What is photography?
Trying to answer this question is like trying to answer the question ‘What is the meaning of life?’
This is because photography is very complex. It has many facets and types. Photography involves as many technical aspects as it does creative ones. The way photography is practised differs from person to person.
Furthermore, there is an endless variety of photographs. In this sense, trying to explain the difference between an ordinary snapshot and a work of art is a very difficult task. We can tell which is which by looking at two photographs, but distinguishing between an amateur and a professional is no easy task.
The photographer in question
When attempting to define what photography is, it is important to start with a definition of photography.
In layman’s terms, photography is simply the process of capturing light with a camera to create an image.
This was first achieved in 1826, when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took a photograph from his window. The image, shown above, was titled *View from the Window at Le Gras*.
In terms of subject matter, the photograph is not particularly striking. However, as the oldest photograph in existence, it is an important part of the history of photography.
However simple this image may be, it perfectly demonstrates the technical process of photography.
To process the image captured by his camera, Niépce used a process of his own invention called heliography.
Bitumen had to be dissolved in lavender oil. The resulting substance was applied to a lithographic stone. Once dry, an engraving was placed on the stone and then exposed to sunlight.
Once dry, the lavender oil was removed along with any unhardened bitumen. The remaining areas on the surface of the lithograph were washed with acid to create the final image.
But Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is just one figure in the history of photography. There have been many other photographic achievements along the way.
The Daguerreotype
Invented in 1829 by Louis Daguerre, a French painter, the Daguerreotype process was based on Daguerre’s work with Niépce. Daguerre’s photographic process reduced the very long exposure time required for a heliograph and produced much clearer images. Below, you can see his photograph *L’Atelier de l’artiste*, which was taken in 1837.
Light-sensitive
paper . However surprising the image quality of the daguerreotype might have been, just a few weeks after Daguerre announced his process, Fox Talbot, a scientist from Great Britain, revealed that he had developed an entirely new way of creating photographs.
Instead of relying on metal plates as Daguerre and Niépce had done, Talbot used light-sensitive paper. His method, known as the calotype process, was published in 1841.
Roll film is invented
In 1888, George Eastman and his business partner, Henry A. Strong, used roll film for the first time.
This Eastman Kodak film was made of transparent cellulose and came in 70 mm format. The rolls were then cut in half (by Thomas Edison) to create what became the standard 35 mm film size.
These small, easy-to-use rolls revolutionised photography and made it accessible to everyone.
Since then, many other advances have been made in photography, including the development of 35mm cameras, instant film, digital photography and the rise of mobile photography.
It could be said that George Eastman was the man who popularised photography; he invented the Kodak Brownie, which democratised the practice of photography, allowing anyone to take their own photographs. It was sold for 1 dollar and 100,000 units were sold in the first year; Many consider this to be the most important camera of all time because, as it was so cheap to produce, for less than 2 dollars any family could buy a Brownie, a roll of film and the development service; it was affordable and easy to use, from professionals to children.
Famous photographers who popularised photography
It would be impossible to list all the photographers over the years who have helped make photography a global pursuit enjoyed by millions. In fact, it is almost impossible to narrow down a list of the most famous photographers to fewer than several dozen.
Ansel Adams
• Ansel Adams, whose most famous work includes black-and-white photographs of landscapes in the American West (such as the Snake River and the Tetons). He is perhaps the most famous photographer in history and helped to popularise landscape photography, as well as the conservation of natural areas. One of Ansel Adams’s most famous quotes is: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
• Henri Cartier-Bresson, regarded as the father of photojournalism. His candid portraits and street scenes have captured the imagination of millions. He also photographed some of the most significant events in history, including the Chinese Revolution and the social and economic changes in the United States following the Second World War. One of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s best quotes is: “For me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.”
• Dorothea Lange, who became one of the most famous photographers in history thanks to her documentary-style photographs of the Great Depression. In fact, anyone who has seen photos from that era is very likely to have come across some of her work. As well as capturing an important era in American history, Lange’s work showed the world just how powerful a camera can be. One of Dorothea Lange’s most famous quotes is: “Whilst there may be a realm in which a photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us just how little our eyes allow us to see.”
• Alfred Stieglitz, who popularised photography as an art form in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He is best known for portraits that conveyed such feeling and emotion that they became more than just a snapshot of a moment in time; they were works that told the story of that person at that moment. The current perception of photography as art, on a par with paintings and sculptures, is largely due to Stieglitz. One of Alfred Stieglitz’s most famous quotes is: ‘I am neither a painter nor an artist. Therefore, I can see clearly, and that may be my downfall.’
The importance of photography.
The importance of photography lies quite simply in the fact that, without it, we would be unable to preserve the memory of important moments in our lives and in history.
Think for a moment about some of the most influential images ever taken.
These photographs are so much more than mere pictures. They represent the world, humanity, us. They tell the story of what we have achieved as a species.
The photographs show us all the extraordinary abilities we possess, but they also remind us of the horror of which we are capable.
Some of these photographs have gone down in history because they were the first of their kind; others because they help us understand who we are and give us a glimpse of the world and events we didn’t even know about or remember.
Photography can not only tell us about our past, but it can also shape our future.
More than 250 metres above Manhattan, these men are taking a break, chatting casually and smoking whilst the Rockefeller Centre was being built. This image helped to reinforce the idealistic belief that New York is not afraid to undertake any project.
The Terror of War, Nick Ut, 1972 – Nick Ut
Phan Thi Kim Phuc was nine years old when this photograph was taken. The horror of war is captured in this photograph through the desperate cries of children surrounded by soldiers. Phan Thi Kim Phuc was naked because she had been burned by napalm. This photograph became a symbol of the campaign against the atrocities of the Vietnam War.
Earthrise, William Anders, NASA, 1968 – William Anders
taken from lunar orbit during the Apollo 8 mission. These spectacular images helped to spark the environmental movement.
Bloody Saturday, H.S. Wong, 1937 – H.S. Wong
took this photograph in Shanghai following the conflict with Japan. One of the most important photographs of all time.
Photography is important because it is an art form.
Just like painting, we can use photographs to create an image and add our own interpretation to it. We can paint with light, or use software to edit and add our own personal touch to the images.
Playing with light and shadow, colours and contrasts, composing images using elements of visual art and harnessing the power of science and digital devices to present a representation of the world as YOU, the photographer, see it.
Photography is a language
. We can be explicit with words, tell stories, write blogs and send clear messages so that everyone can understand.
With photographs, we can create our own language. We have to dig deeper and find a different way to ‘speak’ and express ourselves.
Colours, contrasts and different compositions are ways of telling stories through photography and developing a language that expresses feelings and emotions in a way that sometimes goes beyond words.
“Photography is about expression.
We try to capture light in the way we want because it is a form of expression.
Photography is a window into the subconscious, and photographs are a manifestation of that. The way we approach photography is ultimately an expression of our mood, upbringing, values, triumphs and defeats.
It happens to us when we press the shutter button, whether we realise it or not.
The question that arises is: what is photography?
The good thing about this question is that it is entirely subjective, just like photography itself. It’s all a matter of interpretation; there’s no right answer, and we can all learn something from the way others see the world.
Photography is the equipment; it is exposure and composition; it is light and post-processing. But in the end, is all that really that important? What are we trying to say? If we have nothing to say, it shows in our photographs.” –
Rodolfo Fernandes