ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the early uncertain temporalized moments of photography and motion photography from Niepce's first exposure at Grasse in 1826 to the traumatic image flows of early cinematography. It examines the specific uncertainties people find in the mass image and the new modes of horizontal distribution and visual engagement offered by the digital. The book outlines the ways in which legal, cultural and gender-specific uncertainties continue to haunt thumbnail images. It discusses the apparent renaissance of physiognomy in recent biometrie surveillance technologies. The book explores automated detection and recognition of faces that engage in the analysis of emotions from facial expressions, exploring the issues of uncertainty that arises with the aim of algorithmically establishing a valid correlation between facial expressions and emotions. It also explores the relation between photography and future environments through a feminist critique of the Anthropocene.
