Ectoplasm: Photography in the Digital Age

Having just ready Geoffrey Bratchen's piece "Ectoplasm: Photography in the Digital Age," I've pushed my thoughts on the future of photography into a new realm.  Many people have begun to notice the effect digital photography has on the world, form alterations of paparazzi photos to more renowned sources such as National Geographic or Times magazine. The thing is, we know this is happening, but we have yet to hear from artists how they feel of this increasing digitization, at least I haven't. As mentioned, the idea that one may no longer be able to see a difference between what is real and what is a hoax has increasingly begun to scare me. Not only have we seen issues stem from this (can one not help but mention the eating disorders of this generation), but I fear there will be an ever increasing amount. As a person who prefers truth over fabrication I find it unequivocally disturbing to find that what is supposed to be real has been altered and fabricated. Yes, it allows for a stunning image, but intellectually and emotionally does it hold up on its own? This was an enlightening and almost fear-inducing article that has once again brought out the passion of discovering the truth, especially regarding photographs.