As photography began with the Camera Obscura dated back to 4th century BC and known as an ancient building block for photography where an image is reflected into a dark room upside down using only natural light, which is still used by photographers to this day. It was then developed by French photographer Nicephor Niépce in 1822 who is named the father of photography, his first photograph was a view from his window in Burgundy, France. He used a sheet of pewter coated with bitumen, which required at least 8 hours of exposure time. Painter Louis Daguerre heard about this achievement and he decided to partner with Niépce. Daguerre continued to develop with the process by using silver-plated copper sheets and mercury vapor. As he continued to develop this process, Daguerre was able to reduce the exposure time.

After the death of Niépce in 1833, Daguerre concentrated his attention on the light-sensitive properties of silver salts. For the process which was eventually named the daguerreotype, he exposed a thin silver-plated copper sheet to the vapour given off by iodine crystals, producing a coating of light-sensitive silver iodide on the surface. The plate was then exposed in the camera. Initially, this process also required a very long exposure to produce a distinct image, but Daguerre made the crucial discovery that an invisibly faint “latent” image created by a much shorter exposure could be chemically “developed” into a visible image. The Daguerreotypes, introduced in Paris in 1839, process made it possible to capture the image seen inside a camera obscura and preserve it as an object, they were usually portrait and the rarer, landscape ones were more expensive. Typically Daguerreotypes would be used for recording many other images such as documentary subjects, antiquities, still lives and remarkable events.

In the same year of 1839 William Henry Fox Talbot invented the calotype process. Calotype is an early photographic process, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low contrast details and textures. Despite their flexibility and the ease with which they could be made, calotypes did not replace the daguerreotype. The calotype produced a less clear image than the daguerreotype. The texture of the paper was visible in prints made from it, making an image that was grainy or blurry compared to daguerreotypes, which were usually clear.

A daguerreotype would be seen as a window image as they document reality through the photographs and portraits of real people. A calotype would been seen as a mirror image as they can be manipulated as they weren’t typically used for documenting portraits of people and can be taken of anything as they were easier and cheaper. Using one of Szarkowski’s quotes ‘is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?”

Mirror Image

This image is a mirror image as it has been highly edited and manipulated. I have chosen to analyse this image as I think there is a lot to talk about where every part of the image has been edited in some sort of way, for example the woman has been edited onto a stack of wooden blocks and reflected the same image on both sides. The body has been put on two sides of the blocks and one side has got a combination of black and white blocks where the body is shown more in the black parts and in the white parts the body is much lighter and almost transparent. On the other side where all the blocks are black and the body is also a more transparent figure yet is more visible and more obviously a body than the side that has a combination of black and white. The artist could have seen this image as a way to express the same body but differently, The two different colours on each side of the blocks could reflect on how the artist is feeling like feeling seen in different situations and referred to on the blocks. “The distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work” I agree with this quote about photographs because it tells you that a photograph isn’t just about the originality of the picture its about how they do it and what the story behind the photo is whether its reality or made up and romanticized.

Window Image

Rafal Milach, ICELAND, Saudakrokur, 2010, Annual horse gathering country ball.

I think this image is a window image as it has been taken of three people clearly under the influence. This Image to me is objective, shows realism and presents the effects of alcohol is young adults. This would be a window image as it is not staged and is taken authentically of three adults, one asleep or resting on the table and two kissing. This could also be seen as a more subjective image and therefore a mirror image but I think the realism of this proves otherwise. The actions that these adults are presenting can clearly show the influence of alcohol. a quote that I think goes well with this image from John Szarkowski’s thesis would be “The distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work, but in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?” I agree with the quote because photographs can be objective where the subjects in the photo are real and representing what is in the image clearly with realism and truth or subjective where you get to make up a story and choose what the story is behind the image. “generous and inclusive acceptance of fact, objective structure,” and that the selection among these facts is the romantic, personal opposite built into any photograph of merit.” This quote from Jed Pearls review argues with John Szarkowski’s thesis that an image is either a window or mirror is argued from Jed Pearl that photographs all have romanticism included and that each photography has their own subjective story as it is personal to the photographer and each person that looks at it.

I think that John Szarkowski’s theory and Jed Pearls review has made sense of the idea of window and mirror images and has been put together well where John Szarkowski had put his idea out and Pearl has reviewed it and made it make sense. The difference between mirror and window images are that the mirror image has been manipulated and edited highly whereas the window hasn’t and is authentic. The subjectivity behind the mirror image is in the imagination of the people who sees it and has a selective story behind it. Whereas the window image has got truth behind it and is objective as there is what is in the image and that is it. “an evolution from public to private concerns and at the same time a potential toward either self-expression or exploration in the unique sensibility of each photographer” Is a quote Jed pearl used in his review of Szarkowski’s thesis and I think it has value towards what the thesis is getting across with mirror and window images as both include the photographers vision where a mirror is a reflection of the photographer and a window is what the photographer sees as objective and real where he wants to document the message they try to get across.

Portraits

In my opinion I think that my favourite project was when I did portraits, here are some of my images that I took and analysed, edited too.

Portraits can contain an individual or multiple subjects. At a minimum, the subject is captured from their head to their shoulders, but many artists enjoy telling a story with the whole body. Before the advent of photographs, the most accurate way to preserve the visual essence of somebody was in a portrait picture.

The lighting of each of my pictures are so different, some of them appear to be a natural daylight image whereas the others appear saturated and toned down. I love this project because you can show so many different versions of people and you are able to position lights and people in so many different ways whether it looks staged or not. There is a range of aperture but with the darker, my personal favourite ones they are more of a blurred aperture. The shutter speed seems to differ from image top image but for the darker it is underexposed but it does vary even with the editing. (The brighter images are overexposure). Lastly the ISO and white balance is high sensitivity and cool temperature for the darker, edited cooler images which I used for my mock exam.

I enjoy doing portraits because its such a popular form of photography used by everyone day to day and its a beautiful form of art. It show history and I love the way it shows you so much about people, shows their beauty and it tells a story just within a picture. It can show everything from culture to religion.

The visual elements’ of portraits and the one – the tones are light and dark, there is almost a constant pattern of repetition within the poses and the face symmetry. I made one image upside down and edited it on light room, highering the contrast and colours etc.

Cindy Sherman

I am really inspired by her images.

Cindy Sherman began her career in the late 1970s, she posed as various female characters. Her work challenges traditional representations of women in media and art, making her a key figure in contemporary photography and feminism.

Cindy Sherman is famous for her self-portraits that really make us think about what it means to be a woman. In her photos, she transforms into different characters, showing how women are often viewed in a parochial society. It’s an interesting way to reflect on your own identity and how you see yourself. Sherman’s images challenge stereotypes, by using costumes and makeup, she shows that identity isn’t fixed; it can change and evolve. In today’s world of social media, her work makes us think about how we represent ourselves and what’s real. Looking at Sherman’s art can help young people understand themselves better which could help with self esteem and maybe even things people go through… It’s a powerful reminder that everyone’s story is unique and everyone matters no matter who you are.

I could start my personal study based on her with some of my images relating to hers – here is some examples!

Conclusion

I love the idea behind these images and the messages they portray and this is why I want do something like this. The essence of work means so much to females and could be a big move in the 20th century. The ideas in this idea of a project are aesthetic and all com together. This is why its an amazing idea for someone like me to do my personal study base on this.

Still life

For still life I was inspired by Walker Evans and Darren Harvey-Regan. Walker Evans photographed mundane house tools to turn them into a spectacle while Darren Harvey-Regan combined two generic tools in separate images to create a unique pieces. While I’m not sure I will be developing images like these further, I would like to include some still life in some regard.

If I do take still life, they will likely be single images in front of a white background. They will be different objects with a different theme. From this project I will be using the different lighting techniques I learned. I haven’t done much with objects however I think the outcomes had varying success.

Portraits

Cindy Sherman took staged environmental portraits like this one. This worked as an environmental portrait of a character. Her work tells a story about a person and how their environment shows that.

I liked working on this project and I think my outcomes were successful. I would like to experiment further with this as I believe it could work as an interesting way to evaluate an idea. I did like my outcomes however going forwards I would like to create more as I only really had one good photoshoot for this project.

Street Photography

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer in the street photography space. His work never interfered and acted as observations instead. He believed in the decisive moment and photographing fleeting moments. I do like how these photographs look and the process of taking them however I would be shifting my focus.

I think I had varying success with my street photography. I enjoyed this project some outcomes were pretty decent. If I did continue these ideas, I wouldn’t focus so much on the decisive moment and instead a specific theme.

So far, what I have learnt from the photoshoots I have done focusing on still life, landscape and portraiture is that I enjoy photographing people the most, or people in an environment.

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John Szarkowski –

” The two photographers characterize opposite
modes of the new photography, with its divergence be
tween those who believe that art is a mirror, reflecting a
portrait of the artist who made it, and those who see it as a
window, through which one may better know the world.”

Jed pearls opinion –

White, toward an idealist, “romantic” goal of “self-expression,” a “mirror” that primarily describes the self; Frank, toward an introverted “realism,” involved with the “exploration” of a private “window” on the world. 

Plan –

Introduction (250 words): Reflect on the origin of photography and describe in your own words the difference between the two photographic processes, Daguerreotype and Calotype. Consider how they could be viewed as either a mirror or a window of the world according to John Szarkowski’s thesis. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s text and comment if you agree or disagree.

Paragraph 1 (250 words): Choose an image that in your view is a mirror and analyse how it is a subjective expression and staged approach to image-making. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s thesis and another from Jed Pearl’s review which either supports of opposes Szarkowski’s original point of view. Make sure you comment to advance argumentation in providing a critical perspective.

Paragraph 2 (250 words): Choose an image that in your view is a window and analyse how it is an objective expression rooted in a sense of realism. Choose one quote from Szarkowski’s thesis and another from Jed Pearl’s review and follow similar procedure as above ie. two opposing points of view and commentary to provide a critical perspective.

Conclusion (250 words): Refer back to the essay question and write a conclusion where you summarise Szarkowski’s theory and Pearl’s review of his thesis. Describe differences and similarities between the two images above and their opposing concepts of objectivity and subjectivity, realism and romanticism, factual and fiction, public and private.

Final draft –

The difference between the Calotype and Daguerreotype photographic processes, is that Talbot’s calotype involved coating paper with silver iodide, which made it light-sensitive. After exposing the paper in a camera, the image was developed using a solution of gallic acid, resulting in a negative image. This was revolutionary because it allowed for the creation of multiple copies from a single exposure, unlike the daguerreotype, which produced a unique positive image. The daguerreotype process involved exposing a silver-plated copper sheet to iodine vapor, which created a light-sensitive layer of silver iodide. After exposure in a camera, the plate was developed using mercury vapor, and then fixed with a salt solution. This process produced highly detailed images with a unique quality, making it the first practical form of photography. The Daguerreotype is definitely viewed as mirror photography, as it was usually used for taking self-portraits of wealthy men and woman of the 1830’s early 1840’s, which helps show an insight into that person’s life and due to the long development time, would be classified as mirror photography. It shows the staged and personal insight of the artists life. The Calotype process would be viewed as window photography, due to its regular use in the 1930’s for taking photos of architecture and landscapes, showing the ‘window’ into the outside world and not depicting anything about the artist, sticking to the reality and rawness of the outside world.

This image by Cindy Sherman is a great representation of Mirror photography, the thought that went into it is clearly immense. The use of self-portraiture, especially in the 1970’s is a very powerful form of self-expression for women. The costume and makeup show almost a shield or mask and in this 70’ era, could be symbolic to the oppression of woman at that time, and Cindy Sherman wanted to shield herself from that. This photo was taken in public in full view of anyone in New York city at the time, staged in the street with a camera. This photo shows a true view on woman empowerment not just with the costume but also the makeup and the overall photo. John Szarkowski said in his thesis that ‘The two photographers characterize opposite modes of the new photography, with its divergence between those who believe that art is a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, and those who see it as a window, through which one may better know the world.’ Jed pearl had an additional thing to add to Szarkowski’s thesis, “While toward, an idealist, ‘romantic’ goal of ‘self-expression’ a ‘mirror’ that primarily describes the self; Frank, toward an introverted ‘realism’ involved with the ‘exploration’ of a private ‘window’ on the world.” This shows that although Jed had a agreement about this with John, he argued that its almost like a state of mind, if someone is looking at a mirror like a self-expression, the idea of window photography, is an introversion issue, he sees window like introverted realism, so he believed that seeing the world or self this way, is personal to how you want to project yourself.

This photo by Garry Winogrand is clearly window photography, the eye view of a public space showing individual separate lives of people undenounced to the artist. A public area of Los Angeles in the 1969, is a very busy rowdy area, perfect for capturing lives of bystanders. The obscure angle that the photo was taken gives the photo itself an unusual ideology alone. The interesting action of people watching makes the viewers in captured in lives that aren’t their own. It its intriguing and leaves the viewer enticed to find out more, just from the little window they have been given into these people’s lives. This photo also shows a kind of individuality to the people in it, the outfits, makeup and atmosphere is also very interesting, especially due to the ear difference of 45 years, its like a different world from the one we are living in now, in 2024. Going back to the quote from John Szarkowski ” The two photographers characterize opposite modes of the new photography, with its divergence between those who believe that art is a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, and those who see it as a window, through which one may better know the world.” This photo supports the idea that window photography is like a window into a better world, a world we don’t always see. John Pearl’s idea that it is a mindset of what you want to see and what you don’t bother to look at. When you take some time to look around at the world, there is so much that you might be missing.

The question ‘how can photographs be both windows and mirrors of the world’ poses a great discussion. Overall, I believe that the use of subsections of photography are extremely innovative, the skill of being able to pinpoint characteristics of both subsections like windows, being an way of viewing the outside world and mirrors, being a perfect way to show self-expression and experiences can be an extremely successful way of talking about photographs, not just the photographs themselves but helping artists become more in touch with their understanding of photography and the more difficult ideas that come with it. The two photos I used in this explanation, the first one by Cindy Sherman and the second by Garry Winogrand have so many differences between them, differences that do not only segregate them as photos but characterize them into categories. Window photography is all about documentation, observing and watching people’s lives through the photographs you take, while mirror photography is subjective to the artist themself, as they choose to put it out into the world to see. Another difference that segregates window and mirror photography is that mirror photography is not always real, and by real I do not mean physically real, but after editing, manipulation is common, while in window photography usually the photos are more candid and truthful. Mirror photography can also be seen as very romantic, indulging in romanticism is common for this area. Artists could occasionally romanticize their work; in mirror photography their work reflects their lives, so it is not surprising to see this through their art. While through window, artists may want to show a raw and objective view through their work to help keep the authenticity. 

What are the difference’s between photograph’s that are mirrors or windows?

Mirrors have an element of candid and naturalistic.

Mirrors:

• Subjective (open to interpretation)
• Reflects artist
• Reflections
• View into your own life
• Manipulated
• Synthetic
• Personal

“A mirror – a romantic expression of the photographers sensibility as it projects itself on the things and sights of this world; or as a window- through which the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality” – JOHN SZARKOSKI 1978 “is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it or a window, through which one might better know the world” JOHN SZARKOSKI 1978. This is essentially saying that mirrors reflect the society we are in and can reflect a lot about us and how we do things. “Mirrors” are photographs through which a photographer is trying to tell us how he feels about himself. The study of texts that reflect their own identities, experiences and motivations. They also provide insight into the identities, experiences and motivations of others 

Windows protect us (public). They have elements of reality, subjectivity and there’s this element between objectivity vs subjectivity when it comes to mirrors and windows. “Windows” are those in which he is trying to tell us how he feels about the world. For the former, only sincerity will do.

Windows:

• Objective (not open to interpretation)
• Outside world
• Documents
• Real
• Public

Binary Opposites

Inside / Outside

Subject / Object

Staged / Candid

Fiction / Non-Fiction

Image Analysis

These are all elements within photography and how exactly you could frame a window and mirror shoot. Inside and outside to show life and what people can do in their day to day life. (objectivity and subjectivity) which focuses on one pin point or multiple things which could be anything to outside world or just one person in a room. Staged such as Cindy Sherman pictures, staged female to allude to a stereotypical women with kids cleaning, whereas a mirror image is much more candid and natural such as capturing the beauty of the nature which also follows along the lines of fictional or non fiction which you could factor in for both mirrors and windows, it could be fake or real (stage or candid). Last but not least, imagery analysis is the extraction of meaningful information from images. How and why you go to were you are – could you elaborate on this? That is all about image analysis.

— Floris Neusüss

The idea of photographs functioning like windows makes total sense. Like the camera viewfinder, windows frame our view of the world. We see through them and light enters the window so that we can see beyond. Photographs present us with a view of something. However, it might also be possible to think of photographs as mirrors, reflecting our particular view of the world, one we have shaped with our personalities, our subconscious motivations, so that it represents how our minds work as well as our eyes. The photograph’s glossy surface reflects as much as it frames. Of course, some photographs might be both mirrors and windows.

A window is a resource that offers you a view into someone else’s experience. A sliding door allows the viewer to enter the story and become a part of the world. A mirror is a story that reflects your own culture and helps you build your identity.

Photo-historian, Gerry Badger who was part of the editorial team producing the television series The Genius of Photography wrote in the introduction of the book of the same name that John Szarkowski’s distinction of photographs as ‘mirrors’ or ‘windows’ is useful, but only to a point, ‘because most photographs are both mirrors and windows.’ (Badger 2007:8)

https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_2347_300062558.pdf?_ga=2.54789417.324587201.1678794436-79728838.1664367708

Is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world? – John Szarkowski

What are the differences between photographs that are Mirrors and Windows?

The difference between mirror and window photography is a mirror is a romantic expression of the photographer’s sensibility as it projects itself on the things and sights of this world. A mirror image is staged and subjective, they reflect the photographer and therefore called a mirror image. A window photograph is a photograph that shows realism and are objective. They are called window images because they show what is real in the image, like looking out of a window.

Key Words

Mirrors: Romanticism, Subjective, Naturalistic,  Fiction, Tableaux, Reflective, Personal, Internal

Windows: Authentic, Objective, Documentary, Realism, Candid, Public, External, Truthful

Binary Opposites

Inside / Outside

Subject / Object

Staged / Candid

Fiction / Non-Fiction

Image Analysis

I have created a gallery for my favourite images because I can’t fit them all into one gallery so I put the images that best fit and look best together into one gallery.

I chose to put these images together in my gallery because they are the ones that I have put together in my zine and because they all are in black and white so in my opinion they look good together in the gallery.

Evaluation

Overall, I think my zine creates a good idea about the harbour and maritime history in jersey because of my different selection of images of and around the harbour throughout my zine. What could have improved my zine is if there were images of the maritime museum which could have added more diversity in my zine but they were my least favourite and didn’t have the best quality out of all the pictures that I took.

Front Page:

I chose this image of fishermen’s storage rooms as my first page. I did this because it creates a sense of mystery and intrigue. I knew I wanted this because I knew I wanted to have the front page and the back page to correspond with each other and I thought this image was interesting as my front page as your not too sure what is inside the zine yet causing the person to be interested.

First page:

The first page of my zine I did two pictures straight across from each other of people working in and around the harbour. I put these two images together because both include people working with fish/sea animals within the same area just doing two different jobs. The left image of a fish shop showing the workers and the fish they sell and the right image being of a man working with big crayfish and some other sea animals that you can’t see in the image. I chose to put both pictures straight across from each other because it looked clean with both pictures being in black and white creating the sleek look that I wanted with my zine.

Second page:

For the second page I chose two pictures of fishermen’s storage rooms, one angled down through all of them and one more upfront of one store room. The image on the left page shows all the lockers as if you were standing and looking straight through them. The image of the right page shows one storage room with wellies hanging from the door, this shows that the old lockers that have been used for hundreds of years are still being used today by fishermen. I wanted these pictures in my zine because they resembled the front and back of the zine but these ones are in colour, you cant see the colour in the front and back page apart from the red I kept in them. I originally had these two pictures straight across from each other but it looked boring as I have done that for other pages as well so I put the left picture at the bottom and the right picture at the top for more structure in the zine but still looks clean and sleek.

Third page:

The third page of my zine consists of two images of boats. The image on the left page is of one singular boat with low tide visibly in the image. The left image also creates a sense of mystery as the main feature of the image is the boat alone with the back of another boat being in the image you can’t tell if its just them two or more boats around them. The right image shows more boats lined and propped up on wooden beams with no water around. Both images look like they could have been taken a while ago because of the boats within them. These images, in my opinion go well together because both include the visibility of how old the harbour is and how one boat can have lots of space and within a 5 minute walk boats can be cramped together.

Fourth page:

I chose this image of a hill going down towards the boats with lots of buildings in the background because Its different to my other images because non of the others have this kind of perspective of being at sea and looking onto land and at the same time it blends in well with my other images as it carries the same older and vintage aesthetic. I put one large landscape image across two pages in my zine and made the image go all the way to the end of the margin lines I created so it was a full bleed photo. I wanted a couple of these in my zine because I like the way it looks and contrasts to other pictures in my zine that have borders or don’t completely fill the page.

Fifth page:

For the fifth page I put two pictures in colour of boats. I did the left page smaller and with a border and my other one full bleed to create a nice contrast effect where one has a border and the other is full bleed. I liked this compared to my other pages with two images on that are the same size and either straight across or diagonal. These two images contrast with every other image in this photo but I like how it is different and adds a big pop of colour throughout my zine compared to all the other black and white or beige coloured images. These two images were taken on the other side of the harbour from the others with all the more modern and newer boats so I thought it would be best to leave these in colour.

Sixth page:

I chose these pictures of wall art across the harbour to be in my zine because it creates a different aesthetic compared to all the boats and other harbour related images in the zine where they are all of actual real things whereas these images are of art on a wall. I put these in black and white and diagonal from each other similar to my fishermen’s store rooms for more effect and structure throughout the zine.

Seventh page:

For the final page I chose this picture of a seagull. I originally had this image with the two wall art pictures but I put it on its own page because it looked squished when I put all three on one page. I made this full bleed because I wanted to have all my pages with one picture on the be full bleed and I thought it looked cool that the bird spread across two pages. I chose the bird to continue the aesthetic of mystery throughout my zine.

Back Page:

I chose this as the back page because it goes with the front cover but from a different angle. I did it like this because I liked the effect it created on the back and front of the zine where it’s the same picture and location but at a different angle. It makes the zine tell a story like the front you are going through the store rooms and then throughout the zine two more pictures of the lockers show up, one of an actual store room and then finally you reach the opposite end of the rooms like you reach the end of the zine.