk about right now is nostalgia. You don’t have to go too many decades back to see photos that were poorly lit, poorly posed, and either faded or the color is off because the photo paper is breaking down. I love those photos. They captured a moment in the time of a specific event and that makes them beautiful.
But we have more tools and knowledge at our hands today. The family photo with your uncle’s eyes closed that’s on the wall was likely the only one taken of the family that day because film was expensive and very limited. Today, we can take hundreds of photos at time which I wouldn’t recommend doing a a photo session but the point is that we have more opportunity to get things right. Likewise, film didn’t always have great color depending on your lighting but it’s something we can compensate for today. Why make your memories bland and ugly when you can make the beautiful and even magical?
I’m going to stop here for now because this is something that really bothers me and therefore, is something I can and later, will rant on and on about. Here are a couple of examples of what I’m talking about using my own work. Editing with color in mind helps to show the richness of the sky. The black and white edit creates an ominous mood but the desaturated version is flat and uninteresting.
Same with the next image. A sepia tone version of the boat gives both texture and a vintage feel but is the desaturated image really evoking the same emotion?
Credits for photos that are not mine:
Crossness Pumping Station- Peter Scrimshaw
Restaurants – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7sQEU6gXE4
Movies – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-MB0Sej9tQ
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