The origin of the word photography comes from the Greek, 'phôs', meaning 'light' and 'grahphos' meaning to draw or write. So the two put together mean 'drawing with light'. What does this mean though? When most people take a photograph, 99% of the time it is casually, with their smartphone, "I see something that interests me, I capture it." But to actually take a 'Photograph', is an art form, it is a medium in which the artist uses to express his/her vision as they are drawing with the image they have taken.
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The life of a photographer, even a brilliant photographer. two seconds. - William Klein |
Tank ManThis is an example of how a photographer has seen an incredible scene, and at the perfect moment, taken a photo of it. Some great photos take vast amounts of time to prepare, some seem to fall effortlessly into position.
An accident makes the picture - William Klein |
Why is Photography Important?A photograph is a glimpse into what life was like at that exact moment in time. Photography can move us and it can remind us why we were moved, for example, this photo to the left brought about change and was part of the fight against racism in America, it also reminds us of our history and not to make the same mistakes. Apart from this, photography is an art form and in society art work of any medium is needed as it allows one to express themselves and allows cultures to grow.
What Skills do you Need to be a Good Photographer?To be a photographer in an artistic sense is to have a good eye, to be able to read emotion and to be able to see deeper meaning in a scene. A photograph turns into a fantastic photograph when you can feel an emotional response to what is before you. For one to be able to gain such a response, the photographer is required to have explorative, creative thinking. The photographer needs to be able to think up a scene from a blank slate, or capture a scene at a blink of an eye.
William Klein - Understanding PhotographyWilliam Klein describes photography as a glimpse through the eye of someone who sees the world differently as you see what he sees through the view finder. Klein says that since there is no before and after with a photograph, it is about capturing as much detail about what goes on as possible. When researching Klein I learnt a lot about photographing people. He taught me that it is about capturing the surprise of the moment, the atmosphere created through the relationship between the photographer and the subject but too much preparation and acknowledgement of the photographer, especially in street photography, is 'no good' according to Klein.
Photography has to be understood by everyone, a good photograph will say something and have meaning beyond just what is displayed. William Klein - Happy Days BarThe photograph to the left is one of my favourites by Klein. The face is almost undetectable, we are invited in, only introduced to the concept of this man, given just a glimpse into his life, we are given nothing more, the rest is being hidden by shadow. That is why portraiture and street photography is so important, as we can gather so much from a person by just capturing their face. I love the way a camera invites people in, this is a prime example of how a person been drawn to the photograph. As I have documented about Klein's views above, this is an example of a photo where a person hasn't acknowledged the camera too much, it is just the right reaction. He is not giving too much away about himself.
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Henri Cartier-Bresson
This photograph attracted me because it was a perfect balance of formal and visual elements. The line of the trees following the road creates a centred viewpoint of horizon. This is a wonderful example of landscape photography as it focuses on only the three main subjects; The trees, the road and the grass surrounding. The sky works as a backdrop to highlight the lines and create an airy space. The space creates lightness to the photograph and by having this huge space of just one tone, the other objects are brought into focus by being given more attention.
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'Unknown'This is a perfect photograph summarising human relations in the 1930's, during the great depression. Photographs don't have to be formally and visually perfect to be amazing. This is a wonderful example of how photography can be used to say something about the world. During the great depression, working class America was flung into poverty, this photograph basically says "people have bigger problems than worrying about falling off a crane."
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Robert FrankAbove there is more extensive writing about this picture but I chose this photograph because I wanted to show how photography can be used to (as I said) move us, and remind us why we were moved. This photograph could still be used to day as racism is still one of the greatest problems in the modern world. In America with the police shootings in Ferguson and all across the globe, this obviously morally wrong subject is still in existence.
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Anna AtkinsThis is a cyanotype photogram by the botanist/photographer Anna Atkins. I believe this to be a special photograph because it is one of many that was part of the first ever published book with photographic illustration. During Atkins' life she collected dried plants and was a budding botanist which was strange as women at that time didn't have scientific educations.
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Jeff WindenerI chose this photograph because it demonstrates that a good photograph doesn't need great preparation. The photographer took this at a blink of an eye and created one of the most exciting political statements the world has ever seen. Photography has so many other uses besides art, one example being, to create political statements like Windener did here, however, some may say that to do this still requires an artistic eye, I would agree.
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Man RayIt is important to understand the true meaning of the word 'Photography' before you can start to take photographs in an artistic way. 'Drawing with light' is what it translates to, and the photogram is the perfect device to use to express this translation. Although film cameras work in the same way, by capturing light that falls on a photosensitive sheet, Photograms only function in the dark
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Karan Kumar SachdevPhotography is also about what it means to you and this photograph is special to me. It was part of the 2014 Taylor Wessing prize at the National Portrait Gallery and was my favorite of the photographs there. I went to see this exhibition just as I was becoming really interested in photography as an artistic medium so was the first exhibition I went to see. Photography means nothing if it doesn't mean something and this portrait caught my eye because of its rich, vibrant colours mixed with the interesting, elaborate, enticing nature of the sitter. This photograph has meaning to me, this is why I included it in my gallery.
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Kevin CarterPhotographs have the power to tell stories with one press of a button. Photographer Kevin Carter tried to help this child who was trying to reach a feeding station, but people were not allowed to touch the children because of fear of spreading disease. Instead, Carter took this photograph because it was his 'job title' instead of helping the child to get food. Carter won the Pulitzer prize for taking this photograph, three months later he killed himself.This begs the question, When would it not be OK to take a photograph?
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This photograph played a big role in helping charities around the world invest money into combating the famine in Sudan. Should Carter have saved this life, or was it right to take the photograph and save countless other lives?
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National GeographicI included this photograph because it explores the relationship between human beings and nature. It is a photograph of a landscape, after a forest fire. In this photograph it illustrates how humans are effected and how we deal with natural occurances. This photograph also is interesting because when I put it on my window and left it for a day, the quality of it changed, giving it a natural effect, weathered effect.
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