The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton

This book has really opened my eyes about how, not only is photography an art form in its own right, but also how the scene is created before the image is taken; how the subject matter itself is art or becomes art, long before the shutter is pressed. This is a different dimension to the traditional view of photography of making a record in time of life as it is through the photographer's eyes.  In this study, the author comments on how the subject matter is deliberately created for the purpose of taking the photograph. Like other authors, she stresses again the importance of composition, yet many of the photographs presented seem to break the traditional rules.  Again, I wonder at what point the deliberate flouting of the classic composition guidelines becomes acceptable and even desirable in an image.  I was intrigued by many of the images and ideas presented with this text, but particularly those by Philip-Lorca diCorcia in his "Head" series and his use of lighting attached to scaffolding to create a set of candid portraits.  I also really liked "In the Course of Time" by Hannah Collins; the monochrome effect adds a sense of drama and history to the image that would have been missing had the scene been presented in colour.

I don't know at this stage, if this is a direction I want to head in and I suspect not, but it has certainly given me food for thought!