Since the end of 19th century, photography is the part of human life, its most direct witness. However, the definition of photography, and what is its main prompt, appears still ambiguous. On the one hand, it would be fair to define photography as a transfer of a fixed image on a photosensitive material with the help of camera. On the other hand, photography it is a certain outlook on life, which comes from the bottom of an artists heart. To collect photographs is to collect the world. With photographs the image is also an object, lightweight, cheap to produce, easy to carry about, accumulate, store (Sontag, 174). Photograph refers to the process and result at the same time. Nevertheless, in all cases photograph represents reality imprinted in the memory of camera as a picture.
Modern technical equipments allow professionals to falsify and manipulate with pictures. However, predominant prompt for the photograph is to represent reality. Therefore, any picture can be treated as an evidence of certain moment. Nevertheless, even truthful images imprinted on the tape might distort the truth. Catching appropriate moment, a photographer begins to manipulate the situation, coincidence, atmosphere. In contrary, organized performance played off as a truth might be revealed as a hint, irony or accidental discovery under the influence of hands and eyes of a genius photographer.
Photography is not practiced by most people as an art. It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power (Sontag, 176). Photographs that have social and historic meaning form public opinion and spread the information. However, the point of view on the certain period of history changes and the fresh look at the photograph opens new historical pr...
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...habitants and virtue of civilization and religious spreading. The main explanation of barbarian behavior and moral misconception was exotic religious violence practices, countless sacrifice and murders.
References Blace Nerissa S. Savagery, Docilit y, and the Erotics of the American Empire. The Philipinas Breast, Duke University Press, 2006.
Hevia, J. Photography as representation of imperial humiliation and punishment. Cambridge UP, 2003.
Imada Adria. Aloha America: Hula Circuits through the U.S. Empire. Duke UP, 2012.
Morris Rosalind. Photographies East: The Camera and Its Histories in East and Southeast Asia.
Minnesota P, 2009.
Sontag Susan. On Photography. Picador, 2001.
Linfield Susie. The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence. U Chicago P, 2012.
Zahid R. Choudhury. Afterimage of Empire: Photography in Nineteenth-Century India. U Minnesota P, 2012.
Fuss and Barthes, they share an interest in photography, they share an interest in the foundation and principles of photography, moreover they share an interest in photography that is deeply personal. Fuss takes the camera out of photography. Barthes takes photography out of art. Both men want to get to the essence of what a photograph is, one by thinking and writing about it, and one by doing it. In this paper I will show how Adam Fuss’ work matches up with and demonstrates the ideas of Barthes’ in Camera Lucida.
The purpose of this paper is to explain how photography became an accepted form of art, as this was accomplished by Gaspard-Felix Tournachon. This was accomplished based on continuous experimentation of techniques to develop photographs, and how he had set up his environments to emphasize the subject and it’s beauty. Though Gaspard was more interested in caricatures and journalism, he decided to apply photography as a rapid form to create caricatures (Janson, 2012) after a friend convinced him to consider the possibility. Gaspard’s work became very popular, as he focused his photographs mainly on people higher in society, as well as Paris’ beauty (Cadava, 2012). Gaspard continued his work as a caricature artist, as there are dated caricatures during his time as a portrait photographer.
Susan Sontag’s essay on how photography has limited people’s understanding of the world contains many interesting points that can be agreeable while at the same time having few that I tend to disagree with. Photography can be good and bad; it can open our minds up to new cultures and experiences through its imagery. However, at the same time it can limit our understanding of the world around us and of the world around the image it is portraying.
The culture of the Romantic Period marks an era shrouded in astonishing and rapid change, socially and economically. In Europe, between the years 1825 and 1900, enormous technological developments occurred. With the Industrial Revolution full force, the inventions of railroads and steamboats satisfied an insatiable desire for speedy travel and transportation of goods. Photography was changing the way in which history was...
"A photograph is not merely a substitute for a glance. It is a sharpened vision. It is the revelation of new and important facts." ("Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History."). Sid Grossman, a Photo League photographer expressed this sentiment, summarizing the role photography had on America in the 1940’s and 50’s. During this era, photojournalism climaxed, causing photographers to join the bandwagon or react against it. The question of whether photography can be art was settled a long time ago. Most major museums now have photography departments, and the photographs procure pretty hefty prices. The question of whether photojournalism or documentary photography can be art is now the question at hand. Art collectors are constantly looking to be surprised; today they are excited by images first seen in last week’s newspapers as photojournalism revels in the new status as art “du jour” or “reportage art”.
As with everything in life, there is always a beginning and photojournalism. Without photojournalist, people not directly related to situations, would have never experienced the frontlines of war, the Great Depression, or the inhumanities of abortion. Photographically evaluating history is a way to analyze what once was and to forge ahead toward what will be. From its turn of the century birth, the professionals that have shaped and continue to form; its “Golden Era,” to its present day modern identity; photojournalism still proceeds.
The motivations behind why photos were taken will be explored, such as propaganda, as well as reactions to them. Research into events being photographed, their intentions and who requested them will be made, also assessing its effect on the public determining success. B. SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE Battle field photography was not developed for the sole purpose of recording events as would a newspaper or painting. Battlefield photography brought intense images directly from the field to the public, bringing the horrors of war to families so far from their husbands and sons (Niller). The photography institution brought the reality of war to the public in manners newspapers were incapable of (Harvey 73).
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
Photography allows us to maintain memories and relish them whenever we desire. Although some advocates might argue that people are no longer enjoying experiences instead taking more pictures, in the essay, “Why We Take Pictures”, by Susan Sontag, she conflates that photography can be used as a defense against anxiety and a tool of empowerment. I agree with Sontag on the significance of photographs and how it allows us to store a part of our extended relatives so we are able to hold on the memories of family. Therefore, we must appreciate how photography allows us to manage anxiety, express feelings and remember our loved ones.
A picture is more than just a piece of time captured within a light-sensitive emulsion, it is an experience one has whose story is told through an enchanting image. I photograph the world in the ways I see it. Every curious angle, vibrant color, and abnormal subject makes me think, and want to spark someone else’s thought process. The photographs in this work were not chosen by me, but by the reactions each image received when looked at. If a photo was merely glanced at or given a casual compliment, then I didn’t feel it was strong enough a work, but if one was to stop somebody, and be studied in curiosity, or question, then the picture was right to be chosen.
Photography developed as an art form primarily in the mid to late 19 th century, partially as an alternative to lengthy sittings for a painted portrait. As a result, many of the early photographs were formal, posed still portraits. Some view...
As seen in paintings of battle scenes and portraits of wealthy Renaissance aristocracy, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was merely the logical continuum of human nature’s innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world in a stage of dramatic and irreversible change. It is not a coincidence that photography arose in major industrial cities towards the end of the nineteenth century.
"History of photography and photojournalism.." History of photography and photojournalism.. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .
Photojournalism plays a critical role in the way we capture and understand the reality of a particular moment in time. As a way of documenting history, the ability to create meaning through images contributes to a transparent media through exacting the truth of a moment. By capturing the surreal world and presenting it in a narrative that is relatable to its audience, allows the image to create a fair and accurate representation of reality.
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.