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Physics of photography
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An investigation into the theory that photography is an entity constructed by three fundamental processes; a concept, an image and a viewer and how they if at all contribute to the communication of a photograph.
This report investigates the theory that photography is constructed with three main components.
1) The concept – The foundation of a photograph. The concept gives the image meaning and the photographer a reason to photograph.
2) The Image- The outcome of the concept. The main body of the structure. Would this image have changed if it did not have a concept? Would the image have even been created without the concept?
3) The Viewer- How is the viewer going to respond to the image? Does the viewer effect the interpretation of the image in any way? Without the viewer the image need not exist and without the image the concept need not exist.
This triangle of components creates many interpretations that question the fundamentals of photography. Can one component work without the other? Do these components affect one another? Lastly will the understanding of the image change if one of these three components is absent?
(DIAGRAM IN HERE) Figure 1
By conducting critical and thorough research collected from a wide variety of sources, I will establish a considered and theoretical structure for my practice, in order to appropriately explore the contexts and meanings of my final outcomes. This exploratory style of qualitative research will involve a certain degree of deductive reasoning of the contextual aspects in order for there to be complete understanding of the subject matter and its effect on the photographic content. This will not be based on a pre-determined hypothesis but a clearly identifiable problem or...
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...e war through their images. This freedom allowed photographers such as Don McCullin and Larry Burrows to push the boundaries of photojournalism into new and unexplored realms. It is the work created by these western photographers that have formed the memories of the war.
VIEWER
When looking at how a person views an image we have to consider reality and realism as the groundwork of this discussion. “The realism of an image corresponds to a perception of reality.” (Bate, D. 2009. P.41) This quote is suggesting that no matter how realistic an image may appear, if it does not fit with our pre-existing beliefs of the world, then the image will not be believable. The foundations of reading an image involves assessing if a photograph is credible or plausible and whether it corresponds with any pre-existing conceptions of reality and knowledge about the world.
“In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.” (Sol LeWitt - Artform, 1967)
Having such an image before our eyes, often we fail to recognize the message it is trying to display from a certain point of view. Through Clark’s statement, it is evident that a photograph holds a graphic message, which mirrors the representation of our way of thinking with the world sights, which therefore engages other
It’s his compassion for his subjects and his commitment to them that surpasses the act of making a pretty picture. Spending days with his subjects in the slums of Harlem or the hardly developed mountains of West Virginia, he immerses himself into the frequently bitter life of his next award-winning photo. Often including word for word text of testimonials recorded by junkies and destitute farmers, Richards is able to provide an unbiased portrayal. All he has done is to select and make us look at the faces of the ignored, opinions and reactions left to be made by the viewer. Have you ever been at the beach safely shielded by a dark pair of sunglasses and just watched?
People tend to views an image based on how society say it should be they tend to interpret the image on those assumption, but never their own assumptions. Susan Bordo and John Berger writes’ an argumentative essay in relation to how viewing images have an effect on the way we interpret images. Moreover, these arguments come into union to show what society plants into our minds acts itself out when viewing pictures. Both Susan Bordo and John Berger shows that based on assumptions this is what causes us to perceive an image in a certain way. Learning assumption plays into our everyday lives and both authors bring them into reality.
5 Light, Ken. Tremain, Kerry. Witness in our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers. Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2000.
Photography is defined at the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To understand photography is having insight or good judgment to know how to take the picture, but also edit it if need be. Does photography limit our understanding of the world? What some people haven’t realized is that photography is all around us, whether it is in the person’s mind to see it or not. While we see photography throughout our daily routine, people dismiss the small types of photography and focus on the bigger sceneries like other countries beautiful cities and landscapes. It’s true that in this day and age, most photographs we see have been altered in some way. When photographers use Photoshop to edit our photos, we use many different ways to make that image appealing to the eye. Although, photographers unless told to do so will not change an image into something totally absurd that takes away from being astatically pleasing. Images are a gateway to the insight of the rest of the world’s cultures landscapes, and architecture, and photography is the key aspect to it. Photography is a one way to see the world, but it is better if you go and travel around the world to see it. In order to see if photography actually limits our understanding, we have to first look at the positive side of photography.
This book is a note written by Roland Barthes to record the dialectical way he thought about the eidos(form, essence, type, species) of Photographs. Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist in his lifetime, but surprisingly he was not a photographer. As Barthes had a belief that art works consists with signs and structures, he had investigated semiotics and structuralism. However, through Camera Lucida, he realized the limitation of structuralism and the impression to analyze Photography with only semiotics and structuralism. Barthes concludes with talking about unclassifiable aspects of Photography. I could sense the direction Barthes wanted to go through the first chapter ‘Specialty of the Photograph’. He tried to define something by phenomenology
conceptualization of the term/concept, and it also helps to show that the concept is indeed
In 1995 a photo was taken of my father and myself, referred further as The Father. The operator in the image “the Photographer” (Barthes, 9) is my mother. The subject of the photograph would be my farther and I. This is considered to be the Spectrum or “spectacle”. The viewer, or Spectator “ is ourselves” (Barthes, 9), being me. After establishing the main subjects of the image, Barthes further explores how photographs affect the Spectator. Advenience is “the attraction certain photographs exerted … even adventure” (Barthes, 19). In The Father the temporary adventure would be me seeing myself as a child being held by my father, a reaction
John Berger presents a multifaceted argument regarding art, its interpretations, and the various ways of seeing. Berger asserts that there is gap between the image that the subject sees and the one that was originally painted by the artist. Many factors influence the meaning of the image to the subject and those factors are unique to the subject themselves. Seeing is not simply a mechanical function but an interactive one. Even the vocabulary is subject to specialized scrutiny by Berger; an image is a reproduction of an original product, while only the product itself may truly be a ‘painting’. Images are seen at an arbitrary location and circumstance – they are different for everyone – while the product, which is in one place, is experienced
To begin with, photography appeared to me as something entertaining a simple step in which one took a camera and simply shot a photograph of oneself or a friend. When I was handed my schedule for Mrs. Jones’s class, I felt as if this class had in store a special reward for me. As the days went by, Instead of being anxious of getting out of class I had a craving for additional time in the class. The class kept my eyes glued to the screen ...
The use of multiple images to propel a narrative allows the audience to learn something through the characters that are there. Bloomer (1990)’s study on visual perception also draws upon Newton (1998)’s concern, as he explores the multiple perspectives and views of the event. By using a series of images, the characters mood and tone can be established throughout different elements of what we see. This may be the people, the place itself or the items within the place. By having a narrative of photographs, the audience has an even deeper understanding of the reality of that moment or event as they see more than just the ‘big picture’ as
Visual perception plays a big part on how we perceive life. If we didn't have perception I don't know where we would be now.
What do you consider art? Paintings, sculptures, drawings, or maybe something else. I know, when I think of art, I think of photography. Photography Is used for business, science, manufacturing, art, recreational purposes, mass communication, and more. Photography is using light to do amazing things, and some people think of photography as a story that just needs to be told. Ansel Adams probably believed this. He said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” Photography has a long interesting history, like the fact that the word photography is made up of two greek words, photos meaning ‘light’ and graphein which is ‘to draw’ ! Photography also has some complicated techniques to get a hang of taking good photos. Have you heard of the rule of thirds? Or do you know how a camera works? Well, that will all be explained. Maybe, by the end you will take up photography too. This essay will explore the history and types of cameras and the basic rules for taking photographs.
Taking photographs and photography itself is a great tool of power in many different aspects of life that one might not realize day to day. Photography has the power to reveal things that if expressed in words, would cease to be as powerful a truth. It serves as evidence of something larger. Yes, photos can be manipulated- yet because they can it makes the viewer even more cautious and observant on the details of these photos. Taking pictures is so much more than what it is painted to be on the surface. It is not always superficial and inconsequential. If you look deeper into the photo meaning and the details about the photos’ source, you observe things you would have never seen otherwise, like the slight hint of sorrow on her face, the contradiction in human ability, and the subtle external truths about the reason we do things, such as take pictures.