REMEDIATIONS

Abstract

This study assesses predictions about the effects of digital technologies in relation to the underlying premises on which such arguments are asserted. It does so by revisiting similar debates that circulated when photography first emerged as a popular medium. In considering why autographic photographs form such a significant basis for photography's initial development, this study signposts the importance of remediation for any understanding of photographies; both in its concurrent forms and as a history of the medium. The argument advanced is that there is much to be learnt from how photography first established itself as a medium for how we can better understand recurrent debates that circulate in relation to digital imaging. In order to reveal how processes of remediation operate, a case study is offered of Hugh Annesley, an important early amateur photographer with notable proficiency in the wet collodion process. His work is considered in terms both of his practice and his collecting of photographs. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of locating photographic practices within a cultural and historical context and points to the shortcomings in pursuing technologically determinist arguments for an understanding of changes in visual culture.