Abstract

This study discusses the use of non-human animals as photographic images and the issue of representation through the triad of photographer, photographed and spectator to bring a new perspective to the representation debates of photography. From Plato to Susan Sontag, our ways of seeing have been formulated in a human-centered way. Especially in terms of "representing reality", the emotional states of human beings are taken as a basis by photographers. The reflections of the desire to live, the good-evil problem, and the photographic audience's reception of the photographic image according to their moral norms have been discussed from an anthropocentric perspective. This study attempts to overcome this anthropocentric view and argues that photographers who reveal the relations of non-human agents with violence should not be obscured by anthropocentric understanding. While the actions of human beings carry strong indicators of the socio-cultural structure, the actions of non-human agents are ignored and dealt with separately from culture, which raises doubts about the objectivity of impartial photographers, considered "gatekeepers of reality". This study both shows the agency of the photographed non-human actors and discusses the position of photographers and viewers in terms of speciesism.