The Photographer's Eye John Szarkowski

I have just been looking at John Szarkowski's book The Photographer's Eye as recommended by my tutor.

It is very different from any other photography book I have looked at or read and promotes photography as a real art. The photographs are from a landmark Exhibition and are taken by well know and unknown photographer's over a century and a quarter. It therefore provides a history of photography.

The book explains how the invention of photography brought about a radically new picture making process and explains about photographic style and tradition.

The book is divided into five sections: The Thing Itself, The Detail, The Frame, Time and Vantage Point and makes it clear that these issues are not mutually exclusive when "the decisive moment" of taking a picture happens. The book also explains how photographs deal with reality but whilst "the lens draws the subject, the photographer defines it".This was evident in the detail, the vantage point and the framing etc of the photographs in the book.

I found the photographs to be profound and stark because of the elements mentioned above and because of their black and white nature. I don't normally take portraits so I found the photographs of people fascinating and I also found the section of photographs in the Vantage Point section very different and unusual really empahasizing how photography can be used as an art. In future this will make me think more about the photographs I am taking and their impact on the viewer.