AUTHENTICITY?

UNKNOWN WOMAN WITH A LARGE HAT : Whyte & Sons Studio, Union Street, Glasgow.

Authenticity is a strange concept when it comes to photography. Even the best photographic image is far from authentic. Repairing old photographs does not destroy their authenticity, it merely shifts it onto another plain. So bring on the filters and get out the colours – that smile is as authentic – and as unauthentic – now, as it was when it first appeared on that old studio card at the beginning of the last century.