Photography, since its invention in 1839, has contributed to shaping and transforming
human perception of reality. Although frequently regarded as a tool for mechanically
reproducing the world, photography is in fact a profoundly subjective medium. Each
image emerges from a series of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual choices made by the
photographer. My analysis argues that photography establishes an “ethics of vision” by
defining what may be shown, seen, or considered morally acceptable, as illustrated by the
historical impact of Nick Ut’s photograph of Kim Phúc during the Vietnam War.
Drawing on Anton Ehrenzweig’s theoretical work and the legacy of Surrealism, the study
investigates the role of unconscious processes in image creation. Photography is
presented as a space where visual memory, imagination, and symbolic repertoires
converge, producing a heterogeneous collection of images that resist linear narrative
coherence. This approach highlights the affinity between photographic practices and
surrealist methodologies, particularly through the use of free association, juxtaposition,
and conceptual displacement.
For examples, from the history of photography—Arbus, Man Ray, Avedon, Doisneau,
Feininger—demonstrate how distinct artistic visions reconfigure the visible world and
challenge the boundary between reality and representation. Finally, my autobiographical
reflection on how my own practice contributes to the analysis. The creative process is
depicted as an intuitive form of exploration shaped by improvisation and openness to
chance. Rather than conveying explicit social or political messages, the author seeks to
produce images that are timeless and detached from conventional reality.
My conclusion is that, within an image-saturated contemporary environment,
photography must be understood as a process of inquiry and discovery. Photographic
creation does not derive its value from its fidelity to the real, but from its capacity to
reveal new perceptual, imaginative, and symbolic dimensions of the world.