Why do people take photographs?

Photographs are a way that we have physical memories, something that we can cherish whenever we please.

Why is photography important?

Photographs play an enormous part in our day to day life. We see photographs everywhere from storybooks to wall hangings. They help remind us of people, places, emotions and tell us stories.

What skills do you need to be a good photographer?

• Creativity
• Patience
• Good technical photography skills
• Ability to pay attention to detail
• Passion

How many different kinds of photography can you think of?

• Portrait
• Fashion
• Sports
• Still Life
• Architectural
• Landscape
• Wildlife
• Wedding

How does photography help us see the world?

Photography allows us to frame the moment that we have considered deeply and capture it so that we can go back and take another look.

Can photographic images be trusted?

Images are cropped, edited and can be perceived and portrayed in different ways, and therefore cannot be considered as trusted.

What are the similarities and differences between photography and other types of visual art?

Both forms of art can capture moments in time that are accurate.  Although some consider photography to be the truth in capturing moments, painting has the same effect.

When would it not be OK to take a photograph?

Public places where photography is strictly forbidden and it is important to adhere to and rules put into place.

How do you know when you’ve made a good photograph?

The following points are what makes a photograph considered a good photograph..

• An Interesting Subject. First things first, you have to shoot something that you find fascinating, intriguing, beautiful, or otherwise interesting
• A Good Composition
• Good Technique (F-Stop, Shutter Speed, ISO)
• Good Light

Are photographers also artists?

Yes, anyone can be a photographer; a random guy on the street can pick up a camera or use his phone and take a pretty picture of the sunset.

Where is the best place to see photographs?

• Social media
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Books

What kind of photography interests you most?

Wedding photography and architectural photography are the two main types of photography that interest me the most. I am aware that they are two completely different types of photography. However, I love how different and how there’s the emotion behind wedding photography. Secondly, I fell in love with architectural photography after studying Textiles as a GCSE as one of my chosen topics were Structure.

its purpose

Photography is a form of using images created by shadows and lights to change the way the human eye perceives everyday objects. Photography can be used to make us feel certain emotions based on tones, shades and depth. 

As an art

 It can also be used as art, photography has grown as an art form since we have been able to edit images using apps such as Photoshop and lightroom this allows photographers to manipulate their images to express different feelings depending on what they wish the image to portray to their audience it also allows artists to capture a moment with the freedom to experiment with new tools. 

Photography uses multiple combinations of tools and skills which don’t only include the settings on a camera such as lighting, angles, exposure and captivating a moment. There are 7 different types of photography that you can learn to help benefit your photography skills these include fashion, life, portrait, photojournalism and more.  

As a science

Theres a use of physics and chemistry in all aspects of photography which allow for a perfect photo the camera is able to pick up aspects of everyday life that aren’t visible to the naked eye allowing us to discover more through an image.

Camera Obscura

A camera obscura (‘Dark Chamber’ in Latin) is a darkened room or box with a small hole or lens on one side. The light comes from the small hole which then projects an image on to the wall upside down. This technique was used for centuries to view eclipses without damaging people’s eyes, then from the 17h century artists used it to draw.

Nicephore Niepce

Nicephore Niepce was a French inventor of the 18th century. He was credited as the ‘inventor of photography’ because he created the first permanent photographic image through the process of heliography (“sun writing” in Greek).  He captured the scene with a camera obscura projected onto a pewter plate thinly coated with a naturally occurring asphalt before letting the photo sit for 8 hours to gather exposure. His work inspired other inventors and artists like Louis Daguerre.

Louis Daguerre + Daguerreotype

Louis Daguerre was a French artist and photographer, recognised for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography. He is known as one of the fathers of photography.

The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process (1839-1860) in the history of photography. This method consisted of treating silver-plated copper sheets with iodine to make them sensitive to light, then exposing them in a camera and “developing” the images with warm mercury vapour. Unlike heliography, this process only needed 20 minutes of exposure.

Henry Fox Talbot

Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist, inventor and photography pioneer who invented the ‘salted paper’ and ‘calotype’ processes.

The ‘Salted Paper’ process was discovered in 1834, and it was used to create photogenic drawings, meaning drawings produced by light. The process involved dipping the paper in a solution of sodium chloride and coating one side with silver nitrate. An impression of an object was then made by placing it on the sensitized side of the paper and exposing it to the sun.

Calotype(Ancient Greek for “beautiful impression”), also know as Talbotype, was introduce in 1841. In this technique, a sheet of paper coated with silver chloride was exposed to light in a camera obscura; those areas hit by light became dark in tone, yielding a negative image.

Richard Maddox

Richard Leach Maddox was an English photographer and physician who invented lightweight gelatin negative plates for photography in 1871. This enabled photographers to use commercial dry plates off the shelf instead of having to prepare their own emulsions in a mobile darkroom. This meant that cameras were now small enough to be handheld which made photography more convenient.

George Eastman and Kodak(Brownie)

George Eastman was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream.

The Brownie was first introduced in 1900 and it was a basic cardboard box camera with a simple meniscus lens that took 2 1/4-inch square pictures on 117 roll film. Its original price was $1, with the film rolls and processing being even cheaper, and it allowed the product to sell more than Eastman thought. Brownies were marketed to children and were also taken to war by soldiers.

Digital Photography

Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The first digital picture was taken in 1957 by Russel Kirsch and it was one of his son. Digital photographs have become more common now due to the ‘camera’ tool on phones, which has made photography more accessible than ever.

Photography is the art of using light to create an image.

Photography’s Functions

Photography is used all around the world by all types of people in different ways. It can be used to record different events in history which we can later on look at and learn about, as well as keeping family traditions and memories alive. It’s also a tool for science and exploration due it it being able to document people, places and events.

Photography as an Art Form

Some people could argue that photography is not real art due to it being mostly digital, unlike paintings and drawings; however, I believe that it is a real art form because it’s not easy, not everyone can do it, and it can paint an image just like drawings can. Photographers can change the outcome of a photograph using lenses, cameras, film, filters, lighting and much more, which makes photography more unique. You can be as creative with it as you want, just like with different art forms like music, sculpture, painting etc.

Photography as a Science

Chemistry and physics are needed in order to make cameras work which makes photography possible. Scientists use photography all the time to document and learn more about our planet and space. They use it as evidence and are able to share it with other people in order to make new discoveries.

The Difference between the Study and Practice of Photography

Study:

The ‘Study’ of photography is where you learn how the camera and lighting work. You also get to learn all the different techniques photography has to offer, such as compositions, manipulating, editing, processing etc.

Practice:

The ‘Practice’ is the artistic side of photography where you use a camera, take pictures, make the photos, and so on. Photographers practice different techniques and experiment with their ideas in order to create something new and beautiful.

Types of Photography

There are many different types of photography like: portrait, landscape, still life, fashion, street, architectural, sports, and many more. Each types helps us view the world around us differently in their own unique ways.

From the first photo being taken 195 years ago, things have come a long way since then.

The first camera ever invented was called the Camera Obscura. It was developed by an Iraqi scientist in the early 11th century. It took 600 years for the Camera Obscura to become portable as it was so large.

The first permanent images were taken in the late 1830s, when Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a portable Camera Obscura to expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light. His success led to many more experiments being conducted and caused a rapid leap forward in styles of photography.

In the 1880s, when photography was still strictly for professionals and the very wealthy, a man called George Eastman started a company called Kodak. It would be this company that would be responsible for the invention of the Kodak Brownie, the first commercially available camera. Pictures would be taken by the consumer, then when all the film had been used it would be sent back to the factory where the film would be developed and printouts would be made. This is a very similar method to today’s disposable cameras.

World War II was revolutionary for photography. Photos were taken of soldiers in combat and the aftermath of the events. These were publicly displayed for everyone to see. It brought the reality of war to the public eye and shaped the face of photography to the present day.

About a decade after the war ended, instant images began to increase in popularity. This was because a new camera called the Model 95 from Polaroid had just been released. People could now take photos and have them developed inside the camera in under a minute. It was fairly expensive at launch but over time more models were released, dropping the prices so that almost all of the population could afford it. However, in 2008, Polaroid ceased production of all products and closed its doors, taking its secrets with it. The quality of a Polaroid is still difficult to replicate to this day.

Smart cameras began to appear with the first SLR cameras during the 1950s. Nikon began with the Model F and a Japanese company called Ashai (later known as Pentax) introduced the Ashaiflex. The SLR remained the camera of choice for 30 years. After this, compact cameras began to become more prominent. Nicknamed “point and shoot” cameras could now calculate shutter speed, aperture and focus, allowing the photographer to concentrate on composition.

New companies began to emerge, including Canon and previously mentioned, Pentax. DSLRs were now the preferred option for a professional. Cameras now began to shrink, small enough to now have three or more of them on the back of a smartphone, retaining the ability to take an incredibly high-quality photograph.

An image taken by Robert Frank, a Swiss Photographer who created a book called The Americans (1958) over 1955-1956. He travelled across the country to taking photographs to reflect American society at the time.

This image in particular shows racial segregation in the south, and how normalised it was in society.

His images are in black and white, giving them a timeless feel- which can now be interpreted by modern audiences as showing how racism is still an important issue in society. The windows of the trolley look to be forming prison bars separating the passengers and showing how discrimination can divide society.

Photography functions- There are many uses for photography, it can be used to record history and science, for self-expression or art, and it can even be used commercially.

Photography as an art form- Photography can be used as a form of art, telling stories through images through the use of lighting, composition and even the subject itself. It can also been used in collages or with editing to further an intended idea.

Photography as a science- Photography can also be used scientifically, to record discoveries and share them with other specialists around the world. It can be used as evidence or simply to document a new discovery. It can also be used to look back on history, and find out more from a certain point in time.

The difference between the study of photography and the practice of photography- There is a difference between the study and the practice of photography, studying photography teaches the pure hypotheticals of how things like cameras or lighting works. However the practice of photography teaches things studying cannot, using past mistakes to learn lessons and a chance to try new things.

Hamptonne is a country life museum that’s surrounded by trees and fields that shows how life was in Jersey through its farm and houses that date back to the 15th century. It contains a variety of different areas that are available to explore and help inform visitors about Jersey’s past and traditions including the apple orchard, the bakehouse, and many more. Along with this, Hamptonne also has characters dressed in traditional clothing that visitors are able to interact with from Late March through to October such as the spinning ladies.

The farm itself got its name in 1663 when Laurens Hamptonne bought the house and gained several Grants in 1649 due to his support for King Charles II, who was exiled at the time, which gave him permission to rebuild the ‘Colombier’ despite that being something only Jersey Seigneurs could do.

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One of the most popular areas at Hamptonne is the Cider Apple Orchard that has a variety of different apple trees with contrasting flavours which creates a perfect balance for cider making.

Every year Hamptonne prepares for their cider making festival called ‘La Faîs’sie d’Cidre‘ by collecting the apples from their orchard. They offer apple picking sessions throughout the first 2 weekends of October however are limited with the amount of people they can allow per session due to its popularity.

They crush the apples and press the pulp at the farm in order to create their cider and often listen to traditional music whilst enjoying the drink.

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A local photographer, Tom Kennedy, uses natural light in order to make painting-like photos that are similar to the work of 17th Century painters such as Vermeer. He’s visited Hamptonne and photographed there multiple times as he wants people to reflect on their own lives and hopes to move people wiht his work.

This photograph was taken in 1936 by Dorothea Lange who was employed by the U.S government’s Farm Security Administration program formed during the great depression in order to bring to the public attention the issue of poverty and hunger as well as provide help to farmers living in those conditions. Lange encountered a woman named Florence Thompson and her children in a camp for field workers all of whom were devastated by the failure of their pea crops. According to Lange, the woman was a mother of seven, her first husband died from tuberculosis while she was pregnant with their sixth child. The family didn’t live on the camp, they were stuck there as they have sold their tires to buy food. Some claim that the backstory was simply fabricated by Lange to seem more appealing and dramatic to the public. Lange definitely achieved the goal as the photograph became on of the most iconic representations in the newspapers and magazines of the migrant farm workers during the great depression.

The mothers expression is the main point of the photograph, the leading line is the hand placed on her face to navigate the viewers eyes to the main point. The mothers expression conveys the worry about the uncertain future, just like the viewers uncertainty of what is or isn’t in the photograph, what the mother sees and what we cannot see. This leaves plenty of room for our imagination to work and wonder just like the mother. In order to focus the attention on the mother the children’s faces are turned away.

The background is blurred to let the viewer concentrate on the subjects of the photograph. The image was converted into a black and white image to remove any distraction that might be caused by colour and to shift the emphasis onto other elements such as textures and shapes. Because of that we see all the details on the mother’s face such as wrinkles that indicate stress and worry or the rough texture of the clothing the brain associate’s with unpleasant emotions. The light in this photograph is also important. It creates shadows on her cheek bones making her look thinner, starved. In addition the black and white tone contrasts in a way, making the subjects look soiled and dirty. The lack of hygiene is often associated with poverty and indicates that the mother works hard, long days at the farm. The messy textures in the childrens hair also indicates lack of hygiene.

A cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. The simplest kind of cyanotype print is a photogram, made by arranging objects on sensitised paper. Fresh or pressed plants are a typical subject but any solid object will create an image. A sheet of glass will press flat objects into close contact with the paper, resulting in a sharp image. Otherwise, three-dimensional objects or less than perfectly flat ones will create a more or less blurred image.