The Theory of it All?

[jeremy_center]

First, a little about me: I'm an electrical engineer with no formal or

associated training in the arts. All of my academic and professional

experiences relate specifically to the sciences. However, I've had a paw in

the artistic fishbowl since as far back as I can remember, but I hesitate to

consider myself an artist because of what I feel that title implies. I would,

however, label myself as a creative type who is very visually oriented.

 

What I am looking for are academic/philosophical texts/sources which delve

more into the formal theory of photography. Not having the actual experience

of a fine arts education, what I'm looking for I am surmising would be found

in the arts curriculum.

 

Although there seems to be an abundancy of "introductory" type books that

explain the mechanics of how to use the camera, I can't seem to find what I

want where I'm looking. Which is to say at mainstream bookstores. I would

like to look at university bookstores or academic bookstores, but I'm not

quite sure where to start.

 

So... any advice or books or texts/sources which would satisfy a more academic

thirst?

 

Jeremy

[frank uhlig]

Do you look for optical treatises on the difference between the Planar and Sonnar optical designs?

 

Or treatises on how to take technically good pictures,

 

or how to improve your art of seeing and depicting? Or ?

 

I am not clear what you want.

[ellis_vener_photography]

From my perspective there are three or possibly four good books to start with:

 

"The Nature of Photographs" by Stephen Shore

 

"Why People Photograph" and "Beauty in Photography: In Defense of Traditional Values" by

Robert Adams

 

and possibly:

 

"Another Way of Seeing" by John Berger

 

All are blessedly free of jargon and deal with photographs and not literary theorists views

of photography.

[Spearhead]

Go to <a href="http://photoeye.com/">this site</a>, click on "Bookstore" and search on "theory." There are lots of books there on a variety of topics that might capture your interest.

[pico]

Welcome. Others will follow with readings. I'll begin with easy, but provocative starters.

<p>

Begin with <u>Looking at Photographs</u> by John Szarkowski. If the written words do not totally confound you, then you are ripe to appreciate the literature of criticism.<p>

From the POV of the photograph and American media culture, see <u>The Burden of Visual Truth</u> by Julianne Newton.<p>

Now you have a pair of bookends and can fill in the middle with more research.<p>

See: <u>Criticizing photographs : an introduction to understanding images</u> by Terry Barrett. It will help you put your hat back on after it was blown away by <u>Looking at Photographs</u>.

<p>

There are much heavier works, some damn near opaque with the vanity of authors who make literature of hubris. You can find some of them (most regarding art other than photograhy) in things like <u>Critical Inquiry</u>, University of Chicago. In there you can find many articles on The History of Theory and move on to The Theory of History (Historiography). That's another pair of bookends.<p>

But don't let my harsh opinions sway you. :)

[randall ellis]

A good primer on design theory, which is just an integral part of photography as in all forms of art, is a good place to start. I always liked "Design Basics" ISBN:0534625592. If you like color photography, a primer on color theory would also be in order, perhaps something like "Elements of Color" ISBN:0471289299. There are also books on specific aspects of photography, most of which also occur in other art forms, like compostion. A good book for understanding composition is "Photographic Composition" ISBN: 0817454276.

 

I've never had any formal artistic training, but I have studied design, watercolor and oil painting, sculpture, and photography at some point in my life. During all of this I found that most books on photography focus on the mechanics of the equipment rather than the act of visualization and composition, and almost never touch on the core ideas of design, so I would suggest that you look to more generic art books at the start rather than books tailored to photography. Try to find books that speak to you about things like value, compostion, line, form, contrast, shape, balance, etc. and then apply this understanding to whatever you find visual appealing and that makes you want to photograph it. Use the library to get a good sampling and then buy the books that speak to you personaly.

 

Everyone learns differently, so work to find the things that you connect with and don't get wrapped up in a mad rush to know it all right away. Learning design and other art basics takes time, and I find that the more I learn, the more I can get by going back to the things I've read previously and reading them again. You may be surprised to find that concepts that evaded you in the past will be crystal clear upon a second, or third attempt coupled with a little experience. Read until you get lost, then try to apply what you read, then go back and read again, then repeat.

 

One thing is certain as far as I am concerned: You must be able to internalized these concepts so that you don't go around reciting 'rules' that you don't understand, but rather incorporate them into the way you see the world if you want to have any chance at translating your internal vision to your work. Do not discount the craft in art, but craft along does not make art. If you work at your own pace, and think about what you are doing, you will learn at a rate you never believed possible.

 

- Randy

[bernard_korites]

You are probably better off looking at books on evolutionary biology to understand why we like what we like. There is a sub set of architects who believe that evolution and the struggle for survival has imprinted or genes with certain likes and dislikes and this shows up in our preferences for certain types of art and architecture.

 

Whatever the theory, it can all be summed up in the statement "I like it." So photograph, sculpt, paint whatever pleases you.

 

By the way, you aren't the only engineer here; my background is in mechanical engineering. I suspect there are others of us hiding behind our keyboards.

[pico]

But there's MORE! After the bookends of theory, we need some self-feeding loops, so: <u>Camera Lucinda</u> by Roland Barths (introduction by Susan Sontag) and <u>On Photography</u> by Susan Sontag!<p>

Neither of the above were photographers of course. Go into Sontag's writings with a sense of humor, and into Barths with intellectual KY Jelly, and that would be anyhing by Yours Truly. <p>

End of my contribution. I PROMISE!

[al_kaplan1]

Once you've mastered the tehnical part I'm not sure you can really be taught the rest. Sure, you can learn composition by the rules, but too much photography still lacks the "spark", and might even look contrived. Plenty of books have been written on the subject, both by and about noted photographers. At best they can teach you to see in a similar way to those photographers. The famous names in photography each have developed a personal style. While they were doing it I strongly doubt that they were trying to develop a unique style. They were just trying to make photographs.

[jeremy_center]

Wow! Thanks so much for the quick responses. I think those are in line with what I was thinking I wanted to find. I was/am beginning to realize that I probably also need to look into elements of design.

 

In a sense I'm looking to relinquish the prescriptive, logical, deductive nature of my engineering perspective and embrace the fuzzy. The idea of form and intent vs. technique and implementation.

 

Thanks again. You've all been a big help!

 

Jeremy

[pico]

<i>I was/am beginning to realize that I probably also need to look into elements of

design.</i><p>

Of course, that's all about hard metrics, engineering stuff.

<p>

<i>In a sense I'm looking to relinquish the prescriptive, logical, deductive nature of my

engineering perspective and embrace the fuzzy. The idea of form and intent vs. technique

and implementation.</i><p>

Form is engineering.

[William Kahn]

Galen Rowell, <i>The Inner Game Of Outdoor Photography</i>.

[steve_swinehart]

From your description of what you're trying to find, I'd suggest "Perception and Imaging," by Richard Zakia.

 

To quote from a review: "The text covers memory and association: space, time, color, contours, illusions, ambiguity, and personality factors."

 

There are hundreds of illustrations and photographs. The book has visual exercises (if you want to pursue a certain concept further) - it's a really good study of how people see / perceive things and how to apply the visual concepts to images.

[pico]

Steve - good pointer. In fact, Kakia wrote a few books on photography, and sometimes you will find his work in the psychology shelves.

<p>

Here's a digial recording to check out: <u>Decoding Photographic Images.</u> It is really spendy, so I'd recommend finding it in a library.

[steve_swinehart]

"In fact, Kakia wrote a few books on photography, and sometimes you will find his work in the psychology shelves."

 

Hmmm...yes, I'd say Dr. Zakia wrote or contributed to "a few books on photography..."

 

"101 Expirements in Photography," "Color Primer I and II," "The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography," "The New Zone System Manual," "Perception and Photography," "Perceptual Quotes for Photographers," "Photographic Sensitometry," "Visual Concepts for Photographers," "Perception and Imaging," and "Zone Systemizer for Creative Photographic Control."

[pico]

Steve, what struck me about his work is that I found at least one in the psychology section. That interests me very much.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive list, too.

[darrenyates]

Judging by your gallery you mostly are shooting street photography.

 

I found this download on the web that i thaught was interesting. It might not be what your looking for.

 

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38038974/

 

Darren

[london light]

<p>Hello Jeremy</p>

 

<p>I have also been interested in philosophical understandings of photographs and

photography (and art generally). The literature can be very dense, but really enjoyable if

you have the time to work out the sometimes very fine distinctions made in the texts and

are keen on comparing theoretical explanations. Here are some books I have found useful

and intesting.</p>

 

<p><b>Photographic Composition</b> by Tom Grill & Mark Scanlo (Pub: AMPHOTO,

1990). This is a general, light-weight, well-illustrated book for photographers to develop

better composition. What raises it above any other book of its kind, for me, is that it is

philosophically driven. For example, its intro states things like: "In essence, there is no

objective standard by which to judge whether a given composition is 'good' or 'bad'. Any

composition that efficiently conveys a photographer's intended meaning is perfectly

acceptable. Any composition that muddies that meaning is not. ..."</p>

 

<p>Two reasonably readable philosophical texts about pictures are:</p>

 

<p><b>Deeper Into Pictures</b> by Flint Shier (Pub: Cambridge University Press,

1986)</p>

 

<p><b>Understanding Pictures</b> by Dominic Lopes (Pub: Clarendon Press, 1996)</

p>

 

<p>Text specific to photography:</p>

 

<p><b>The Critical Image - Essays on Contemporary Photography</b> by Carol Squiers

(ed.). (Pub: Lawrence & Wishart, 1991)</p>

 

<p>More recently, anything by philosophers Nigel Warburton or Jonathan Friday (who

have quite opposite views) would be worth reading.</p>

 

<p><b>The British Journal of Aesthetics</b> (published through OUP; is often in

academic libraries) usually has a couple of photo-related articles each year - sometimes

quite technical; sometimes almost entertaining.</p>

 

<p>I've written a fairly light-weight article called <a href="http://www.jimbatty.com/

articles/representation.html" ><b>How Do Photographs Represent Things?</b></a>

that outlines some popular theories about photographic representation that may (or may

not) be of interest to you.</p>

 

<p>Hope this is of some use. Not sure how much or how little you want to apply theory to

actually taking pictures!</p>

 

<p>Jim</p>

[al_kaplan1]

Your expectations might be too high. We see photographs in magazines and don't consider that the photographer has likely deleted (digital) or discarded (film) a whole bunch of them, hundreds perhaps, before they get on the picture editor's desk. The editor in turn selects the few that work best for the article, and then the art director might crop them a bit and create a composition of photos and text (and yes, ads too) to fill the page lay-out in an eye pleasing way.

 

Where you start is taking your camera and shooting lots of photographs. Pay attention to the light on the subject, pay attention to the background. Nobody should go out and hope to get 36 fantastic photos on a single roll of film. It just ain't gonna happen! Then look at your take and pick the best ones. Would cropping help? Printing them lighter or darker? Sometimes it helps to go back to them a week or so later when the mental "rush" of the shoot is in the past.

[david j.lee]

Wasn't Leonardo an engineer...?