The power of images

Next week (Wednesday) will be the first anniversary of the commencement of this weblog. When I began it in late June 2004 I had only the haziest idea of what I was doing. The early entries were very experimental, and if I were to start again there are a number of things I would do differently (ie choice of name – “afroml” was just a working title).

One of the standards I set, right from the start, was for all images and text to be entirely original. There are two pictures that I have recycled from elsewhere on the internet, but otherwise everything on this site is new. From a “content” point of view, this weblog is unique.

Very quickly I learned to integrate images with the text, and I am now taking photographs on a daily basis. This process has made me think deeply about the power of images, and how they relate to the way we “see” things. I might try to re-read Image Music Text by Roland Barthes (I read it a few years ago and hardly understand a word, but the overall impression of expert erudition has stayed in my mind).


Above: tourist taking photographs at the British Museum. I noticed his progress around a range of halls, and it consisted entirely of taking photographs. He can't have seen any of the objects except through his camera lens.