Photography Lecture

Photography

Sean FitzpatrickMonica Gingell

Alyssa Engle

• “I have discovered photography. Now I can kill myself. I have nothing else

to learn.”• Pablo Picasso

History of Photography

• Etymology: From the Greek “photos” meaning light and “graphos” meanings

writing. To photograph means to write with light.

• The development of photography as we know it today was the result of several technological innovations, ranging from ancient Greece all

the way to the 19th century.

Daguerreotypes

• The first permanent photographs were the result of complicated chemical processes.

• Louis Daguerre’s daguerreotypes were the first commercially successful pictures taken.

• This was a popular method for middle class families unable to afford oil paintings to have a portrait done.

This Daguerreotype is believed to be the first picture of a person ever taken.

The Brownie

• After a few relatively modest commercial applications, George Eastman’s Kodak Brownie finally introduced the masses to photography.

• It was the first camera to allow nonprofessionals to physically take the pictures.

The Brownie II

Professional Cameras

• As consumer based cameras grew in popularity, the professional cameras that would come to be used by the artistic community developed.

• In 1913, Leica introduced its first 35mm camera.

• SLRs, today’s preferred camera, were not perfected until the middle of the 20th century.

Leica’s first 35mm camera.

Color

• Up until now, everything we’ve talked about has been black and white photography.

• Color photography was much more difficult. The first practical color technology, Autochrome, was developed in 1907, but the process did not gain widespread use until Kodak’s Kodachrome in 1935.

An Autochrome picture from 1917.

The History of Photography: Themes

• Processes started as very limited in their use and then became more and more widespread.

• Professional photographers both reacted against and embraced amateur photography at times. The first widely successful 35mm SLR

represented a huge step forward in professional equipment.

Art Photography

• The idea of using photography as an art form of itself began with daguerreotypes in the mid 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1927 that an artist actually had a solo exhibition of his photography.

• We now turn to that photographer.

One of Julia Margaret Cannon’s VictorianEra fine art photos.

Andre Kertész• Kertész was born in Hungary

around the turn of the century.

• He developed a love for the growing practice of photography at a very young age, and despite his family’s plans for him, pursued the art as an autodidact.

• He bought his first camera, an entry level ICA Aviso, at 18, and abandoned his potential career as a stock broker.

Kertész’s Entry

• He was almost immediately successful as a photographer.

• During the First World War, he took pictures in the trenches.

• After returning home to Hungary, he began to pursue photography professionally.

The Circus, Budapest.

Underwater Swimmer, EsztergomOne of Kertész’s most famous early works.

French Period

• In 1925, he left everything for Paris, hoping to integrate himself into the city’s famous art scene.

• He photographed daily, and in 1927 was the first photography to have his own individual art exhibition.

• He was fascinated by Cubism and associated with the Dada movement.

Meudon, France. 1928

French Period

• His work while in Paris was reminiscent of the Impressionists before him: He wandered the streets, looking for photographs waiting to be taken.

• His photos showed a tendency toward unusual vantage points, dramatic use of shadows in still life, and experiments with light.

Still Life, Paris. 1926

The Fork. 1928.One of Kertész’s most famous works, The

Fork represents his use of still life.

Distortion #49. 1933.Part of Kertész’s famous Distortion Series, this

picture is representative of his use of photography to play with light.

Study of People and Shadows, Paris. 1928This picture is a take on one of Kertész’s favorite themes:

an everyday subject from an unusual angle.

Emigration

• Kertész did not feel he was being appreciated in Europe. His pictures were apolitical, and as the Nazi Party rose, this led to a cooler reaction to Kertész’s experimental but fundamentally message-less pictures.

• Seeking a new scene, Kertész moved to New York in 1936, intent on finding fame.

• This proved to be difficult. Kertész struggled to learn his third language, and his insecurities very much impeded his joy of photography.

• He worked with and sometimes against prominent magazines like Life and Vogue.

The Lost Cloud, New York. 1937

Arm and Ventilator, New York. 1937.

International Period

• Following the Second World War, Kertész began to reach critical success in the US.

• He signed a contract with House & Garden magazine, which, while not his dream job, was satisfactory.

• He continued to take many pictures for his own use.

• In 1962 he quit the magazine to pursue fine art photography full time. Watchmaker’s Shop, Christopher

Street, New York. 1950.

Washington Square, Winter. 1954.

Later Years

• During the ‘50s and ‘60s, Kertész achieved much of the success he wanted to, although it never truly satisfied him.

• In 1979, he was given a Polaroid SX-70 by the Polaroid Corporation, and a new experimental phase of his career began.

Polaroid. 1979.

Polaroid. 1981.

Artistic Vision

• “I write with light,” Kertész said.• He sought not to comment on his subjects but

to simply capture life as it is.• He experimented with the way he used light,

vantage points, and distortions to utilize photography in a way that made it distinct.

Ansel Adams

Rose and Driftwood

Background

• San Francisco, California– Interesting fact: Adams was in an earthquake and

damaged his nose, marking him for life. • Only child of two elderly parents • His environment was Victorian, as well as

emotionally and socially conservative• Had problems fitting in school—didn’t finish

much– Shyness, genius, and “earthquaked” nose

• Found joy in nature ever since he was a child.• Taught himself to play piano and read music.

– Intended to be a pianist, but gave it up for photography.

• Yosemite National Park – “colored and modulated by the great earth gesture”– Joined the Sierra Club– Began using Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie– 1st photos

1927:Albert M. Bender set in motion the

preparation and publication of Adam’s first portfolio. Basically the patron of Adams.

Met Edward Weston.

1930:Moved away from “pictorial” style and moved

toward “straight photography” (Paul Strand influenced). Now the clarity of the lens what

emphasized, and the final print was not manipulated.

Dodging and burning. Zone system (visualizing).

1932:Group f/64 founded (Adams and Weston). Brought straight photography to national

attention.

1935: Started shooting commercial things because

he wasn’t making enough money. Busy all the time—very lively.

1960: This is the American Earth. Played a role in

launching the first broad-based citizen environmental movement.

1985: Ansel Adams: An Autobiography was

unfinished when he died and also was somewhat of a rose-colored view of his life.

Yosemite National Park

• Focused on the spiritual-emotional aspects of the park

• Quite the environmentalist– Appeared before Congress in 1936 and persuaded

them to elevate Kings River Canyon to national park status.

• Inspiration• Visited every year for 68 years• Member of the Sierra Club

f/64 Group

• 1932-1935• Smallest aperture on a camera• Formed in reaction to pictoralism• Their mission: to create photographs of artistic

expression using clean and pure photographic techniques without manipulation.

• Founded Photography Dept. in MoMA.• Photographic realism

Ansel Adams, Frozen Lake & Cliffs, Kaweah Gap, Sierra Nevada, California, 1932

Brett Weston, Bird Dune, Oceano, 1934

Contributions to Art• Impressionist technique: recording of the image at different

times of day/ year (Monet)• Abstraction: photos of natural intersection planes, sharp

angles, and reflection of natural light and receding shadow. • Romantic: liked the beauty and power of nature; not all about

the realistic aspect of it• Zone system: Using different filters to get different picture

from one negative.• Dodging and burning: manipulating exposure time to increase

the contrast of either the foreground or background.

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”

–Ansel Adams

Impressionists

Oak Tree, Snowstorm, Yosemite 1948Autumn Tree Against Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite 1944

Romanticism

Nevada Fall, Yosemite National Park, California 1946

Moonrise, Hernadez, New Mexico 1941

Techniques Used

• Pictoralism: altered images by scratching negative, and brushing on developer.

• Pre-visualization: carefully calculated the effect of a photograph before taking it.

• Photographic realism: very calculated, precise, un-manipulated.

• Toward the end of his career he went back to more contemporary work

Merced River, Cliffs of Cathedral Rocks, Autumn, 1939

Eliot Porter & Color Photography

•Began making black-and-white photographs in the 1930s.

•Promoted the use of color photography from the 1940s until the mid-1970s.

•Initially took up color photography to get more accurate photographs of birds.

Eliot Porter & Color Photography(continued)

•Began using Kodachrome, a new color transparency film, and taught himself the multi-step process for making color prints.

•Became committed to the dye transfer process.

•Fought against the notion that color photography was too literal and unsuitable for artists.

Beech Branch and Landscape, Tinmouth, Vermont, February 15, 1958

American Eider Duck, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, 1937 [Somateria mollissima]

Eliot Porter & the Conservation Movement

• His works were widely published and used as a powerful visual argument for nature conservation.

•Elevated the medium of landscape photography to a fine art.

•“Wilderness must be preserved; it is a spiritual necessity.”

Eliot Porter & the Conservation Movement(continued)

•Made photographic books with the Sierra Club in the 1960s.

•Example: His photographs canyons attempted to prevent the Glen Canyon Dam from being built. They resulted in the Wilderness Act and federal review of reclamation projects.

Sunrise, Moon Reflection in Pool, Navajo Creek, Glen Canyon, Utah, August 27, 1961

Sunset on Colorado at Kane Creek, Glen Canyon, Utah, October 1960

Eliot Porter & Birds

•Began photographing birds when given 1st camera in 1911.

•Wanted to “raise bird photography…to transform it into an art.”

•Developed the 1st stop-action system for photographing birds.

Barn Swallow, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, August 21, 1954

Eastern Flicker, Flying, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, July 22, 1968

The Impact of Photography

• In a lot of ways, photography turned the artistic world on its head.

• The traditional goal of art, making an accurate representation of a scene, could be done more easily and more perfectly. This had profound impacts on how artists approached their work.

• Photography itself has cemented itself as a fine art, thanks in part to the work of people like Kertész, Adams, and Porter.