Reading.
Photography. A Critical Introduction. Liz Wells. Routledge.
This is the book I should have read before I first picked up a camera. All the whys and wherefores without any of the technical hows. Takes the reader from the earliest days of photography through to the digital age. First time I had seen the alternative versions of Lange’s “Migrant Mother”.
What have I learned? There is so much to learn.
Train Your Gaze. Roswell Angier. AVA.
Packed with work and wisdom from the famous and not so famous.
The portraits by August Sander, although of their time, are still fresh and tell their stories with clarity. Through this book I have got to know more of Robert Frank’s work and have started to recognise the messages within them. A lot of the images I found very strange, such as the series “Strangers” by Shizuki Yokomizo. I have read the rational behind it several times but still don’t understand the why.
What have I learned? To look below the surface of the subject and make the portrait honest.
Photography as Contemporary Art. Charlotte Cotton. Thames and Hudson.
If I follow the reasoning of this book there are no taboo subjects and nothing too private to be subjected to the probing lens. I was unaware of many of the photographers in this book and found it interesting to try and see what they were attempting to capture in each picture.
What have I learned? Extend my horizons and look more opportunities.
Basic Creative Photography. Context and Narrative. Martha Short. AVA.
A clear explanation of the interaction between subject, context, narrative, photographer and audience. Great case studies that show these interactions along with thought provoking pictures.
What have learned? Think about why I am about to take the picture.
Basic Creative Photography. Behind The Image. Anna Fox/Natasha Caruana. AVA.
A great companion the the above. What happens before one takes the shot? Takes the reader through the thought processes leading up to that point. I loved the picture on page 91 by Brian Dowling titled, “The last one out turn on the lIght”. A lovely twist.
What have I learned? What with this picture mean. Not just to me but the subject and the viewer as well.
Between the Eyes. David Levis Strauss. Aperture.
This is a book that troubled me. Those troubles started with John Berger’s introduction and his attack on the culture that protects him and allows him to say what he does and goes on to his assertion that all the worlds ills can be laid at the door of western society. The pictures and the essays are are extremely thought provoking and point out the powerful message that can be conveyed in a single print. The chapter Broken Wings was a gruesome lesson on man ability to maim and kill the innocent.
What have I learned? To be honest.
The On going Moment. G Dyer. Abacus.
This takes “The Decisive Moment” and moves it on. This is about recurring themes that jump time and can reappear at random places. Hats, roads, backs, screens. The fact that a whole thing can represent the part and the part can represent the whole. The Ben Shahn picture on page 131 of a Sheriff is a wonderful example.
What have I learned? The word synecdoche. Love it. How the image of one thing can be a reference to something entirely different; a road representing hope, despair, tranquility or adventure.
The Cruel Radiance. Suzie Linfield. University of Chicago Press.
Every photographer must believe that he can take the picture that is in front of him. This is a book to test that belief. If you believed that a prisoner in front of you is about to be shot only because you are going to take the picture do you go ahead or refuse. He may be shot anyway. At the scene of disaster do you offer first aid to the injured or take their picture. What will ultimately have the biggest impact, the moral act taken at the time or the picture seen later?
What Have I learned? I’m not sure.
The Photography Reader. Lix Wells. Routledge.
Waiting to be read. Part of next next course.
On Photography. Susan Sontag. Penguin.
Current reading.
