THE CAMERA NEVER LIES - OR DOES IT?

Panos Polizos

To be a photographer or cameraman by profession is a difficult job involving many responsibilities! This is especially true when working for a newspaper or a magazine. Sometimes, what we see in a picture is not the truth, and as technology gives many facilities to photographers, a very important question has arisen over the past decades: the camera never lies ~ or does it?

Technology offers us many facilities, and because of that we have the chance to produce a lot of incredible things from a film. For instance, some time ago while I was watching The News on one of the main TV channels, they showed a film of Mr Papandreou and Mr Mitsotakis having a secret conversation at a table. Of course, that was a joke for the 1^st of April, but it seemed quite realistic. So we can never be sure about what we see on TV.

Most of the time each film we see on the screen is accompanied by a comment. This comment is of great importance, because it can change the general message. Personally, I had an experience which is very representative. Some time ago a famous person, a government minister, visited our town in order to give a lecture. Unfortunately there were some people, 4 or 5 men, who were shouting at him. The rest of the audience was annoyed by them, and shouted at them in order to make them stop. The camera, took a picture of the whole hall in this condition and the comment said that the audience disapproved of the lecturer. This annoyed me because those people used the camera in the wrong way, and I think everyone who distorts the news on purpose in order to damage somebody’s image is lower than vermin. I like being told the truth so I always tell the truth. I’m extremely annoyed by those who distort the truth, and I think that it’s an article of faith that they bear a heavy burden of guilt.

From all these thoughts, I regret to say that the camera sometimes lies, and we can never trust what we are being told by the news. It’s our responsibility to protest people who lie and do our best so that the truth will always shine out.

Panos Polizos is a fifteen year old student at the fourth gymnasium. He studied English with John Foss, and took and passed both the Cambridge and Michigan Proficiency exams this year when he was fourteen years old, having passed the FCE with a B grade last year. His interests include music and acting - he has appeared on Dion Channel both as an actor and musician, and is a keen fan of Yianni. He is the co-editor of the English Times.