Seeing Photographically In Edward Weston’s essay, he addresses the aesthetics of the photograph and how they have changed throughout time. He begins by discussing its inception and how the early photographers saw it as a method to replicate paintings, even though the materials and mode of production are completely different. Photography wasn’t seen as art in the early days; it was rather seen as a painting that had been produced by a machine, a practice that became standardized early on as “photo-painting”. Weston differentiates photography from the other arts and discusses that for a photographer to take great pictures the most important thing is not that he learn to use his equipment but that que learns to see photographically. This, is
For Emerson, the reticent beauty of nature was the motivator. To him, photography should be recognized because its still-life beauty was able to persuade the public’s appreciation of the life and nourishment
The distinctively visual provides a means of which a composer can connect with his or her audience in order to create a clear, distinct visual image of other people and their worlds - conveyed through the use of visual or literary techniques in their media. Composers such as Henry Lawson and Dorothea Mackellar are able to effectively depict an image through an exceptional use of language and techniques that help shape our understanding of the Australian people and their world. In particular, Henry Lawson’s short stories ‘The Drover’s Wife’ and ‘The Loaded Dog’ and the Dorothea Mackellar Poem ‘My Country’ are able to effectively depict the unique environment of the Australian bush landscape.
“There is in fact no such thing as an instantaneous photograph. All photographs are time exposures, of shorter or longer duration, and each describes a discrete parcel of time.” -John Szarkowski
Against a bleak backdrop, U.S troops stand thrusting an American flag into the grey skies. The shards of wreckage at their feet speak of the arduous journey these soldiers had taken to reach the summit of the mountain. Despite the grim setting on the ground, the American flag waves on in a perfect manner swaying along with the wind gusts. As a photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal in 1945, this image of U.S troops raising a flag in Iwo Jima during World War II served as a symbol of hope and victory for the American public during the gruesome end to war. The photograph earned Rosenthal a Pulitzer Prize, and showed the extant of the power of a photograph to elicit emotion from an audience. These emotions have the ability to affect ones’ perception towards what the photograph is depicting. However, if these photographs can produce an emotional response, is it possible for them to steer the perception of the audience in a desired direction? If so, is there a way for one to sift through the possible propaganda?
Winogrand discovered photography at a point in time when unconventional photos were just beginning to emerge. Although it was thought that photojournalism had offered the most opportunity, this new and unconventional direction of photography was preferred. Artists were now able to shoot what they desired not what they were told to shoot. This revolutionary form of photography was based on emotion and intuition as opposed to precision and description. Exploring real life became more of the focus, instead of calculated or planned out pictures. In the early fifties, Winogrand attempted to become a freelance photographer, but the money he was making was not sufficient enough to support his new wife and children. He was forced to spend most of his time working for magazines such as Colliers, Redbook, and Sports Illustrated. At this time Winogrand’s photo’s had no distinction from any other photojournalist, but he always felt different and waited for the chance to prove it. He once said, “ The best stories were those that had no story line…on entertainers…or athletic contests, where the photographer could forget narrative and concentrate on movement, flesh, gesture, display, and human faces”(Szarkowski, p17).
This trend also found roots in the emergence of photographic technology, originally developed in the early 1800’s and advanced continuously until the present. During this time, artists and photographers suddenly found that they could much more easily captur...
It appears to me that pictures have been over-valued; held up by a blind admiration as ideal things, and almost as standards by which nature is to be judged rather than the reverse; and this false estimate has been sanctioned by the extravagant epithets that have been applied to painters, and "the divine," "the inspired," and so forth. Yet in reality, what are the most sublime productions of the pencil but selections of some of the forms of nature, and copies of a few of her evanescent effects, and this is the result, not of inspiration, but of long and patient study, under the instruction of much good sense…
Distinctively visual allows one to explore the ways images are created through the use of visual and literary techniques. The Australian bush is a harsh, dangerous and lonely land with no one around for miles. Henry Lawson clearly identifies this as he highlights the difficulty and consequences if one doesn’t adapt to it. The prescribed texts ‘The Drover’s Wife’, ‘In a Dry Season’ and ‘The Bush Undertaker’ by Henry Lawson and related material ‘Spelling Father’ by Marshall Davis-Jones as well as ‘Australia’ directed by Baz Luhrmann paint an image of what is normal for someone in their position as well as what they need to be. This can be seen through the concepts love for the family, the harsh Australian environment and the eccentric minds stereotypically found in the bush.
In her essay “Seeing”, Annie Dillard focuses on showing how different people have different perceptions. Dillard gives multiple examples to support her main idea, which is that preconceived and inherited notions influence our perceptions. Dillard discusses the different ways of seeing, how people with different backgrounds have different experiences with seeing, and many more. While Dillard’s idea about perceptions is definitely relevant and accurate, but are certainly not complete as there are multiple things that influence our perceptions.
Sontag, Susan. "Essay | Photography Enhances Our Understanding of the World." BookRags. BookRags. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
In the world of science there are many discoveries. “A discovery is like falling in love and reaching the top of a mountain after a hard climb all in one, an ecstasy not induced by drugs but by the revelation of a face of nature … and that often turns out to be more subtle and wonderful than anyone had imagined.” (Ferdinand Puretz). Most people in the world we live in lack to notice and or appreciate the gift of sight in life. By not cherishing the gift of sight and using it properly, many discoveries are left unfound. In the writing piece, Seeing, Annie Dillard speaks of nature and the small things that we all are unconsciously blind to and not appreciative of. Seeing explores the idea of what it means to truly see things in this world. Annie Dillard’s main point is that we should view the world with less of a meddling eye, so that we are able to capture things that would otherwise go unnoticed. There’s a science to how we view things in nature. Dillard attempts to persuade her reader to adopt to her way of seeing, which is more artificial rather than natural.
The 19th century Australian Novelist and short story writer, Henry Lawson, uses distinctly visual techniques of writing, which allowing responders to visualize the hardships faced during . Australia’s colonial period The iconic story “The Drover’s Wife” reveals the hardships faced by women and the sacrifices and adjustments they made to survive. Lawson’s story “In a Dry Season” gives the reader an insight into the difficult lives of Australians during the colonial period. The Artwork “Sunday Evening” by Russell Drysdale stresses the hardships faced in the Australian outback. His artwork compliments Henry Lawson short stories.
As seen in paintings of battle scenes and portraits of wealthy Renaissance aristocracy, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was merely the logical continuum of human nature’s innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world in a stage of dramatic and irreversible change. It is not a coincidence that photography arose in major industrial cities towards the end of the nineteenth century.
William Cullen Bryant can very easily be linked to the Transcendentalists. Most of his themes in his writings are concerning the nature of life and the nature of nature. "The Yellow Violet" is an example of a poem about the nature of life. "The Prairies," on the other hand, is an example of the nature of nature. Though these two poems of Bryant's are both about the beautiful world of trees, flowers, and fields, they take on a different perspective of nature itself.
There was a time when the only way to capture a moment or surrounding was by a painting. Joseph Nicephore Niepce created the first photograph ever in 1827. Photography went thru many beneficial changes since then only improving and