The Photograph

Book Info

Title: The Photograph
Author: Graham Clarke
Published: 1997
By: New York (Oxford University Press)
Edition: 1st

Review

This book is an introduction to art history, with an emphasis on photography. It consists of a series of essays covering different aspects of photography, including its history. Each of the topics puts its subject matter into its historical context, including examples of photographs by many well-known names, and maybe for the student of photography or someone new to the subject, lesser famous photographers.

The book covers, in no order, areas such as the nineteenth century photograph, landscapes, portrait photography, city photography, Fine Art, the body, manipulated photographs and finally documentary photography.

Within each topic the major and important themes are discussed.

I found the book very accessible. There were plenty of examples which were illustrated and then expertly analysed and discussed in the body of the text. Each chapter being broken down to cover a single topic I found it a very easy book to read, work through a chapter and then stop. This worked well for me.

Some of the material, especially about the history of photography has been done in numerous other places.

The section that I found of most interest was around documentary photography. Portrait photography I struggled with. I’m not good at directing people to do things. I can take photographs of people, but it tends to end up with me allowing them to do their own thing, within the limits of what I’m trying to achieve, and then capturing them while they are doing it.

Documentary photography still means having to deal with people but, to me, doesn’t involve as much direction. It’s more like being along for the ride and capturing moments as the opportunity presents itself.

Relating to my own practice

Thinking about the work I’ve produced to date for the Foundation in Photography and Degree courses, it’s been the work around photographing events (ploughing competition), responding to themes (waste) or the series of images for Square Mile where I’ve been exploring what lies beneath some of the local area. All of which could be forms of documentary photography.

Having read through the book all the way I feel that it is one that I would dip into for specific information, viewpoints or topics and not one that I would pick up in order to read from cover to cover again.