La fotografía de plantas en la divulgación científica botánica

Abstract

El articulo analiza el uso de la fotografía como medio para la representación de plantas a través del estudio de sus imágenes, y muestra, a través del estudio de publicaciones, que la fotografía históricamente no ha sido tan utilizada como el dibujo en la representación científica, debido a su incapacidad para sintetizar. También estudia cómo la función de la fotografía ha evolucionado con el avance de las tecnologías digitales. A través del estudio de una serie de obras, se defiende la idoneidad de la fotografía como material de referencia botánica, por su capacidad de visibilizar la diversidad de formas vegetales, describir tipos o mostrar varios estadios de desarrollo simultáneamente.This text analyses the use of photography as a means to represent herbaria through the study of their images, referring to how photography has been used to document botany due to its alleged objectivity and how it has been criticized for its excessive detail. The text demonstrates, through the study of publications, that in scientific representation, photography has historically been used less frequently than drawing because of its inability to synthesize. It also explores how the role of photography has evolved with the advent of digital technologies, enabling a synthesis comparable to that of drawing thanks to the use of editing tools. Therefore, through the study of a series of works, the appropriateness of photography as botanical reference material is supported, owing to its capacity to reveal the diversity of plant forms, describe types or depict various stages of development simultaneously. The article concludes by elucidating that the scientific application of photography has yet to be fully professionalized and emphasizes the necessity of recognizing its value in botanical illustration