Post-Photographic Images of the Night in Mexico City's Historic Downtown

Abstract

From its beginnings, photography has documented the material and sociocultural dimensions of cities. The use of the flash, filters, and other analog camera accessories allowed for greater proximity to parts of nightlife. Today, smartphones, with their cameras and web apps, make it possible for digital images to multiply in virtual space. They are making it easier and more and more common to capture our sojourns through the city. We are witnessing the arrival of what Joan Fontcuberta called “post-photography,” that is, the production of digital images with new technological communication devices that make it possible for photographs to circulate in the net’s virtual space in a matter of seconds. Instagram is one of the most commonly used communications networks for the exchange of images and messages. Its users can send out photos in seconds, edit them with app “filters,” add key words, and indicate the place where the image was taken. The post-photographic images of the urban night on this platform reveal the lighting, the multiple rhythms, and the social relations created there.