How do we read a photograph?
We look at photographs not only focusing on the surface of the picture but also the message it can portray and the multiple meanings behind it.A simple photograph can tell a story.
Denotative-The direct word that you find in the dictionary
Connotive-Emotional suggestions of a word not literal.
The difference between them both is that denotative is the direct meaning and connotive goes into deeper detail and meaning
Connotive-Emotional suggestions of a word not literal.
The difference between them both is that denotative is the direct meaning and connotive goes into deeper detail and meaning
Diane Arbus-Identical Twins,1967
In the Diane Arbus photo one of the girls is smiling and the other one is frowning although they are Identical twins it shows that emotionally they are different.You can see a difference in the left girls eyes as hers are more closed than the right girls showing expressions of sadnessThey are identical twins but not every aspect is the the same and not everything is as it seems.
They are both dressed the same however the left twins dress is slightly miss coloured ,wrinkly and her fringe is not combed and hairband are misplaced.Overall the left girl is looks less cared for in comparison the right twin as her hair is perfect, hairband straight and her dress is freshly washed and pressed.The photo isn't directly straight which shows the different view points and angles and that not everything is perfect.
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Diane Arbus-Family on lawn One Sunday in Westchester,1968
This photo includes 2 parents and a child.There are 2 parents whom are laying on sunbeds,the dad looks in distress and the mother looks relaxed however although the mum looks relaxed she is actually very uncomfortable she is sunbathing with a full face of make up in a posed position.Both the mum and the dads fingers are spread out like the want to reach closer but there is something in the way-that something could be the table or maybe emotionally something.
The 2 parents are facing away from the child giving a sense of neglect and all his toys are far away from them.The kid has lots of toys but they are so far apart for example the seesaw and the swing, the garden is so cast that the swing isn't even in the whole frame.The trees in the background are very dense.The whole photo represents a broken family and has a sense of loneliness.
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The early years-
What's the difference between 'camera obscura' and 'camera Lucida'?
A camera obscura is a dark room in which an inverted image is projected onto a surface. However a camera Lucida is a prism of glass where you can see downwards and in front of yourself when you look at it. Its an optical illusion and allows you to create a very detailed image.
Both a 'daguerreotype' and 'calotype' are a type of photograph, but what's the difference between them?
A daguerreotype is a type of photograph which was laterally reversed and monochromatic printed onto a metal plate.On the other hand a calotype produces a negative as opposed to being single , non-repeatable image like a daguerreotype is.Both of the options take a long time to produce an image and take a lo of effort and use lots of materials.
Early years timeline-
"The photograph was the ultimate response to a social and cultural appetite for a more accurate and real-looking representation of reality, a need that had its origins in the Renaissance"-Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography.
Search for realism,16th Century- The renaissance promoted the rediscovery of literature and art.Artists became increasingly interested in expoloring and representing the reality of nature. Leonardo Da Vinci was particularly well known for his anatomical drawings and took a great intrest in contemporary advances in science.
Conspiracy theorists argue that the head on the Turin Shroud is actually the image of Da Vinci himself.Professor of Photography, Nicholas Allen used a camera obscura with basic lens and a plaster cast and recreated a near identical image.The cloth was stretched and covered with silver salts and fixed with urine. |
Capturing Shadows,18th Century- In 1727,Johann Heinrich Schulze found that a slurry of chalk and nitric acid into which some silver had been dissolved was darkened by sunlight.Though Schulze's work did not provide a means of permanently preserving an image, it did provide a foundation for later efforts towards that end.
The 19th Century- As the industrial revolution transformed society in the 1800's with mass-production leading the way forward , scientists endeavoured to reproduce reality in a fixed format.In 1827, the scientist Joseph Niépce was successful in fixing the first projected image of his view from his window in Le gras, South of France. Unable to draw well, Niépce first placed engravings onto engraving stones or glass plates coated with a light sensitive varnish of his own composition.He then created the first known photograph (on metal) in 1826-he called them Heliographs.
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Pictorialism, Photo Secession and Straight Photogrpahy,1870-1930
Photo Secession- The movement was founded by Stieglitz in 1902. It had the ideals of pictorialism but the concerned photographers also wanted mechanical origins to be apparent .The photography "Movement" began in New York. In 1903, "Camera Work" an art/photography journal was founded in the U.S. In 1905, Steiglitz opens "little galleries of the photo secession" in New York.
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Straight Photography- It emphasises and engages with the cameras own technical capability to produce images which are sharp in focus and rich in detail. The term generally refers to photographs that are not manipulated, either in the taking of the image or by darkroom or digital processes, but sharply depict the scene or subject as the camera sees it. Straight photography, since the invention of photography, respects the medium of its own visual language. The cameras distinctive vocabulary includes form, sharp focus, rich detail, high contrast and rich tonalities. Straight photography is also synonymous with pure photography, since both terms describe the ability to faithfully reproduce an image of reality.
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Image Analysis, Herbert Bayer-
Herbert Bayer (1900-1985) is closely identified with the famous Bauhaus programme in Weimar, Germany. Together with Walter Gropius, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Wassily Kandinsky, Bayer helped shape a philosophy of functional design that extended across disciplines ranging to architecture to typography and graphic design. Endowed with enormous talent and energy, Bayer went on to produce an impressive body of work, including freelance graphics commissions, Modernist exhibition design, corporate identity programs, and architecture and environmental design.
Lonely Metropolitan-
"Lonely Metropolitan"- by Herbert Bayer is a photo collage which represents the personal effects of moving to the city. Bayer experienced feelings of claustrophobia, insecurities, loneliness and isolation which is portrayed in this image. The photograph was supposedly taken from a balcony similar to the ones that are apparent in the picture. The closeness of the windows and the height of the building give them impression of claustrophobia due to cramped and confined living conditions, with people literally living right on to top of each other. There seems to be little privacy and the windows and building appears to be rather dark, hostile and unwelcoming. The montaged hands are not connected to a body, could reflect the detachment one feels from the city. The eyes on the hands are from different people, this, as well as the floating hands could suggest that the person of which this is a viewpoint is anonymous, expressing the idea that this detachment is a collective feeling, applying to all those who have moved to the city. He used the palms of hands as a metaphor almost being eyes.
I believe that Bayer purposefully intended to convey an intentional message within the Lonely Metropolitan such as this theme of not belonging or trying to feel comfortable in a new experience. The mood of isolation is conveyed by the dark tones and seclusion of the hands by themselves placed on a Berlin building facade, the title 'lonely metropolitan' also alludes to this theme of desolation and loneliness. The montage was made in 1932, Bayer was influenced by surrealism. Surrealism was a movement in the art world that emerged after World War I.
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Presentation
Well researched. A good idea to begin with a quote- make sure that you discuss it fully, using it to support the points you make about your photographer. Make sure that you explain any specific terms that others may not have heard of eg. cameraless photography. Please include your presentation on this page.
Well researched. A good idea to begin with a quote- make sure that you discuss it fully, using it to support the points you make about your photographer. Make sure that you explain any specific terms that others may not have heard of eg. cameraless photography. Please include your presentation on this page.