More on Photoportals
The term “photoportal” is used in several different ways by technologists, artists, and businesses. I use it to describe one of the focuses of my photography. This is a first pass at describing the different ideas about portals and photography so that I can place my work in the general context.
In business, the term “photo portal” has been used to describe products that provide access to a collection of photographs. It has also been used to describe products, such as some that might be used in logistics, that are themselves portals or transit areas with associated photography features for tasks like tracking and inventory control.
Artistically, starting with the literal, portals in photography may be various physical items in a photograph such as doors and windows, tunnels, rock arches, and so on. They may also be synthetic passageways created by compositing multiple visual elements or including computer-generated elements. There are many post-processing techniques that can create the appearance of a “portal” in a picture.
In technology development, virtual reality developers have built on the synthetic approaches and have used the term for things like synthetic experiences that allow users to change their virtual location. In this case a virtual photo may be the synthetic experience, or object, that can be used to change location. Thus, the virtual photograph can be a portal to another location – a type of photoportal.
Another use of “portal” in the context of photography is to describe how pictures provide a way for a viewer to experience a different aspect of reality. For example, a photograph may be “a portal: between the personal, or individual, and the universal; between reality and the supernatural; and between photography itself and other mediums”1. Photographs have also been described as “a portal of self-discovery, a portal to the moment and the memories, a portal of reflection, a portal to their creativity and ultimately a portal to life”.2
These latter descriptions present photographs as starting points for exploring beyond the simple physical reality represented by the pictures themselves, so that the viewer can encounter a broader range of experiences.
My use of “photoportal” is similar to this because the photographs that I make are often intended to communicate an idea or feeling. In this sense, they are portals to non-physical experiences, as described above. This is something that is shared with a lot of photography as a whole.
But in addition, they are also objects that can take the viewer to another, different location from the one in which they are viewing the picture, through the use of embedded internet links. In particular, that other location is precisely where the photograph was taken, and the function of taking the viewer there is provided by the link. This allows a direct comparison between the experience provided by the photographer’s picture, and the experience of standing where the picture was taken, creating a different, perceptual link between them.
This combination of a photograph and a photosphere, connected by both functional and perceptual links, is what I’m calling a “photoportal”. And just as a photograph can communicate ideas and feelings, a photoportal can communicate ideas and feelings, including different ones because it is inherently a multifaceted experience that includes interactive aspects.
Because these richer aspects lend themselves to richer explorations, I find it helpful to write about the ideas involved. At the very least, this helps me explore them more deliberately. It also provides a way to share ideas with others who may find them interesting and want to share their own thoughts.
In a later post, I’ll explore some of the specific ideas that I hope to explore and share through the use of photoportals.
- From Jessica Brier’s essay about Esther Teichmann’s photography. ↩︎
- From the artist Galia Alena on her web site. ↩︎