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"Why People Photograph" is a collection of essays in about photography. I think Adams' virtue of directness is apparent in this section of biographies. Fortunately Robert Adams holds an appreciation for simplification and utilizes this trait in his writing. Comprehensible texts that talk about the `whys' of a subject are hard to come by. Consider this book as a guide to understanding the `whys' of personal and professional photography. He disagrees with the practice of over analyzing (art) photographs (an aspect which shows through in his own writing), because "Art is by nature self-explanatory." The essays from "Examples of Success" explore the virtues of a selection of master photographers.
Adams disregard for fluff and value of uncomplicated photography are strong points of this book.
Adams focuses on subjects like writing, dogs, humor and colleagues, as well as short biographies of those who've mastered the craft.
He points out choices and explains the reasoning these photographers used, as he refers material they created.
Often times those books are overly analytical and specific and can be a challenge to read, let alone get through.
The way he presents each artist is both interesting in subject and comprehensible in description.
Throughout Adams makes statements based on his own experience and beliefs.
I often found myself in full agreement with what I was reading, if only due to Adams straightforward style, which made understanding his ideas that much easier.
Adams manages to sum all of this up in each instance and yet is able to refrain from being overly analytical.
It is an excellent resource for those who photograph especially, but also for those who are just curious (like myself).
Insightful and reflective, this book is about so much more than the obvious. It couldn't be better said.This book is pure enjoyment. What a wonderful command of the language from this former English professor. Though perhaps the title is not that far amiss.My only "criticism" would regard the desire to see more of the photographs to which Adams refers or describes in detail. He gives us very few opportunities to understand what he says by looking at the picture itself.
A wonderfully written book about the wonders of photography written by a wonderful writer with a wonderful eye and a wonderful brain.
Most of the book doesn't really respond to the title, but Robert Adams writes in a very engaging manner and talks about issues that most photographers will find interesting. I found particularly interesting his discussion of famous photographers and their aesthetic philosophy. This is not a book for the casual photographer, but for the photographer who is interested in photography's background, or a collector who'd like to better understand the photographer as artist, this book is terrific.
Adams reveals the secrets of some of the masters, e.g., Weston: "limbs and torsos. If none of your friends has an MFA, and if you are in need of someone who can speak intelligently about photography as art, then again, this book is for you. Robert Adams' book is a stand-alone book, that is, it does not require a knowledge of literature, art criticism, or history. Adams tells us why we photograph, for example, why we photograph landscapes.
Coleman. The answers include: because the images are of "emblems of a land" (pages 146 and 163), because our photographed subjects redefine us and is part of our biography (page 15), because art is "specifics made universal" (page 120), and because "art is a discovery of harmony" (page 181). Adams consoles photographers who come to realize that spending ten years doing photography won't necessarily result, e.g., in a contract for preparing a coffeetable book: "[t]hey may or may not make a living by photography but they are alive by it" (page 15); and the experience of having an exhibit where the photographer "stand[s] through the opening of an exhibition to which only officials have come." (page 16). If you are not connected with any photography/art community, this book is for you. Their charm and poignancy derives specifically from their failure to communicate."The writings of Robert Adams and A.D. it begins to seem formulaic (page 87); and of Ansel Adams: "I have been derivative of myself for fifty years." (page 116).
The book is for the layperson. Another fine, insightful book on photography criticism is Light Readings by A.D.
Coleman may be contrasted with the poetic commentary David Wallace (in Morley Baer's The Wilder Shore) and with the "writing" of Sally Eauclair in The New Color Photography and New Color/New Work. Robert Adams' writing is clear, concise, and insightful.
A remarkable bit of insight by A.D. treated as shapes to be enjoyed as one might the sight of a smooth stone" (page 64); and Paul Strand: "he worked off axis as if it were a moral principle.
but usually just slightly off axis." (page 81) Robert Adams offers some critiques of the masters, e.g., of Paul Strand: "[o]ff-centering is used here. Coleman, for example, concerns his view of the typical amateur (page 164): "Typically, a snapshot of someone's relative at Grant's Tomb will show the relative too far from the camera to be identifiable and Grant's Tomb too close to be recognizable.
The writings of David Wallace and Sally Eauclaire are silly, and sometimes very silly, and serve only to draw attention to the words printed on the page instead of serving to invoke new concepts and connections in the mind.
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