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.

Photography is capturing an image from a brief point in time, through light.

Photography’s Functions:

Because photography is quick, cameras are portable and images are easily distributed, photography has had many functions. There are instances where photography is used to document, this could be for things such as science, news and evidence to name a few. Another function could be capturing memories or events that a person experiences throughout their life, this is becoming even easier to do with the use of smartphones and social media. The use of cameras and social media has allowed for even greater communication methods, with people being able to send images of what they are experiencing to others.

Photography as an Art-Form

Whether or not photography is a true ‘art’ has been debated on for centuries. Personally, I think that photography is its own unique type of art that can be experienced by anyone at anytime. Photography captures a scene in a similar way painting or drawing a picture does, the only difference being the process which some argue is the reason for photography not being an art form. As photography has multiple layers of complexity, style and personality within them, I think that photography is a great way to create art. Another thing to mention could be that photography is almost always ‘honest’ – an unedited image cannot change the way reality looks, giving photography a more natural look than some other forms of art.

Photography as a Science

As photography is Greek for ‘Light Writing’, it would make sense that in order to be able to do photography, you would require some forms of physics and chemistry to make a camera work. One of the first scientific uses of the camera was by Eadweard Muybridge where he used around 20 cameras that were lined up and recorded a horse running past them, as the horse went past a camera, the camera would take a picture, giving Eadweard multiple images. Eadweard used these to prove the idea that horses lift all of their feet up when galloping. After this he would go on to document several animals on how they moved. Since then, photography has been used for other scientific uses such as documentation to learn even more about how the world works.

The Difference between the ‘Study’ and ‘Practice’ of Photography

Study:

The ‘Study’ of photography is the scientific and developmental aspects of photography. As mentioned before, the use of physics and chemistry is vital in photography, without them, it simply wouldn’t be possible. New developments of photography occur often and after each development, something new may be possible.

Practice:

The ‘Practice’ of photography is the artistic side. Photographers practice their artistic techniques, learn new ones and hone their ideas or create new ones as a way of creating something unique as a sort of journey or career. As photography is a rapidly growing interest, many new ideas and techniques are being shown to the public so that they can be developed more by other people.

History

Hamptonne was previously used by 15th century farmers and royals as a farm and housing complex with several buildings from different time periods. It’s name comes one of it’s previous owners “Laurens Hamptonne” who was given permission to rebuild the ‘Colombier’ – a Dovecote – by King Charles II. King Charles also gifted Hamptonne multiple grants for its aid to him during the English Civil War.

Information

Hamptonne today is a museum which provides an insight into the lives of 15th Century farmers and the culture of Jersey at the time, live performers/actors portray the lives and activities of those people, providing an immersive and informative experience. The ‘Hampton Cider Festival’ is an annual event which takes place at the old farm, where people can watch its cider press at work, enjoy traditional food and music, as well as Cider Testing from local and foreign sources. Hamptonne is a Jersey Heritage site, meaning is also used as a wedding venue, as well as tours and trails, giving the old farm life and meaning on the small island. There is also a Cider apple orchard to visit, a local bakery, a children’s playground and an animal farm so all ages can experience the site.

Below is a Link to the Jersey Heritage Website, on the page detailing Hamptonne:

https://www.jerseyheritage.org/explore/find-a-place-to-visit/hamptonne-country-life-museum/

The Characters

At Hamptonne, multiple performers often act as people who lived in the times of Hamptonne’s use as a farm/house. These include characters such as Spinning ladies, Goodwife, Blacksmith and other ancient depictions.

Methods of Recording History – Tom Kennedy

Tom Kennedy is a local Jersey photographer who has documented Jersey’s Heritage sites with his wife Annigna Kennedy. Their works capture what life would have been like in Jersey’s older times through their respective skills. When documenting Jersey’s Heritage sites, Kennedy prefers to use natural light from windows, candles, etc… to make the image as believable and immersive as possible.

This image is a portrait of Alfred Krupp, taken by Arnold Newman

Visual

In this image the colour palette is primarily made up of greens and browns, this, paired with the models facial expression, helps give the image an industrial and almost sinister look. I think the image uses light very effectively in the sense that, while you can see the main light source used, a lot of the image remains fairly dark. The texture of the surfaces look metallic, giving the image a rougher look. The shapes in this image are mainly angular, such as squares/rectangles, and are 3D, which gives the image a sense of depth. In addition, the use of line has given the image a similar effect, as well as a more industrial look. Leading lines have been used effectively in this image, the multiple windows, gradually getting smaller the greater the distance, point towards the focal point in the center. This image does not follow the rule of thirds as the focal point, the model’s face, is in the center of the image.

Technical

There is little to no blur in this image, this is likely a result of a fast shutter speed. This could have been done to give the factory a vastness that seems intimidating to the viewers. The lighting in this image seems fully natural, with its source being the windows on the ceiling. The lighting used is just enough to make the model, as well as the majority of the factory, fully visible. This image possibly uses a darker aperture of around f/11, I think this because the image has a fairly large depth of field and because the image is darker in some areas. I think the shutter speed would have been quick, maybe around 1/500 as the image is fairly sharp all around with little to no blurs.

Contextual

The model of this image is Alfred Krupp, a German steel manufacturer who was born in 1812. He was the largest arms manufacturer at the time. Krupp considered employment as being something like a patriarchy, expecting obedience from all his workers, this could also be a reason for the composition of the image. As Krupp was a post-industrial-revolution steel manufacturer, he was likely making a lot of money from the steel he distributed, likely giving him more power control over his workers.

Conceptual

I think the concept behind this image is to say something about how business owners at the time got the majority of the money earned, thus making it appropriate to give the well-dressed and seated boss a sinister gaze, whereas the workers would get a far smaller portion, even with the intense physical labor they would have endured. As Krupp was a arms manufacturer, it could also be saying that wars and the people who start them are malicious instead of just.