By Steve Johnson
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First tagged by Steve
Customer tags: digital slr, kindle free book, image editing, future of photography, photo editing, budget photography, digital image processing, aesthetics, photo essays, iphone camera, cellphone camera, cheap photography
Review & Description
The Democratization of Photography consists of a selection of articles and photrographs by the author, Steve Johnson. This collection consists of over a hundred images and thirteen thousand words all by the author. The subject matter ranges from serious but very approachable articles about subjects such as aesthetics, art history and the future of photography to very short pieces and single photographs with a one sentence description.
If you are looking for images of sunsets or beautifully posed studio photographs this is probably not the book for you. The images are challenging, not because the subject matter is controversial but rather the opposite - much of the subject matter would be considered banal and uninspiring by many photographers. These images and words are intended to make the viewer think and are not designed to boost the author's ego.
The initial section of the book consists of some articles where the images are the main attraction. In the final section the opposite is true. This final section contains an essay, The Democratization of Photography, which details the profound change of direction that photography is currently undergoing due to the digital revolution. This gives a pretty good idea of where the author stands regarding the future of photography.
There follows a set of four pieces that were originally published on the political blog FDL. These were published under the 'Art Saturday' section and they consequently have an aesthetic slant. The 'Shorts' section is a series of images with a couple of hundred words at most about the image in question. There are a couple of technical pieces in the book including a very easy to understand article about controlling exposure and how easy this is once the basics are understood.
This book can of course be read virtual cover to virtual cover but it can just as easily be dipped into at random. If this collection makes the reader think about photography, both as a whole and their own relationship to it, then it has done its job.The Democratization of Photography consists of a selection of articles and photrographs by the author, Steve Johnson. This collection consists of over a hundred images and thirteen thousand words all by the author. The subject matter ranges from serious but very approachable articles about subjects such as aesthetics, art history and the future of photography to very short pieces and single photographs with a one sentence description.
If you are looking for images of sunsets or beautifully posed studio photographs this is probably not the book for you. The images are challenging, not because the subject matter is controversial but rather the opposite - much of the subject matter would be considered banal and uninspiring by many photographers. These images and words are intended to make the viewer think and are not designed to boost the author's ego.
The initial section of the book consists of some articles where the images are the main attraction. In the final section the opposite is true. This final section contains an essay, The Democratization of Photography, which details the profound change of direction that photography is currently undergoing due to the digital revolution. This gives a pretty good idea of where the author stands regarding the future of photography.
There follows a set of four pieces that were originally published on the political blog FDL. These were published under the 'Art Saturday' section and they consequently have an aesthetic slant. The 'Shorts' section is a series of images with a couple of hundred words at most about the image in question. There are a couple of technical pieces in the book including a very easy to understand article about controlling exposure and how easy this is once the basics are understood.
This book can of course be read virtual cover to virtual cover but it can just as easily be dipped into at random. If this collection makes the reader think about photography, both as a whole and their own relationship to it, then it has done its job. Read more
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