Lessig

I liked reading what Kacie had to say about how photography helps enhance people's creativity, innovative abilities, and freedom. Lessig does an excellent job of discussing how beneficial the art of photography may be in people's lives, and Kacie echoes these thoughts very well in her entry. I would contend her point, however, that there is just one way to interpret a photograph. With all the advancements being made to technology, particularly with photo editing programs such as PhotoShop, it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fake when viewing photography. Computer software provides users with the ability to edit and manipulate images so that they portray essentially whatever the editor wants.
In my eyes, the driving argument within Lessig's passages is one promoting freedom and condemning copyright laws. As Lessig states, "Professional photography gave individuals a glimpse of places they would never otherwise see. Amateur photography gave them the ability to record their own lives in a way they had never been able to do before." He also comes right out and states his opinion to be in favor of freedom from copyrights when he remarks, "Fortunately for Mr. Eastman, and for photography in general, these early decisions went in favor of the pirates. In general, no permission would be required before an image could be captured and shared with others. Instead, permission was presumed. Freedom was the default." In the later sections of his writing, Lessig points out the ways in which photography has had a positive impact on the lives of those involved with Just Think!, and how it goes to enable their personal expression. He then continues his argument in opposition of copyright laws by claiming that the Internet's forms of communication following traumatic events such as 9/11 is more effective in reaching people than the forms of communication used by mainstream, powerful corporations such as CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, etc. Finally, he promotes open source, or free, software in his third passage. Many people have been frustrated at powerful companies like Microsoft and Apple for their high costs, and some programmers decided they would do something about it. They developed open source software like Linux, and some companies like IBM have integrated open source software into their business model as a way of reducing costs while still maintaining a high level of quality with their technological resources.