The Photographer and His Camera Essay

The essay written by Charles Baudelaire, titled “The Modern Public Photography”, is not only very clear to be negative towards the pursuing arts of photography, but also very controversial due to the independent and diverse views on this specific subject matter. Baudelaire makes it very clear in his writings that his opinion is firm on photography and its evolving approach to appease the various spectators of the fine arts. In this essay, Charles Baudelaire illustrates his opinion by insulting multiple previous photographic known ‘art pieces’ and breaking them down into literal meanings, insulting the modern idea of literal duplicates of reality as being defined as “art”, and also persuading those interested in category of photography to seek ‘out-of-the-box’.

Photography and film are becoming more popular every day with people trying to one up each other and also trying to figure out new and inventive ways to use the camera. In Paul Strand’s essay Photography the New God, he wanted to make his point that photography was assessable to anyone and everyone and that man does all the work not the machine. In Extracts from the Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin explains that works of art have always been easily reproduced for profit and how film will be the most powerful instrument when it comes to new forms of art. At one time to reproduce a work of art it was only to be used to practice the artist’s craft.

Meanwhile, photography as a commodity in the industrial world at that time, its status in galleries and museums is determined by the price it sells, which means the higher the price is, the higher position it stands. This situation increases the gap between this photography and another type of photography, which works simply for exposing abuses caused by jobs, races, sex, social classes and etc. that people are unfamiliar to accept and consume.

Ever since the camera was invented in 1839, the very nature of photography has been questioned. With the increasing advent of photographic technology, photography has become an egalitarian expression of society and community. With one press of a button, an image is captured for eternity, bringing to question the inherent artistic quality of photographs. If we can so quickly capture an image, can this be deemed art? Art is to promote fantasy, and dream, to incite anger and joy. Thus, surely photography is an art, as seen through its capturing of beautiful verdant landscapes, and the horrendous

The myth of photographic truth is an important debate in today’s society, the culture of the image, particularly photographs is one of the most important subject, because it influence, mostly through the medias, people vision of our world. While reading this part of the chapter, we notice that we focus on the meaning of the images or recordings, and how even if we don’t think about it, we already have a personal point of view of this image. For example, a picture can be a testimony of the past, and just by seeing it, and with the knowledge of the context, we can determine what is happening in the picture. But an image can also convey an emotion, every person as a particular feeling when looking at an image, sometimes this feeling is wanted

The invention of the camera brought about the ability to reproduce art and images to anyone and anywhere in the world. Therefore, as art is now “transmittable” (Berger), paintings have lost their original meaning and became ambiguous by giving people the ability

For many centuries since their inception, photographs and photography struggled to find its own niche, inspiring heated debates over their value and place in the artistic world. Today, they are viewed as an instrument of artistic expression, inspiring change and thought, reflecting our tastes and interests, as well as social and political realities. The photograph has the ability to inform and educate, as well as to evoke emotion. With its ability to capture a moment in time photograph is a time capsule enclosing the secrets of the people and times that it captured.

NYC-based photographer Lucea Spinelli’s latest series titled Phōtosgraphé explores the movement of light in photography and the perception of reality. Spinelli reminds us instantly of photography’s purpose and origin. It is defined as a process of drawing with light. Its etymology implies a compound of the greek words φωτός (phōtos) “light” and γραφή (graphé) which is defined as “drawing”. The fleeting movement of the illumination becomes the paintbrush on its canvas, the film. “Like a human eye, the camera receives impressions of light reflected off the world around us. “

Graham Clarke, in his book “The Photograph as Fine Art”, states that “photography can be considered as fine art”; which is a statement that I entirely agree with. People all over the world take photos everyday, so why is someone considered an artist while the other is just a person taking photographs? A lot of characteristics differentiate an artist from a hobbyist or a memory collector, such as the ability to properly execute his artistic visions and capture them in an photograph. Another characteristic is how he chooses to structure his photograph and how he positions the objects inside the frame. Artists observe their surroundings in a different way and capture moments in creative and beautiful photographs. “There is a major difference between a snapshot and a photograph. A snapshot captures a moment in time; a photograph captures the emotions, feelings, and beauty from that moment in time”1.

The art of photography seems very simple today, all that is needed is a small device in one’s pocket, but 200 years ago that was not the case. Merriam-Webster defines photography as, “the art or process of producing images on a sensitive surface by the action of light” (Merriam- Webster 480). This process took a lot of steps to be discovered. As

Throughout photographic history, the threshold that many artists had to overcome was conveying the meaning of their photographs to the public if any at all, and the orientation of the subjects in their photography. The intent of portrait photography is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject. Nineteenth century photo historian Alan Trachtenberg notes, “Aspiring professionals wrestled with the problem: how to arrange their sitters and manipulate the often fickle medium to produce not just a picture but a pleasing one--not just a likeness but a portrait”(Trachtenberg, 24). Through these words of Trachtenberg, we can deduce that the main problem was how photographers manipulate their subjects in a way that would

“Art is not to be found by touring to Egypt, China, or Peru; if you cannot find it at your own door, you will never find it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson . Although many might think that it is a waste of time and money, photography is a great hobby that people should try. However, even if someone has different opinions, they must consider that photography is steadily on its way to becoming a worldwide everyday use, and is already part of the American culture. Who has contributed to the making of the modern camera in earlier times?

Anyone can take a picture of a beautiful thing, but only a photographer can take a picture of anything and make it appear beautiful. The sights in which I photograph are ones that would normally pass by every other teenager with no second thought, but they happen to draw me in. Stored in my camera’s memory is a diary; although wordless, it tells a story close to my soul, much deeper than words ever

An unknown author once said, “[T]he question is not whether photography is fine art per se – neither painting not sculpture can make that claim – but whether it is capable of artistic expression; whether in the hands of a true artist its productions become works of art.” This quote, published in 1862, in the Photographic Journal; although quoted over 150 years ago, during a time when artistry was taking different forms and evolving, this statement is no less true today. During these early years, photographers were in the infant stage; first crawling, experimenting with the camera, film, and subject matter, followed by the teenage grouping. Seen by groups of artist who followed similar paths and doubts, ‘What would the finished piece look like

Brooks Jensen began to wonder whether the photography can be referred to artwork. Obviously, more cameras plus more pictures unequal to more art in the contemporary society because numbers of photos dose not mean quality of art. Even though with the development of camera products and the improvement of camera filters, these factors cannot instead of emerging the real value of photography. The real value of photography is not use the good camera products to shot or take one photo optionally, it is always based on the individual experience and insight of our own value how to cognize the world. And to pursuit the quality of photography, we should be slowing down our hand to shot, firstly to think about what we want to make audience understand,