Hippocratic Oath for Analog Photographers

DBP · Jun 23, 2006

copake_ham said:
Perhaps one could start with a Photographer's form of the Hippocratic Oath? "First do no harm in eliciting a desired response in a model or subject."

Inspired by a this comment on an earlier thread, I drafted the following:

Hippocratic Oath for Analog Photographers

I swear by Niepce, Fox Talbot, and Daguerre; Stieglitz, Weston, and Adams; Bourke-White, Lange, and Capa, and all the others who have gone before me, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

I will provide instruction and learning to my children and all others who possess an interest in the craft and art of film photography.

I will do no harm to those entrusted to me as models or subjects. Further, in photographing the natural world I will leave no mark behind of my passing.

In documenting events, I will neither manipulate images to obscure the truth nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.

I will not use the digicam, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may my lenses be scratched, my cameras jam, my film be fogged, and my developers oxidise.

Edits and comments?

david b · Jun 23, 2006

You have too much time on your hands. Go make a photograph.

gnashings · Jun 24, 2006

david b said:
You have too much time on your hands. Go make a photograph.

sure, but it made me smile.

Christopher Walrath · Jun 24, 2006

I do solemnly swear it with my left hand raised and my right hand resting on Ansel's Portfolio's.

Aggie · Jun 24, 2006

It should be the Ansel alligence not the hippocratic oath. Photography is not medical science.

firecracker · Jun 24, 2006

Aggie said:
Photography is not medical science.

Not even a testimony, either.

Roger Hicks · Jun 24, 2006

Aggie said:
It should be the Ansel alligence not the hippocratic oath. Photography is not medical science.

Then again, it's disputable how much medicine is scientific...

Cheers,

Roger

battra92 · Jun 24, 2006

Raise your right hand.
Take off your hat!
Now put your left hand here.
Raise your right hand! ...

Gotta love the Stooges.

Claire Senft · Jun 24, 2006

Dear Ms Aggie, I wish not to be contentious. Photography may not be medical science but it cures my ailments. Can we perhaps agree that it is holistic?

David A. Goldfarb · Jun 24, 2006

And sometimes photography is testimony.

I also think the rule of "first do no harm" wouldn't apply to photography in the same way as it does in medicine. The Hippocratic oath demands that a doctor should treat any patient the same way without regard to moral character. It may be perfectly appropriate for a photojournalist, though, to portray an evil person in an unflattering manner, or to use trickery to achieve an effect. Okay, so we might not like the idea of taking away a toddler's lollipop to photograph a child crying, but what about Karsh taking away Churchill's cigar to produce his most iconic portrait?

Marc Leest · Jun 24, 2006

I will sacrify a black chicken for better densities in my negatives.

DBP · Jun 24, 2006

Claire Senft said:
Dear Ms Aggie, I wish not to be contentious. Photography may not be medical science but it cures my ailments. Can we perhaps agree that it is holistic?

Isn't that holography?

bob01721 · Jun 24, 2006

DBP said:
Isn't that holography?

Holography? Isn't that... the study of holes? Hmmm. And... would that make "holistic" the adjective form?

I'm all confused now.

BrianShaw · Jun 24, 2006

I couldn't take this oath... I'm a devout HIPPOCRITE, I occasionally take digital photos. Oh... they are so very convenient!

BrianShaw · Jun 24, 2006

bob01721 said:
I'm all confused now.

Is a doughnut hole really a hole? I think not!

DBP · Jun 25, 2006

If so, is eating doughnuts a holistic diet?

Samuel B · Jun 25, 2006

I think what we really need is a Manifesto.

DBP · Jun 25, 2006

For that, I would need to go back and reread Marx. I'll let someone else take that on.

blansky · Jun 25, 2006

David A. Goldfarb said:
And sometimes photography is testimony.

.......... but what about Karsh taking away Churchill's cigar to produce his most iconic portrait?

An outrageous case of Prime Minister abuse.

Michael

Daniel_OB · Jun 26, 2006

"In documenting events, I will neither manipulate images to obscure the truth nor will I make a suggestion to this effect."

This is one of the basic principle of photography, and nothing is wrong with.

"I will not use the digicam, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work."

I do not see and here just anything wrong but cannot get why. As I could get, it reffers to digital imaging. If so, just anyone have it around the neck, it is part of everyday living, like walkman, i-pod, computer, shoes,.... I think that autor see it as competition to photography as it is advertised to draw more customers for such cameras, printers, inks, programs,.... In facts it has not just anything in comon with photography.

www.LEICA-R.com

Hippocratic Oath for Analog Photographers

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