Photography long reads: Feb 2021
Four interesting photography links that Emma has curated this month – settle in with a coffee and enjoy. If you are inspired to pick up your camera and go back to basics, join her year-long photography class here (the email version is free)
Peter Fetterman: The Power of Photography
“To be a photographer, one must photograph. No amount of book learning, no checklist of seminars attended, can substitute for the simple act of making pictures. Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters.”
Read a short commentary on a carefully selected series of images:
Magnum: The Gratification of Watching Others Absorbed
“Magnum’s archives are rife with photos of people reading. They sprawl with books, curl up with magazines, and run their fingers over holy texts. Just as it’s enjoyable to watch people read, it’s also pleasingly intriguing to look at photos of people reading.”
Scroll through a fascinating selection of photographs from Magnum’s archive all showing people reading:
“Each of these photos simultaneously stands alone - a singular story of a singular experience - and sits alongside its fellow images, creating an entire gallery of readers united only by their interest in the pages in front of them.”
Browse the Soviet Photo Magazine Archive
The entire archive of the historic publication, Soviet Photo, is available to browse online. From 1926 to 1995 (missing a few years for WWII) you can have a look at history and propoganda unfolding in front of your eyes.
John Berger: Ways of Seeing
This marvellous series from 1972 feels fresh and relevant today even though it is nearly 50 years old. In this first episode Berger talks about how we look at art and how photography and reproduction changes the relationship between art and viewer. Watch it and start making plans to stand (very still and very quiet) in front of an original piece of art as soon as the pandemic is over. Look out for the quaint reference to there being only “two other channels” on television in the second half.
Online beginner’s camera class
Emma’s flagship photography workshop is free by email, and there is a small annual charge to join the optional online community. Get the emails and find out more about the community here:
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