Half-Life of a Photo
I’ve worked as a news photographer my adult life, which gives me an unusual perspective on physics and art.
I had a conversation with some artist friends at a meeting of a local arts association. The discussion focused on planning a series of events and how different aspects would be managed by committees and sub-committees.
My frustration became apparent as I wanted someone with authority in the group to make decisions instead of relegating everything to committees.
I explained that I came to the art world from the newspaper world, where the half-life of any project was measured in the briefest of deadlines. Deadlines could be as short as 10 minutes until the next photo transmission or as long as several hours before the presses began running for the morning edition.
Once those deadlines passed, it was time to start working on new stories and photos. Deadlines were the backbone of reporting—the strength of knowing that today’s experiences would be in the hands of the public the following morning. The task was complete when a reader flipped through the newsprint and saw what made it in time for the deadlines.
Photo half-lives are measured in the briefest moments. Maybe one five-hundredth of a second at the beginning, then rapid fire to the next exposure. Then came processing, printing, and delivery to the news desk. There was no lingering at the news desk; news editors had their own set of half-life rules and typically didn’t require the photographer's presence.
In the digital photo world, the half-life continues to drive publication. However, the interval is much shorter now, as the news editor desk has been eliminated, and readers can see the work almost immediately.
That makes committees much more infuriating. Somebody make a decision.
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