Photography: A Cultural History

Katherine Ware

Earth Now: American Photographers and the Environment

Since its invention, photography has been used to document and interpret the landscape. Survey photographers in the 1860s were the first environmental advocates, arguing for the U.S. national park system. During the first half of the twentieth century photographers Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter were central figures in influencing American attitudes toward wilderness and conservation. This book traces the development of environmental photography beginning with Adams, Porter, and others, and the next generation of landscape photographers--Robert Adams, Richard Misrach, Robert Glenn Ketchum, Patrick Nagatani, and Mark Klett--whose works confronted the issues of landscape and the environment in less idealized terms. Shifting from the historical framework, the book presents new work by twenty-three photographers working in the United States, the next wave of artists using the camera to engage the environmental issues of the day. Works by Michael Berman, Subhankar Banerjee, Joann Brennan, Dornith Doherty, Greg Mac Gregor, Christina Seely, Sharon Stewart, and others are among the ninety-one black-and-white and color images presented, many being published for the first time. Ranging from ...

Barbara London, Jim Stone

A Short Course in Photography: An Introduction to Photographic Technique

This easy-to-use text introduces photography students to the fundamentals of photography and suggests ways in which they might create photographs that have meaning. With a special focus on black and white photography, the book also explores digital techniques and web photography resources, equipment, cameras and camera accessories, the exposure and development of film, and the making and finishing of prints. All aspects of the process are explained and illustrated clearly in two-page spreads, each of which addresses a self-contained topic.

Steve Edwards

Photography: A Very Short Introduction

Photographs are an integral part of our daily lives, from sensationalist images in tabloid papers, to personal family snapshots, to the art photography displayed in galleries and sold through international art markets. In this thought-provoking exploration of the subject, Steve Edwards provides a clear, lively, and imaginative approach to the definition, importance, and meaning of photography. He combines a sense of its historical development with an analysis of its purpose and meaning within a wider cultural context. Edwards also discusses both well-known and more unusual photos, from the highly controversial Cottingley Fairies to Ansel Adams landscapes, and from the shocking and influential Eddie Adams image of a Vietcong suspect being executed to the portrait/performance art work of Cindy Sherman. Edwards interrogates the way we look and think about photographs, and considers such issues as truth and recording, objectivity and fine art, identity and memory. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the ...