4. LI G H T A N D LE N S :
PH O T O G R A P H Y
I N T H E DI G I T A L AG E
Robert Hirsch
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
6. Dedication
TO MY WIFE, ADELE HENDERSON, AND MY MOTHER, MURIEL HIRSCH, FOR THEIR LOVE AND
SUPPORT. IN ADDITION, TO ALL THE ARTISTS, WRITERS, AND TEACHERS, PAST AND PRESENT,
WHO HAVE INFLUENCED AND INSPIRED MY OWN ENDEAVORS.
“Here the ways of men part: If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then
believe; If you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire.”
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
8. v i i
Contents
Preface ...................................................................................................................................................... xiii
Artist Contributors .................................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1 Why We Make Pictures: A Concise History of Visual Ideas ...................................................................... 3
The Grammar of Photography ........................................................................................................................................ 5
The Evolution of Photographic Imaging ......................................................................................................................... 5
Determining Meaning ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
BPS: Before Photoshop ................................................................................................................................................... 6
The Digital Imaging Revolution ...................................................................................................................................... 14
New Media ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Questions about Photo-Based Imagemaking ................................................................................................................... 16
Additional Information ................................................................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 2 Design: Visual Foundations ....................................................................................................................... 33
Learning to See: Communicating with Design ............................................................................................................... 33
Beginner’s Mind ............................................................................................................................................................. 33
The Design Process ........................................................................................................................................................ 34
The Nature of Photography: Subtractive Composition ................................................................................................... 34
Departure Point .............................................................................................................................................................. 35
Attention Span and Staying Power ................................................................................................................................ 35
Photography’s Privilege .................................................................................................................................................. 36
The Language of Vision .................................................................................................................................................. 37
Photography’s Native Characteristics .............................................................................................................................. 38
9. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
v i i i
Design Principles ............................................................................................................................................................ 39
Visual Elements .............................................................................................................................................................. 46
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 59
CHAPTER 3 Image Capture: Cameras, Lenses, and Scanners ........................................................................................ 61
The Role of a Camera ..................................................................................................................................................... 61
What Is a Camera? ......................................................................................................................................................... 62
How a Camera Imaging System Works .......................................................................................................................... 63
Digital Cameras .............................................................................................................................................................. 64
Types of Cameras ........................................................................................................................................................... 68
Choosing a Camera ....................................................................................................................................................... 74
Camera File Formats ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
Opening Files ................................................................................................................................................................. 77
The Lens System and Exposure ...................................................................................................................................... 77
Digital Camera Features ................................................................................................................................................. 90
Camera, Lens, Monitor, and Sensor Care ....................................................................................................................... 102
Scanners ......................................................................................................................................................................... 105
Frame Grabber ............................................................................................................................................................... 108
Storing Digital Images ................................................................................................................................................... 109
Living Photography: Authorship, Access, and the World’s Largest Picture Book .......................................................... 113
CHAPTER 4 Exposure and Filters ................................................................................................................................. 117
Exposure Basics .............................................................................................................................................................. 117
Filtering the Light .......................................................................................................................................................... 135
CHAPTER 5 Seeing with Light ...................................................................................................................................... 149
Natural Light .................................................................................................................................................................. 149
The Time of Day/Types of Light ..................................................................................................................................... 151
Artificial Light ................................................................................................................................................................ 160
10. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
i x
Basic Lighting Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 161
Lighting Accessories ....................................................................................................................................................... 165
CHAPTER 6 Observation: Eyes Wide Open .................................................................................................................. 169
How We See .................................................................................................................................................................. 169
Why We Make and Respond to Specific Images ............................................................................................................ 172
The Effects of Digital Imaging ........................................................................................................................................ 175
Aesthetic Keys for Color and Composition ................................................................................................................... 178
Figure-Ground Relationships ........................................................................................................................................ 181
CHAPTER 7 Time, Space, Imagination, and the Camera ............................................................................................. 185
In Search of Time ........................................................................................................................................................... 185
The Perception of Time .................................................................................................................................................. 186
Controlling Camera Time ............................................................................................................................................... 187
Imaging Software Solutions ............................................................................................................................................ 213
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 216
CHAPTER 8 Digital Studio: Where the Virtual Meets the Material World .................................................................... 219
Displaying the Image File: Transferring Image Files for Display, Web, or Print ............................................................. 219
Working with a Digital Negative: The Original Capture ................................................................................................ 231
True Resolution and the Real World .............................................................................................................................. 234
Making Photographic-Quality Prints ............................................................................................................................. 237
Images and the Computer Workstation ......................................................................................................................... 243
Software and Imaging Applications ................................................................................................................................ 247
Basic Digital Imaging Categories and Tools ................................................................................................................... 249
Common Toolbar Icons from Photoshop ....................................................................................................................... 251
The Computer as a Multimedia Stage: Moving Images .................................................................................................. 255
The Internet and the World Wide Web ......................................................................................................................... 257
The Digital Future .......................................................................................................................................................... 258
11. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
x
Technical References ...................................................................................................................................................... 259
Manufacturers’ Websites ................................................................................................................................................. 260
CHAPTER 9 Presentation and Preservation ................................................................................................................... 263
Digital Retouching and Repair ........................................................................................................................................ 263
Archival Presentation .................................................................................................................................................... 263
Digital Archives .............................................................................................................................................................. 276
References for Digital Archives ....................................................................................................................................... 280
Digital Print Stability ...................................................................................................................................................... 280
Camera Copy Work ...................................................................................................................................................... 282
Presenting Work on a Disk ........................................................................................................................................... 284
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 285
CHAPTER 10 Seeing with a Camera ............................................................................................................................... 289
The Framing Effect: Viewpoint ....................................................................................................................................... 289
Selective Focus ............................................................................................................................................................... 294
Contrast ........................................................................................................................................................................ 294
Dominant Color ............................................................................................................................................................. 296
Harmonic Color ............................................................................................................................................................. 299
Isolated Color ................................................................................................................................................................. 300
Monochrome Images ...................................................................................................................................................... 302
Perspective ..................................................................................................................................................................... 304
Quiet or Subdued Color ................................................................................................................................................. 308
Highlights and Shadows ................................................................................................................................................. 308
Attraction and Repulsion ................................................................................................................................................ 309
Counterpoints and Opposites ......................................................................................................................................... 310
CHAPTER 11 Solutions: Thinking and Writing about Images ....................................................................................... 313
Thinking Structure: A Process for Discovery and Problem Solving ................................................................................ 314
A Thinking Model .......................................................................................................................................................... 318
The Photograph as a Matrix .......................................................................................................................................... 325
12. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
x i
Size Matters .................................................................................................................................................................... 325
Communicating Cultural Knowledge ............................................................................................................................. 326
The Image Experience: Photographic Meaning Is Unstable ............................................................................................ 327
Writing about Images ..................................................................................................................................................... 329
Essentials of Image Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 332
John Cage’s Rules ........................................................................................................................................................... 334
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 338
CHAPTER 12 Photographer on Assignment .................................................................................................................... 341
Making Portraits: Who Am I and Who Are You? ........................................................................................................... 341
Fauxtography: Photography’s Subjective Nature ............................................................................................................ 344
Picturing Social Identity ................................................................................................................................................. 345
Interior Experience: The Significance of Daily Life ......................................................................................................... 349
Fabrication for the Camera: Directorial Mode ................................................................................................................ 353
Time-Honored Themes .................................................................................................................................................. 357
The Display: Another Picture Reality .............................................................................................................................. 360
Text and Images ............................................................................................................................................................. 364
Artists’ Books and Albums ............................................................................................................................................. 369
Artists’ and Photographic Books: References ................................................................................................................. 371
Self Assignment: Creation and Evaluation ...................................................................................................................... 373
Addendum I: Safety: Protecting Yourself and Your Digital Imaging Equipment ....................................... 377
Ergonomic Workstations ................................................................................................................................................ 377
Monitor Emissions: ELF/VLF .......................................................................................................................................... 377
Eyestrain ......................................................................................................................................................................... 377
Proper Posture/Lower Back Problems ............................................................................................................................. 378
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ............................................................................................................................................... 378
Taking Breaks ................................................................................................................................................................. 378
Neutral Body Positioning ............................................................................................................................................... 378
Change Your Working Position ...................................................................................................................................... 379
14. x i i i
“Those who attain to any excellence commonly spend life in some single
pursuit, for excellence is not often gained upon easier terms.” Dr. Samuel
Johnson (1707–1784).
S
ince the start of the 21st century, digital imaging has become
the dominant force in commercial, educational, and scientific
photography, turning chemical photography into an alterna-
tive process. Since I began writing this book in 2006, numerous
photographic companies, including Kodak, Nikon, and Konica
Minolta, have announced the end of film camera production and
film-based products. Photographic manufacturers, like Agfa, have
faced bankruptcy; Ilford was forced into financial reorganization,
reducing their workforce and product offerings; and Forte has gone
out of business. The Photo Marketing Association (PMA) says film-
developing revenue is tumbling, as the majority of American house-
holds now owns at least one digital camera.
The widespread use and acceptance of digital imaging allows
people to attain basic aesthetic and technical picture-making skill
levels more rapidly than ever before. This is a good thing for it per-
mits emerging imagemakers to concentrate more intensely on the
stable photographic nuts and bolts. As a result of this technological
Darwinism, it is necessary to rethink how beginning college-level
photography courses are structured and taught.
With this in mind, Light & Lens: Photography in the Digital Age is
designed as an introductory text that clearly and concisely instructs
people in the fundamental, “forever,” aesthetic and technical building
blocks necessary to create thought-provoking digitally based photo-
graphs. The approach is practical, explaining how theoretical princi-
ples directly relate to the making of digital photo-based images by
presenting the necessary means to realize one’s ideas with digital
photography.
Light & Lens pursues the conceptual stance that camera vision is
the primary skill of a photo-based imagemaker by stressing composi-
tion, design, and light as the strategic elements of photographic
seeing. By concentrating on the camera as the initial, principal image-
making tool, emphasis is placed on how to observe and use cameras
to capture visual ideas. Once this skill set is mastered, one is then
prepared to tackle extensive post-capture software techniques of
image fabrication. Light & Lens does this by thoughtfully presenting
how to use the four essentials that make up every camera image:
aperture, focal length, focus, and shutter speed. Digital single-lens
reflex cameras (DSLRs) are highlighted because of their versatility and
Preface
15. x i v
manual control, but attention is also given to how thinking photo-
graphers can utilize point-and-shoot and cell phone cameras, as well
as scanners, to effectively capture images.
Light & Lens is an adventurous idea book, rather than an imaging
software technical manual. It features numerous classroom-tested
assignments and exercises from a variety of photographic educators
that encourage readers to critically explore and make images from the
photographer’s eye, an aesthetic point of view rather than a technical
origin. Ideas are the dominant and driving force; methods and tech-
niques are learned and implemented to achieve one’s vision. Techni-
cal information is presented to foster an understanding of the basic
principles affecting how digital images are formed and altered. By
concentrating on the thought process behind the creation of success-
ful photographic images, Light & Lens will not be rapidly outdated
and will not overwhelm readers with complex and ever-changing
technical matters.
The spectacular and rapid technological transformations that
continue apace mean that whatever digital imaging software skills one
learns as a college freshman will be in need of updating by graduation.
To successfully deal with this cycle of change, it is essential for indi-
viduals to develop and deploy a set of long-term learning skills,
including how to use readily available online information and tutori-
als, blogs, podcasting, listserves, and imaging software Help sections
to keep abreast of the changing technology. In addition to supplying
a solid digital foundation, based on understanding the essential
working principles and aesthetics of imagemaking, Light & Lens offers
readers the know-how needed to formulate and ask the appropriate
questions to keep the learning process active. Regardless of age,
everyone involved with digital imaging should become self-learners
and train to be efficient and resourceful at searching and utilizing all
of the online tools to stay informed about the ever-changing digital
domain.
Since digital imaging software programs can be complex and
changeable, Light & Lens takes the tactic of succinctly covering key
digital imaging methods, but it is not intended to be a digital imaging
software handbook or a camera manual. Companion ancillary materi-
als serve students’ technical needs. Terms are discussed and defined
upon their first text appearance within their surrounding framework.
There are few references to analog darkroom methods, as these ini-
tially have little relevance to most beginning students who have grown
up in a digital environment. When appropriate, additional sources of
information and supplies are provided at the end of a topic, and
readers are encouraged to search online for supplementary sources.
Discussions about contemporary issues affecting digital image-
making, from appropriation and copyright to weblogs and “mashups”
on the World Wide Web, are integrated throughout the book. Artistic
and cultural references, from polymath Leonardo da Vinci to come-
dian Stephen Colbert, are intermingled as well, for meaning is derived
from context. Different goals and roles of photography are contrasted
to reveal how a variety of approaches can shape both the “what” and
the “how” of an image and lead to its interpretation.
Light & Lens represents an updated and revised compilation of
my combined experiences as an imagemaker, curator, educator, and
writer, with additions from numerous other photographic educators
(who are credited throughout the text). Light & Lens begins in Chapter
1 with a historic analysis of why and how pictures have been made
and with an extended series of questions and answers that routinely
come up. Then the text moves into a discussion about design as the
P R E F A C E
16. x v
visual foundation of imaging (Chapter 2). A chapter dealing with
fundamental image capture strategies utilizing cameras and scanners
follows (Chapter 3). Next, technical matters of exposure and filters
are covered (Chapter 4). This is followed with Chapters 5–7
which explain the qualities of light, observation, and methods of
expressing time and space. Chapter 8 takes on the fundamentals of
the digital file as captured by the camera, displayed on a monitor,
and output into a print. Then, in Chapter 9, digital output is covered,
along with how to present and preserve your work. A chapter cover-
ing how to see and dynamically use your camera is offered in Chapter
10. A subsequent chapter (Chapter 11) provides lively methods and
exercises to help one become a critical visual problem-solver and
evaluator, and how to succinctly talk and write about the ideas
that form your work. Finally a series of exercises are given in
Chapter 12 to help expand your ideas and vision. The book
concludes with addenda on health and safety issues and career
options. Each chapter is broken down into discrete units that facilitate
finding topics of interest. This arrangement also encourages students
to skip around and discover their own ordering structure of the
material.
During the first decade of this century, digital imaging has come
on at breakneck speed, eclipsing analog photography. Light & Lens’s
curated contemporary art program reflects this trend by presenting a
multitude of visually inspiring examples and well-structured illustra-
tive informational visual aids whose common dominator is that each
became digital at some point during the creation and distribution
process.
Curating the image program first involved an open international
call for work, which was followed up by inviting selected artists to
participate in the project. My objective was to provide a diverse over-
view of contemporary practice to promote visual curiosity, foster an
expansion of conventional boundaries, demonstrate the extraordinary
richness and interconnectedness that go into making images, and
present a cultural context for, thinking, viewing, and understanding
the work.
After reviewing thousands of images, it became apparent that
many photo-based makers were moving away from a single, still
images and embracing the fluidity and cinematic character of multiple
imaging and altering of time, even when the final result is one image.
The makers are presenting a series of interconnected moments, which
blur the boundaries between moving and still images and expand
traditional concepts of photographic time and space. In a post-9/11
world, more imagemakers are looking outward, to broader, less per-
sonal issues dealing with security, the war in Iraq, and the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina. There is also a much wider interest in science,
as evidenced in images derived from microscopes, telescopes, and
satellites or referencing scientific thinking. From a technical view-
point, there is a dramatic rise in makers using a scanner as a camera.
New digital printers are allowing photographers to easily increase the
physical size of their prints, giving them a sense of scale and wall
presence that easily competes with painting. The result of this research
is an image program that exhibits the mindset of many of today’s
digital imagemakers.
In addition to the work of widely recognized international artists,
I have purposely included exceptional work of emerging and under-
recognized artists, whose images are often too dynamic for mainline
venues, judging from the coherent bodies of work they submitted for
review. All the outstanding visual examples provide models for points
P R E F A C E
17. x v i
of departure. These photographic works serve as reminders that
all images are not equal and some pictures do communicate
more broadly and significantly than others. As visual paradigms,
they provide important guidelines to appreciate and understand
but are in no way intended to be prescriptive. Readers are encouraged
to learn the rules and standards, but not to hesitate to set them to the
side or do the opposite any time they interfere with an inventive
vision.
The photographers’ voices are incorporated into the image cap-
tions to offer insight into the creative process, especially how makers
visually harnessed technology to serve their ideas. These captions
are a distillation of the extensive materials that were collected from
questionnaires, statements, personal correspondence, emails, and
conversations, in which I queried each imagemaker about his or
her vital aesthetic and technical choices.
This exciting time of photographic transition from analog to
digital can be unsettling for some. Ultimately, it is important to utilize
the advantages that digital imagemaking provides. With its capability
for limitless shooting, immediate feedback, and in-camera program-
ming, along with archival desktop printing, digital imaging provides
new, flexible photographic pathways that were once the stuff of
dreams.
For Light & Lens I specifically requested the expertise of Professor
Greg Erf of Eastern New Mexico University, whom I have known
since 1988, to construct the chapter on the Digital Studio (Chapter
8). Over the years, we have established a strong professional relation-
ship, using the Internet to discuss, write, and teach about photogra-
phy. By Greg’s calculation, he has never deleted his inbox; we have
shared over 15,330 emails since 1994. This calculates to over 3 emails
a day, and the digital pipeline between New Mexico and New York
is still going strong.
Greg and I have worked together to develop and teach a History
of Photography course online (www.enmu.edu/photohistory), write
columns for Photovision magazine, collaborate on Exploring Color Pho-
tography: From the Darkroom to the Digital Studio as well as on Light &
Lens, and various other activities (see: www.negativepositive.com),
which accounts for our email volume. I chose to work with Greg Erf
because of his varied expertise in photography and digital imaging.
Greg has been teaching photography for over 20 years and is recog-
nized as one of New Mexico’s leading photographers. Linda Durham
Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico (www.lindadurham.com)
represents his work.
Greg bridges the gap between silver photography and digital
photography. His personal work (www.gregerf.com) utilizes a vintage
11 × 14 inch view (film-format) camera, and his teaching almost
exclusively involves digital photography and computer animation.
This combination roots Greg historically in the language of image-
making as he and I endeavor to sort out and define the new language
of digital photography.
Our working process first entailed jointly creating a chapter
outline. Then Greg wrote the drafts while I acted as editor and rewriter.
Next, the process of researching, reviewing, and writing additional
material began. Numerous drafts were volleyed back and forth until
we were satisfied. Plus, Greg created all the splendid illustrations that
superbly illustrate our digital collaboration. Additionally, Greg also
acted as a reader and advisor for many of the other chapters.
Qualified instructors can download additional resources,
free of charge, by registering at http://textbooks.elsevier.com.
P R E F A C E
18. x v i i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank all the people at Elsevier’s Focal Press who have
offered their cooperation, time, knowledge, and support of Light &
Lens, including my editors Stephanie Barrett, Diane Heppner, and
Asma Palmeiro; Kathryn Liston, my production editor; Carol Leyba,
my copy editor; Pamela Andrada, my proofreader; and Keith Shostak,
my indexer, for their thoughtful efforts in bringing this project
into being. I’d also like to thank Lauren Braun, who assisted with
the art program, caption writing, correspondence, and manuscript
preparation.
This book is about the spirit of transmitting knowledge and
would not have been possible without the generosity of numerous
individuals, especially the artists who have allowed me to reproduce
their work (see list of contributing artists on page 1).
I am indebted to the following individuals who read countless
pages and made innumerable suggestions that greatly improved the
working manuscript.
Barry Andersen, Northern Kentucky University
Michael Bosworth, Villa Maria College
Dennis DeHart, SUNY Buffalo State College
Bill Davis, Western Michigan University
Debra Davis, University of Toledo
Greg Erf, Eastern New Mexico University
Myra Green, Rochester Institute of Technology
Keith Johnson
Liz Lee, SUNY Fredonia
Stan Strembicki, Washington University
I want to thank the following photographic educators who
generously allowed me to incorporate some of their most successful
assignments and teaching observations into the text:
Michael Bosworth, Villa Maria College
Kathleen Campbell, Appalachian State University
Dennis DeHart, SUNY Buffalo State College
Bill Davis, Western Michigan University
Debra Davis, University of Toledo
Collette Fournier, SUNY Rockland Community College
Myra Green, Rochester Institute of Technology
Keith Johnson
Joseph Labate, University of Arizona
Liz Lee, SUNY Fredonia
Kathleen Robbins, University of South Carolina
Graham Revell, Cavendish College, London
Betsy Schneider, Arizona State University
Larry Schwarm, Emporia State University
Fred Scruton, Edinboro University
Laurie Tümer, Northern New Mexico College
John Valentino, Southeastern Louisiana University
Robert Hirsch
Buffalo, NY, USA
www.lightresearch.net
P R E F A C E
20. Koya Abe, Terry Abrams, Bill Adams, Theresa Airey, Thomas Allen,
Mauro Altamura, Barry Andersen, Jeremiah Ariaz, Shannon Ayres,
Darryl Baird, Nathan Baker, Olaf Otto Becker, Paul Berger, Laura
Blacklow, Colin Blakely, Ethan Boisvert, Michael Bosworth, Susan
Bowen, Deborah Brackenbury, Richard Bram, Kristi Breisach, Priscilla
Briggs, Dan Burkholder, Edward Burtynsky, John Paul Caponigro,
Ellen Carey, Samantha Casolari, Catherine Chalmers, William
Christenberry, Kelli Connell, Gina Conner, Raquel Coulter, Gregory
Crewdson, Binh Danh, Frank Danto, Debra A. Davis, Jen Davis, Tim
Davis, William Peter Davis, Dennis DeHart, Thomas Demand, Francois
Deschamps, Louis DiGena, Dornith Doherty, Doug Dubois, Arthur
During, Christine Emmer, Jill Enfield, Mitch Epstein, Greg Erf, Susan
E. Evans, Katya Evdokimova, Bill Finger, Robbert Flick, Kelly
Flynn, Jennifer Formica, Collette Fournier, James Friedman, Barry
Frydlender, Adam Fuss, Stephen Galloway, Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin,
Jonathan Gitelson, Gary Goldberg, Carol Golemboski, Linda Adele
Goodine, Jill Greenberg, Andreas Gursky, Marcella Hackbardt, Gary
Hallman, Toni Hafkenscheid, Adam Harrison, Adele Henderson, Biff
Henrich, MANUAL (Hill/Bloom), Robert Hirsch, Jenny Holzer,
Barbara Houghton, Allison Hunter, Robert Lowell Huston, Ellen
Jantzen, Simen Johan, Keith Johnson, Nicholas Kahn, Kevin Andrew
Kaminski, Thomas Kellner, Marie R. Kennedy, Kay Kenny, Robert
Glenn Ketchum, Atta Kim, Martin Kruck, Andrew Steven Kuypers,
Joseph Labate, Chris LaMarca, Sally Grizzell Larson, William Larson,
Erik Lauritzen, Evan Lee, Liz Lee, Sebastian Lemm, Douglas Levere,
Michael Light, Adriane Little, Jonathan Long, Joshua Lutz, Loretta
Lux, Scott McFarland, Martha Madigan, Stephen Marc, Didier
Massard, Dan McCormack, Thomas McGovern, Amanda Means,
Diane Meyer, Robin Michals, Marilyn Minter, Brandon Montoya,
Steven P. Mosch, Brian Moss, David Mount, Vik Muniz, Bea Nettles,
Dale Newkirk, Pipo Nguyen-duy, Lori Nix, Simon Norfolk, Carrie
Notari, Sue O’Donnell, Suzanne Opton, Deborah Oropallo, Bill
Owens, Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison, Martin Parr, Jeannie
Pearce, John Pfahl, Colleen Plumb, Robert Polidori, Kathleen Pompe,
Carolyn Porco (Cassini Project), Sabrina Raaf, James Rajotte, Holly
Roberts, Lisa M. Robinson, Joyce Roetter, Damon Sauer, Anne
Savedge, Joseph Scheer, Betsey Schneider, Larry Schwarm, Fred
Scruton, Richard Selesnick, Andres Serrano, Paul Shambroom, Susan
Shaw, Matt Siber, Kerry Skarbakka, Mark Slankard, Stafford Smith,
Helene Smith-Romer, Marc Snyder, Ursula Sokolowska, Jerry
Spagnoli, Nancy Spencer, Doug & Mike Starn, Jim Stone, Stan
Strembicki, Luke Strosnider, Steven Taft, Sheila Talbitzer, Ron Tarver,
Calla Thompson, Jessica Todd Harper, Terry Towery, Laurie Tümer,
Brian Ulrich, Paolo Ventura, Cara Lee Wade, Chris Walker, Kara
Walker, Jeff Wall, Garie Waltzer, Al Wildey, Kristen S. Wilkins,
Jeffrey A. Witt, Lloyd Wolf, Beth Yarnelle Edwards, Jody Zellen.
Artist Contributors
22. 3
T
he human desire to make pictures is deep-rooted.
Forty thousand years ago, Cro-Magnon people made
paintings of large wild animals, tracings of human
hands, as well as abstract patterns on cave and rock
walls. Now, instead of colored oxide and charcoal,
people can use a camera. What propels this picture-making impulse?
The fundamental motive for the vast majority of picture making
is the impulse to preserve — to document and therefore commemo-
rate specific people and events of importance. Artists use images
expressionistically to articulate and conceptualize who they are and
what they think of the world. Others make pictures for commercial
reasons, while some create informational systems or visualize the
unseen with scientific imaging. Regardless of purpose, they all make
photographs because words cannot always provide a satisfactory way
to describe and express our relationship to the world. Pictures are an
essential component of how humans observe, communicate, cele-
brate, comment, express, and, most of all, remember. What and how
we remember shapes our worldview, and photographs can provide
the stimulus to jog one’s memory. Poet Billy Collins sums up this
human process of memory, and indirectly the importance of images
as keepers of the flame, in his poem Forgetfulness:
The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of . . .
Making pictures matters because it is part of our human nature
to want to shape the ordinary into the special and define our relation-
Why We Make Pictures: A Concise
History of Visual Ideas
C h a p t e r 1
24. 5
C H A P T E R O N E
ferent frames of reference to create meaning. This can occur through
symbolic manipulation (mathematical, verbal, and visual) and a reli-
ance on analogy, insight, and myths to draw attention to the signifi-
cant elements in an otherwise chaotic flow of sensory input. Such a
process involves the artist, the object, and the viewer in an ongoing
reciprocal dialogue of creation and interpretation. As the artist/pho-
tographer Man Ray once said, “Perhaps the final goal desired by the
artist is a confusion of merging of all the arts, as things merge in real
life.”
THE GRAMMAR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The fundamental grammar of photography is based on how a camera
utilizes light and form to record an image that is then interpreted
through societal visual codes that have evolved over centuries of
imagemaking. Learning how to operate a camera, gaining an aware-
ness of how light can reveal or suppress a subject’s attributes, and
then making a print or other form of visual presentation are the first
steps one must master to transform an abstract idea into a physical
(photographic) reality. This text introduces basic camera methods
and visual construction blocks, gives examples of how and why other
photographers have applied them, provides basic working proce-
dures, and encourages readers to experiment and make modifications
to the process to achieve their own results. Once a basic understand-
ing of picture-making is obtained, control over the process can begin.
To acquire the maximum benefit from this book, the reader should
begin thinking about how photography can be used to construct a
meaningful expression. This puts process in service of concept to
create meaningful content. This can occur when the heart and the
mind combine to form an idea from the imagination and find the
most suitable technical means of bringing it into existence (see
Chapter 11).
THE EVOLUTION OF
PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGING
Since 1839, when Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre made public the
first practical photographic process (the daguerreotype), people have
been discovering new photographic materials and methods to present
the way they see the world. The daguerreotype gave way to the wet-
plate process which in turn was supplanted by flexible roll film. Now
the chemical processes of the wet darkroom have been replaced by
the electronic digital studio, which opens photography up to a more
cinematic approach of using moving images and sounds. Addition-
ally, as mainline photographic practice evolves into digital imaging,
images that were never actually photographed can exhibit perfect
photographic credibility. As such digital images become common-
place, photography’s traditional role as the recorder of outer reality
is being challenged.1
As digitally constructed images become the
norm — as in filmmaking that combines live action and digital ani-
mation — such images may no longer be clearly distinguishable from
the pre-digital concepts of illusions of motion generated by hand-
1
Originally photography provided an automatic mechanical method for
transferring what was seen in nature into a two-dimensional form of Renais-
sance perspective. This indexical characteristic gave people the illusion that
photographs were stand-ins for reality. Photography proved so able at reality
substitution that people came to believe that this was photography’s sole
purpose. The photographer was supposed to act as a neutral observer, an
operator of an automatic machine, and allow the camera to do its work of
accurately recording the subject.
30. 1 1
C H A P T E R O N E
Europe such as Life and the Picture Post, created a demand for pho-
tojournalistic photographs. Such photojournalists as Robert Capa and
Margaret Bourke-White vividly recorded important people and dra-
matic events of the period through the World War II traumas of
D-Day and the liberation of concentration camps.
Straight Photography and Previsualization
Edward Weston’s artistic work starting from the 1930s represents the
idea of straight photography through the use of what has been referred
to as “previsualization” or “visualization.” By this concept, Weston
meant that he knew what the final print would look like before releas-
ing the camera’s shutter. The idea of visualizing the end result ahead
of time would bring serious printmaking full circle, back to the
straightforward approach of the 1850s, when work was directly
contact-printed onto glossy albumen paper. Weston simplified the
photographer’s working approach by generally using natural light and
a view camera with its lens set at a small aperture. He produced a
large-format negative that was contact-printed (no enlarging) with a
bare lightbulb. Photographic detail and extended tonal range were
celebrated in a precise black-and-white translation of the original
subject on glossy, commercially prepared paper. By eliminating all
that he considered unnecessary, Weston strove to get beyond the
subject and its form and uncover the essence or life force of “the thing
itself.” This philosophy rejected major post-exposure work as unholy
and only done by those who were not good enough to get it right
for the camera. By the 1950s, photographers such as Aaron
Siskind expanded these ideas by incorporating the concepts of
Abstract Expressionism, which gave rise to nonrepresentational
photography.
Group f/64 and the Zone System
In 1932, a band of California-based photographers, including Weston,
Ansel Adams, and Imogen Cunningham, founded Group f/64. Their
primary goal was to create photographs of precise realism without
any signs of pictorial handwork. The name of the group reflects the
fact that the members favored a small lens aperture that enabled them
to achieve images with maximum detail, sharpness, and depth of
field. They concentrated on natural forms and found objects that were
representative of the naturalistic West Coast style.
The ideas from Group f/64 were refined and expanded by Ansel
Adams in his Zone System method. The Zone System is a scientifically
based technique for controlling exposure, development, and printing
to give an incisive translation of detail, scale, texture, and tone in the
final photograph. Adams’s codification of sensitometry and its accom-
panying vision continues to set the standard for pristine wilderness
landscape photography. The Zone System, as taught by Minor White
and others, was so popular and successful that it dominated serious
photographic practice throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Postvisualization
The images and writings of William Mortensen — as in his 1934
essay “Fallacies of Pure Photography,” which rejected the doctrine
of the straight print and the singular aperture as being mechanistic —
offer a pre-digital counterpoint to Group f/64’s philosophy. A master
craftsman, Mortensen taught imagemakers that they have the right to
manipulate their negatives and/or prints to achieve their visual goals.
Many of his procedures can now be readily accomplished in
Photoshop.
32. 1 3
C H A P T E R O N E
1.9 Since the early 1960s, Christenberry has used a Kodak 127 Brownie camera
to plumb the regional identity of the American South, focusing primarily on
Hale County where he came of age. Christenberry’s ritual documentation of
“home” evokes pensive memories and scrutinizes scenes that unwaveringly
record the physical changes brought about by nature and time without evoking
nostalgia, establishing a connection between the past and the present. Each
fleeting and simple structure can be considered a sculpture, an anxious agent
for aging, decay, fragility, insecurity, and shifting purpose, as well as a signifier
for the closing of a way of life.
William Christenberry. Pure Oil Sign in Landscape, near Marion, Alabama, 1977. 3-1/4 ×
4-13/16 inches. Chromogenic color print. Courtesy of Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York.
paved the way for such photographers as William Christenberry,
William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, whose color images of ordi-
nary scenes ushered in the acceptance of artistic color photography,
which is now taken for granted.
Postmodernism
Beginning in the late 1970s, postmodernist beliefs that questioned
the notion of a single author and the authenticity of any work gave
rise to a new genre based on “appropriation” (the borrowing, reuse,
and recontextualization of existing work) by artists such as Richard
Prince and Sherrie Levine. During this era, Cindy Sherman made a
series of photographs, Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980), that featured
and thus questioned female stereotypes based on 1950s film adver-
tisements; in these photographs Sherman was the model, make-up
artist, set designer, and photographer. Sherman’s work exemplifies a
movement by women and minorities to picture their own identity
rather than having it imposed by society. Another example of this is
Carrie Mae Weems’s photographic work, which explores issues about
who we are and how we got to be that way from the perspective of
African-American culture and experience. By the 1990s, postmodern-
ism had also challenged the notion of separate, specific boundaries
for different media and encouraged the cross pollenization of
mediums, giving rise to new and widespread use of installations that
incorporated photographs, three-dimensional and found objects, pro-
jected images, and sound.
Electronic Imaging: New Ways of Thinking
Digital imaging started to surface in the scientific community during
the mid-1950s, when Russell A. Kirsch made one of the first digital
Metzker, Bea Nettles, and John Wood rejected the notion of a single,
fixed perspective and actively sought alternative viewpoints.
The Rise of Color Photography
In the 1970s, the alternative innovations challenged the dominance
of the straight, black-and-white print as the fine art standard. This
35. 1 6
W H Y W E M A K E P I C T U R E S : A C O N C I S E H I S T O R Y O F V I S U A L I D E A S
Digital imaging has destroyed this unwritten arrangement
between photographers and audiences by giving imagemakers the
ability to seamlessly alter the picture of “reality.” In the 21st century,
seeing is no longer believing. The public’s confidence in the accuracy
of photographs has been eroding as news providers modify photo-
graphs without informing their readers. It began in 1982 when
National Geographic editors “moved” the Egyptian Great Pyramids at
Giza closer together to accommodate the vertical composition of their
cover. Unethical photojournalists have lost their jobs because they
were caught “Photoshopping” images before transmitting them to
their editors for publication. Such undetectable changes have made
audiences more skeptical about the accuracy of all photographs.
Now digital imaging tools are so readily available and easy to
operate that both amateurs and professionals use them daily. Such
computer power can be seen in the work of American Nancy Burson,
who uses digital morphing technology to create images of people who
never existed, such as a composite person made up of Caucasian,
Negroid, and Asian features. Such pictures have no original physical
being and exist only as digital data, showing us how unreliable images
can be (see Figure 1.14).
NEW MEDIA
Digital imaging is an exciting evolutionary step in photographic
imagemaking and marks the end of the darkroom as the primary
place for making photographic images. Digital data makes it possible
for photographers to forge new links among people, places, and
events. Photographers no longer just capture a slice of time, but can
manipulate it to enlarge our ideas about what makes up reality. Many
digital cameras can record sound and short segments of moving
images. These changes make photography less rigid and objective and
more flexible and subjective. This transformation offers us new pos-
sibilities for imaging and for understanding the world in new and
different ways. For instance, it has opened up an entirely new cate-
gory of work known as new media, which refers to interdisciplinary
works that utilize new electronic media. New media can include
video, online art, interactive components with motion, sound, and
touch that allow a work to change or be changed before one’s eyes.
In turn, this computer technology has produced new devices and uses
for photographic images, such as podcasts and video blogs (AKA
vblogs), which rely on the Internet for posting and receiving digital
files containing sound and moving images. These transformations tell
us that the important thing about a photographic image is not “how”
it is made, but “what” it has to communicate.
QUESTIONS ABOUT PHOTO-BASED
IMAGEMAKING
Over the past ten years, I have been collecting and responding to
conceptual questions posed by students about photographic practice.
The following series of questions and answers are designed to present
a larger overview of fundamental concepts, images, and issues that
can inform creative work. By thinking through these questions,
readers can expand and deepen visual potential and latent interests
rather than following a current style or trend. The responses provided
do not preclude other answers. They offer an initial pathway to form
the basis of a discussion, to provoke, and in turn to help readers for-
mulate their personal thoughtful solutions. Additionally, I would
encourage people thinking about a life in the visual arts to actively
seek out and establish their own foundation of inspirational sources
36. 1 7
C H A P T E R O N E
1.13 Frylender’s images, which address the complexities of life in Israel, are indicative of how digital imaging has altered the definition of photographic truth by
mimicking and therefore undermining traditional photojournalistic methods. Although they appear to be a seamless representation of an event, they are actually the
antithesis of “cyclopean” photography. This image is the result numerous images that Frylender assembled into a single, time-compressed cinemascopic frame, which
delivers a synthesis of the event based on many different vantage points and moments in time. “It’s not one instant, it’s many instants put together, and there’s a
hidden history in every image.”
Barry Frylender. Last Peace Demonstration, 2004. 50 × 78 inches. Chromogenic color print. Courtesy of Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York.
