The Photographer's Eye by John Szarkowski is an article which discusses the main elements to do with photography and photography in it's early days. The article talks about the introduction of photographs and how it impacted people in it's early days. Photography introduced a whole new spectrum of art and affected the artists (painters, drawers, writers) of the time and caused a lot of questions. The article states that photographs are not created, they're taken. It mentions that photographs are actual moments in time that have been captured and stored, a mental image that is now physical and sharable amongst people. The article also tells the readers that cameras were created by scientists and artists, and there isn't any specific group of people who specialize in the art of photography, photography was made for anyone.
Photography was so popular that everyone started taking it up, there were countless images in its early days and even today, there have never ever been this many photos taken. Szarkowski mentions that the product of photographs were commonly accidental and the users inability to take photos were the majority of the products in its early days, even though there were some outstanding photographers who dedicated their careers to producing fantastic images. Photographs are just physical representations of what we see with our own eyes from a different perspective. In its early days, photographers didn't stop and think about how artistic a particular photo was, they just shot it as they saw it. Photography was an 'easy way' to represent emotions, feelings or even just a proof of something that had happened in that time period. They didn't need much skill to replicate what they saw in instances like painting or drawing where physical work and skills were needed to do so.
Szarkowski also mentions the way that photographer's learned how to do what they did: an understanding of the machinery (the camera, the tools, the film involved), and the other way they learned was from each other, in other photographer's work.
Theres a list of learning tips that are in the article:
- The Thing Itself - this refers to the subject and /or the object that is being photographed. The photographer needs to position it so it is central, or somewhat in focus so that the audience can see what is trying to be conveyed to them.
- The Detail - What is the photograph focusing on? The detail tell the specifics of the photo.
- The Frame - Framing the photo: "Choosing and eliminating" so this is where the photographer chose what was included in the photograph and what was left out, this is the way that the photograph sort of told the story of what was happening in the photo.
- Time - The photographer was able to tell more about what was being photographed with time. So this could mean the time of the day or it could even mean the shot type that was used. A slower shot gave them the ability to morph the image (creating artistic style and value), and also it could give special effects.
- Vantage Point - This was where the photographer had to be most creative in my own opinion. The shot that was taken from their point of view, or the point of view that they chose to shoot from. It gives the whole photo its entire element. Whether the photographer wanted to make the subject look larger than life or smaller than life, from which angle, from which side, it was all up to the photographer and the importance of it was crucial in portraying what the photographer wanted his/her audience to see.
Response:
I thought this article was extremely interesting and so relevant to photography today. Even though it was written about photography when it was first starting and developing, it still has relevance to photography today. I thought that the list of things that was mentioned was so interesting. Especially vantage point and the thing itself. For example in photography today, where it can be purely social... people posting things on social media and things like Facebook and Instagram. Its about the time and place, people are posting to be seen and to be "placed" at a scene. Its photographic evidence of some place or event or time that an individual was at and now they have proof with a photograph (no matter the quality).
Vantage point was a real great read for me because I love trying new things with photography and I feel that every photographer has their own 'niche' or style when it comes to photography and vantage point. Whether you as a photographer wants to show the scene from their point of view or to make things look smaller or bigger. Its so important and artistically crucial for the photographer to place things in the right places so it matches their aesthetic or style. I feel like in this day and age there are more photos being produced than ever before, with the invention of cameras in the smart phones, photos are captured and processed almost instantaneously and able to be shared with the world with the click of a button.
All in all I thought it was a fantastic read, really something to think about when going out and taking photographs, interesting to learn about how cameras came about and who made them, how they were used in the past and how they're gonna be used in the future. Its amazing to know that photography is able to capture life's moments in a click of a button and is able to be kept for memories and to be used artistically too. It really makes me reflect on the way I think about capturing photos and framing, timing and vantage points of everything.
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