Introduction

Abstract

The term “virtual photography,” which gives this book its title, is simultaneously axiomatic and obfuscating as it conveys an idea that is both banal and novel. It refers to a kind of photography that is practiced ubiquitously but is defined only elusively—everybody seems to know about the virtualization of photography, but nobody knows what a virtual photograph actually is. Virtual photography has already found its place in common parlance; however, its conceptual territory is still uncharted for researchers and practitioners of photography. Obviously, as isolated terms, “virtual” and “photography” have their histories, theories, and discourses. Their combination, though, causes indecision that oscillates between immanent orthodoxy and imminent heresy because it stitches a virtuality-inducing crux onto the reality-infusing medium of photography. In other words, due to the reluctance of photography to be virtualized and the resistance of the virtual to be realized, the term “virtual photography” appears to be oxymoronic. Thus, one might ask: What is virtual photography? And what can be considered a virtual photograph?