At 09:53 AM 11/27/2003 -0800, Alan Zinn wrote:The brave ones who are determined to try their hand at reviewing should be applauded. I wish everyone could read Terry Barrett's book "Criticizing Photographs." Maybe I can find some brief quotes to pass along.
That would be useful.
I thought it might be worth quoting this paraphrasing of Szarkowski, who probably had more impact on the acceptance of photography as art than anyone. Szarkowski :"defined the medium's essential features as:
The thing itself (the right subject in the real world) The detail (the telling fragment) The frame (placement of the edges - the act of choosing and eliminating) Time (all photographs are exposures of longer or shorter duration) Vantage Point (the location of the camera)
I don;t necessarily agree that this is the right set of essential features, but it's a good starting point. It encompasses the "rules" in a sense that doesn't embalm them but lets them live as characteristics of photographs rather than "rules."
Jeff Spirer Photos: http://www.spirer.com One People: http://www.onepeople.com/ Surfaces and Marks: http://www.withoutgrass.com
Jeff,
Yea, these are the essentials taught as "rules of good photography" in countless books and pamphlets. Looking at the whole frame may be the most over-looked concept. Visualizing negative space, especially off the tripod (or from the hip!), isn't intuitive.
I find photo books with proof sheets useful for seeing photographer's creative process. Some revision the shots altogether as if they are preliminary sketches and others select a shot and print the full frame. Obviously their are valid reasons to do either but I suspect that more of the full-framers studied photography.
AZ
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