Photography: A Critical Introduction

Book Description

Photography: A Critical Introduction retains its position as the first introductory textbook to examine the key debates in photographic theory and place them in their social and political contexts. It thus uniquely integrates photographic theory with photographic history and critically engages with debates about the nature of photographic seeing. This completely revised and updated third edition retains the thematic structure and text features of previous editions but also expands coverage on photojournalism and digital imaging. It will be essential reading for those interested in photography, graphics, fine art, art and design history, journalism, media studies, communication and cultural studies.
Especially designed to be accessible and user-friendly, it includes:

· Key concepts, short biographies of major thinkers and seminal references
· Updated international and contemporary case studies and examples
· A full glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography
· Resource information, including guides to public archives and useful websites

Lavishly illustrated with 100 black and white photographs and 16 pages of color plates, it includes images from Bill Brandt, Susan Derges, Rineke Dijkstra, Lee Friedlander, Fran Herbello, Hannah Höch, Dorothea Lange, Lee Miller, Martin Parr, Ingrid Pollard, Jacob Riis, Alexander Rodchenko, Sebastiao Salgado, Andres Serrano.

Customer Reviews:

An absolute MUST for photographers and artists working in photography.......2007-08-30

This book should be required for all photo students and art history and criticism students. I found the writing incredibly reader-friendly, though it helps to have an art or photo background already - this book does read like a textbook (because it is one!) but this is to its credit as it is incredibly organized, clear, and informative as an overview of photo criticism. One of the best features is that it includes detailed bibliographies at the end of each chapter, faithfully cites sources, and has side notes in the margins citing sources for further reading and adding more information, explanations, or qualifiers to the general discussion (the margins are great for writing your own notes, too). It does NOT have extensive illustrations - so do not buy this book for the images. However, the author explains in the introduction that she did not include so many except to clearly illustrate the text where needed in order to keep the cost of the book affordable. I feel that she made good choices in imagery and that there are plenty to support the text. I am starting a graduate program in visual and critical studies and work in photography, and I am sure I will use this critical introduction as a reference again and again, especially to find sources for research. I plan on buying the Photography Reader by Liz Wells as soon as I am able to.

Boring, but Useful for a Photographer.......2007-07-26

This review is aimed at photographers and not social scientists or philosophers.

Photographers are often like the allegorical blind men, each of whom examined a different part of an elephant with his hands and then concluded that the elephant was a snake, or a leaf, or a tree. Photographers tend to see the world of photography through their own viewfinders without stepping back and looking at all of photography, even though doing so might provide new insights in handling what they see in their viewfinder.

This book is a textbook that examines photography not from the point of technique, or learning how to read a photograph, but from the point of view of the social sciences and philosophy. It is primarily aimed at British society, but its lessons are applicable anywhere pictures are made. Many photographers will recognize the discussion of the truth of digital photography as opposed to film photography, but I wonder how many have considered how family photographs may actually shape family dynamics.

The book is divided into several chapters that are neither all inclusive nor exclusive. There is a general discussion of photography debates over time (e.g., "Is it Art"?), and then the book focuses on particular areas, including documentary, popular, body, advertising and fine art photography. It finishes with a chapter on electronic imaging.

The authors often describe movements historically, with a general recap of the main points of each issue (is photography by its use or nature demeaning to women?) but seldom go to the point of showing enough pictures and explaining them to prove either side of an argument. Instead they provide references and footnotes in the margins and leave it up to the reader to further explore the question. At the same time, some of the ideas, even though self-evident upon deep consideration, are provocative. For instance, the authors suggest that the fact that "private photography has become family photography is itself an indication of the domestication of everyday life...." What implications does this have for photography in today's multi-married, multi-divorced society? Often the discussions reverse on themselves, repeat ideas and jump backwards and forwards in time. Some readers may find the jargon of semiotics and deconstruction off-putting. The book is boring.

And yet a photographer cannot escape being humbled by realizing that the photography that he deals with is just one little corner of a wider universe, and humility may be good for a photographer. This volume may contain more intellectualizing then some photographers may be willing to tolerate, but even at the risk of being bored, a photographer may benefit from understanding the larger context of his or her work.

Excellent choice for Visual Artists contemplating photography as a medium of expression.......2006-01-15

As a Visual Arts student coming to terms with the whole conceptual ideology in contemporary art, I found this book an excellent choice for delving into the theoretical side of contemporary photgraphy. This book is definitely not bedtime reading. Trust me, I tried it and kept myself awake! There is also an excellent reference to archives, journals and other books to peruse. I found the book easy to understand and has helped me immensely in my quest to understand what constitutes Visual Art in current times. An excellent choice for all those contemplating a Visual Arts career using photographic images

A highly academic book.......2004-10-11

The other reviewers have hit the high points. This book is dry, lacks illustration, is academic and difficult to read. The writing style is highly academic with major points all but hidden in convoluted sentences. To complicate matters the chapters are written by different authors so the writing styles vary. There is much to be learned from this book but as the other reviewers have pointed out, it will be a painful process.

More academic than practical.......2002-03-11

"Photography: A Critical Introduction" offers decent insight into some ideas and theories surrounding the new instrument of art, the camera. It should be noted that very few photos or examples are used in the book, and this absence definitely accounts for the book's partly dry flavor. "Photography" is probably less appropriate for hobbyists and more so for academics, but none the less remains a worthwhile read for those ready to sit down and study.

Book Description

A practical, highly visual introduction to painting natural subjects in watercolor. With fully annotated sketches, working illustrations and step-by-step demonstrations, this book explores all kinds of indoor and outdoor subjects. "...will provide inspiration whatever your level of ability." --Artists & Illustrators

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book.......2002-06-03

This watercolor book is a favorite of mine. The author describes and shows ways to do watercolor for everyone from the beginner to advanced painter. He gives demos that are interesting, informative and fun to do. I have used this book as reference over and over again and always will.

Natural Watercolour.......2001-04-30

As a returning art student this book is excellent. The author gives clear concise information as to the colors used to achieve the desired effect, as well as, wonderful step by step easy to follow guidelines. I have many books but none that have helped me more with color, composition, glazing and the delight of watercolor.This book is a must book for the beginner as well as the intermediate and advanced painter.

Average customer rating:

Watercolour Landscapes Made Easy
Richard Taylor
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Watercolor Painting | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Watercolor | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0713479558

Customer Reviews:

Are You Crazy!.......2007-09-20

Are you people crazy! Who'd pay that much money for a comic book, at that price you won't ever get any buyers. I know I wouldn't pay that much.

Book Description

A landmark, now classic, study of the rich cinematic history of the Weimar Republic, From Caligari to Hitler was first published by Princeton University Press in 1947. Siegfried Kracauer--a prominent German film critic and member of Walter Benjamin's and Theodor Adorno's intellectual circle--broke new ground in exploring the connections between film aesthetics, the prevailing psychological state of Germans in the Weimar era, and the evolving social and political reality of the time. Kracauer's pioneering book, which examines German history from 1921 to 1933 in light of such movies as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Metropolis, and The Blue Angel, has never gone out of print. Now, over half a century after its first appearance, this beautifully designed and entirely new edition reintroduces Kracauer for the twenty-first century. Film scholar Leonardo Quaresima places Kracauer in context in a critical introduction, and updates the book further with a new bibliography, index, and list of inaccuracies that crept into the first edition. This volume is a must-have for the film historian, film theorist, or cinema enthusiast.In From Caligari to Hitler, Siegfried Kracauer--the German-born writer and film critic who shared many ideas and interests with his friend Walter Benjamin--made a startling (and still controversial) claim: films as a popular art provide insight into the unconscious motivations and fantasies of a nation. In films of the 1920s such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, M, Metropolis, and The Blue Angel, he traced recurring visual and narrative tropes that expressed, he argued, a fear of chaos and a desire for order, even at the price of authoritarian rule. The book has become an undisputed classic of film historiography, laying the foundations for the serious study of film.

In From Caligari to Hitler, Siegfried Kracauer made a startling (and still controversial) claim: films as a popular art provide insight into the unconscious motivations and fantasies of a nation. In films of the 1920s, he traced recurring visual and narrative tropes that expressed, he argued, a fear of chaos and a desire for order, even at the price of authoritarian rule. The book has become an undisputed classic of film historiography, laying the foundations for the serious study of film.

Kracauer was an important film critic in Weimar Germany. A Jew, he escaped the rise of Nazism, fleeing to Paris in 1933. Later, in anguish after Benjamin's suicide, he made his way to New York, where he remained until his death in 1966. He wrote From Caligari to Hitler while working as a "special assistant" to the curator of the Museum of Modern Art's film division. He was also on the editorial board of Bollingen Series. Despite many critiques of its attempt to link movies to historical outcomes, From Caligari to Hitler remains Kracauer's best-known and most influential book, and a seminal work in the study of film. Princeton published a revised edition of his Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality in 1997.

Customer Reviews:

A psychological history of The German film.......2001-12-18

I use it more for information on the film industry as a whole for that time and the basis of what we inherited today. It is interesting that from the beginning people complained that the film was to long and inclusive or too short and excluded characters form history or books.

Two good parallel and overlapping timeline books for the era are "Caligari's Children : The Film As Tale of Terror" ISBN: 030680347X Which is a different view on the same subject and "The UFA Story : A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism, 23)" ISBN: 0520220692

They tried to capture the feel of the time and of the German actors attitude toward film, in the movie "Shadow of the Vampire" (2001)

Very Thorough, but not Impartial.......2000-03-26

Not that any book can be impartial, but Kracauer's generally socialist reading of films should not be viewed as definitive.

With this point taken into account, this book does offer an imcomparable survey of early German film, its symbolism, and also, the early careers of such actors as Peter Lorre and Marlene Dietrich.

This book is a very entertaining study of these films, and a must for any student of modern Germany, or early film. It does perhaps reflect generally on the modern German society, and WWII in particular.

A brilliant look at early German Film.......1998-07-28

Here it is: probably the most insightful, psychologically brilliant and well researched study of the great early German films (1910-1940) ever written. The author's thesis is this: popular films are popular because they are the dreams shared by a people at any given time. If we study films as if they were keys to the subconscious of the audience, we gain tremendous insight into the culture and mass psychology of the time. The author builds a very convincing case for his thesis that the whole build up to Hitler can be found in the fims that preceded him. I am convinced. This book is also an excellent history of German film as the author is a very good film scholar. Now, if only we had someone around who could interpret the current films of the USA so that we could find out what the future holds in store for us! I loved this book. It was stimulating and I had seen most of the films that he writes about. One advantage todays readers have is that many of these films are no! w out on video.

FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER-A PSYCHOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE GERMAN FILM

Average customer rating:

FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER-A PSYCHOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE GERMAN FILM

Manufacturer: Princeton Univ. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HF016G

Average customer rating:

A psychological history of The German film

From Caligari to Hitler A Psychological History of the German Film

Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000AS787K

Customer Reviews:

A psychological history of The German film.......2006-03-05

This book shows how the cinema paralleled and sometimes helped form the German psyche. Yet it is more than just a documentary. This brings you from the beginning of the industry to show what Hitler inherited. However the information caries far beyond the political dimension.

I use it more for information on the film industry as a whole for that time and the basis of what we inherited today. It is interesting that from the beginning people complained that the film was to long and inclusive or too short and excluded characters form history or books.

Two good parallel and overlapping timeline books for the era are "Caligari's Children : The Film As Tale of Terror" ISBN: 030680347X which is a different view on the same subject and "The UFA Story : A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company, 1918-1945 (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism, 23)" ISBN: 0520220692

They tried to capture the feel of the time and of the German actors' attitude toward film, in the movie "Shadow of the Vampire" (2001)

Average customer rating:

From Caligari to Hitler : A Psychological History of the German Film
Siegfried Kracauer
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O3Q5JS

Average customer rating:

FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER: A PSYCHOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE GERMAN FILM.
Siegfried. Kracauer
Manufacturer: Dobson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O9NITW

Average customer rating:

A Fantastic Tool

A Rewarding Challenge

Creative Reading Studies for Saxophone
Joseph Viola
Manufacturer: Berklee Press Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Instruction & Study | Theory, Composition & Performance | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0634013343

Book Description

This Berklee Workshop provides the intermediate to advanced saxophone player with material that is both technically challenging and musically compelling. Preparatory exercises and reading studies combine to make this workshop an excellent method for improving technique, phrasing and rhythmic accuracy. Includes exercises to take reading and playing skills from novice to expert levels!

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Tool.......2007-03-09

This is a great book for anyone trying to improve their sight reading. My only qualm is that there are a few mistakes in some of the rhythms. This doesn't take much away from the overall educational value of the book. I would highly recommend it.

A Rewarding Challenge.......2005-02-08

I have found myself picking this book up time and time again. The exercises presented are challenging; however, the feeling of accomplishment I have experienced upon mastering a particular technique is extremely rewarding. In particular, my rhythmic accuracy has increased a considerable amount, as well as my phrasing. I highly recommend this book to players who are looking to master their technique and take their skills to a more mature level.

Average customer rating:

Keep sharp!

only for crossword lovers

Everything..even goof ups!!

Puzzles for dad

Perfect Gift for Those Serving Time

The Everything Crossword and Puzzle Book; Hours of brain-teasing fun-crossword puzzles, acrostics, hidden words and more, for puzzlers at all levels
Harold Cordry
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crosswords | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1558507647

Customer Reviews:

Keep sharp!.......2007-05-14

Working these puzzles is a great way to keep mentally fit, and this collection provides varying levels of challenge and types of brain-builders. Enjoy!

only for crossword lovers.......2007-02-25

this is a great book. you must be an extreme crossword lover. i give it a three because all the puzzles are just too hard for me, not including the find the word. a little unfair rating, but it just wasn't what i expected. i wanted to see at least one suduko puzzle.

Everything..even goof ups!!.......2006-07-31

Not a bad puzzle book really, maybe not as good as some others but Ok nonetheless. However, they skimped on proofing I think, as the easy crossword puzzles are listed as the medium and vice-versa. A little discombobulating!

Puzzles for dad.......2006-07-15

I actually bought this book for my dad - an older gentleman who needs to keep the ol' brain pleasantly occupied. I coupled it with a (ubiquitous) sudoku set, too. He told me last week that he's been rationing them out so he won't finish the book too soon. Great stuff.

Perfect Gift for Those Serving Time.......2006-03-14

I you have a loved one doing some unfortunate incaraceration time, this is a great gift. It helps pass the time, promotes humorous conversation with other cellis, and it stimulates the mind. It will last some time and it is an acceptable gift if you order it and have it shipped from Amazon. It will not be concidered contraband unless they decide to wet it and make a sculpture or something. Everyone enjoyed it.

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