This article talked about the early
beginnings of photography and its supporters. It explained the who, what,
where, when, and why of early photographers and photography as well as informed
the reader on the five main qualities that a photograph captures. The article
told the reader the importance of each of these qualities and how they relate to
art and how it sets photography apart from any other medium preceding it.
A photograph alone was set apart from anything else at the time of its birth. It captures a scene that is merely a fragment to the bigger
picture. Comparatively to the gutters to a comic strip, the border around a
photo is where the viewer is asked to comprehend and paint a narrative. Scott
McCloud, a famous comic writer, asks for “a little faith and a world of
imagination” when talking about how a viewer views art. He asks that you go
further than what meets the eye.
The details of a photo is not
necessarily the clarity and small aspects, rather it is the hardest part of a
photo to accomplish. In painting, we would say the finer details would come
from the strokes and accuracy that the painter was trying to harness. In
photography, the details come from capturing a photo at the perfect moment and
getting the best bang for your buck in a sense. Compared to a modern day phenomenon,
‘photo-bombing’ is essentially catching a photo at the perfect time to catch
the details of that specific time.
The Framing of a photo is very
important. As explained in the article, the frame is what brings its subject
matter together. As humans, it is our natural instinct to draw conclusions and
create closure for a given scene. We like things to have meaning and purpose
even if it has no relation at all. The framing of a photo gives the photo a
sort of questionable quality. It is an open door in a sense for the viewer to try
and draw conclusions.
Photos capture a point of time.
Though sort of irrelevant now with shutter speeds that can capture a moment in
a fraction of a second, old cameras took several seconds and would be sort of
interesting. Blurred faces and odd occurrences, old photos captured more action
and movement.
Perspective in my opinion is one of
the most important aspects of photography. Where you take a photo can define
much more than you think. For example, when taking a photo above someone, you
are implying an untold sense of inferiority in the subject matter that would
not have been grasped if the photo was taken at eye-level. In addition, the
perspective gives your view of what you’re looking at. This was super important
in early and inexperienced photographers because they never really understood
what these vantage point concepts and ideas that a more trained eye sees.
All in all, I think the article is
very informative and raises a fair amount of good points about photography. I
like how it explained early photography and its relations with paintings and
early artists. However, I found the article to be verbose and sort of hard to
read at times.
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