Photography In Ethiopia: where Are We?

A series of questions one must ask:

• Is there a way to measure the growth/development of photography?
• Is there a need to measure the growth/development of photography?
• Why would one want to measure the growth/development of photography in Ethiopia in the first place?
• Would the result from these measurements contribute to further photography in its various forms for the elevation of the individual, community, country, continent, and ultimately, humanity?

Why Measure the Maturity of a Photograph?

The importance of Art, more specifically photography, is an unrivaled truth. Measuring maturity of a photographic work can help make a manual, a sort of production guide, to those working to consistently deliver mature photographic work. The more mature photographic work we have, the heightened the human experience in viewing art becomes. Production of the guide also helps in shortening the years of experience one must have to finally begin consistently delivering mature photographic work.

It is certain that empirically measuring the maturity of a photograph, a mostly subjective experience, is difficult and may not deliver a consistent result. A suggestion for a compensation to that challenge is that those with experience pass united judgements to the maturity of the photographs.

How Can One Measure the Maturity of a Photograph?

From my studies, observations, and experiments, there are four ways of measuring maturity of photography. The following methods of measurement are quite difficult to pick apart and use each one separately. The methods of measurement are one whole, beyond a sum of their parts.

Aesthetic Quality

A higher aesthetic shows a maturity of photography. Aesthetic quality depends mostly on the composition of the photograph.

Emotive Quality

When one’s emotions are stirred upon viewing a photograph, it is indicative of a higher emotive quality of a photograph. The emotive quality of a photograph is quite subjective as it requires one to be sensitive to objects of art, be able to properly and thoroughly express the emotions felt.

The Story Behind It

Upon hearing the story of Juan Pablo Echeverri, a Columbian photographer who has been taking photos of himself every day for the past 8 years, one’s curiosity is piqued. One would love to go and see this obsession, for a lack of a better word, behind the making of the photographs. The story behind the photographer or the photograph itself is a method of measuring the maturity of a photograph.

Production Quality

There are two ways to view a photograph: on screen and on print. When viewing photographic work on screen, observing production quality becomes similar to examining the aesthetic quality of the photograph. Thus, we will move to observing the production quality of printed photos. Production quality has factors that depend on the material on which the photograph is mounted, and the quality of the process. Take for instance, an inkjet print. The quality of the print depends on the type of paper used — the appropriate the thickness and texture of which is to be determined by the image maker — and the print quality on the paper — closeness in accuracy, in terms of color, contrast and exposure, of the reproduced photograph to the one made by the camera. In this case, a higher production quality i.e. the level of harmony reached in the unity of the type of paper used and the quality of print.

A Point System

After pointing out the criteria for measuring maturity of a photograph, it is necessary to construct a sort of measuring system where a photo is judged based on the criteria and given points from point range. Each criteria will have a scale ranging from 1 to 5 for which a photograph will be rated.

Through a universally agreed point system, one is thus able to measure the level maturity of photography, and, from these results, make conclusions of how to further the art and its many forms of manifestation.