THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE

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Placing everything in sharp focus helps to accentuate shapes and patterns, as well as giving the viewer's eye "permission" to wander about the composition. (Student photograph by Lena Aiken.) Occasionally — very occasionally — a poorly focused photograph can work just fine . . . even better than if it were focused "correctly." Notice how the soft focus on this woman affects the photograph's mood and meaning. What does the photograph seem to be about? What feelings does it convey to you? (Student photograph by Jonathan Serenius.) 72 The Photographic Eye
Improving Clarity There are, again, a number of causes for poor clarity. Focus is the most common problem. It is generally caused by a failure to set the correct distance on the focusing ring. A less obvious, and slightly less common, cause is using too large an aperture. As the available light decreases, a photographer can make up for this lack of light in two ways (assuming no flash is being used). The shutter speed can be decreased, or the aperture can be increased. As the aperture is increased — as the lens opening gets larger —the depth of field, or range of distance that will be in focus at any time, decreases. Something will Wide depth of field can provide the viewer's eye with plenty of entertainment after a photograph's initial impact (in this case, the visual joke of the balloon) has worn off. How does this photograph make use of the 9-zone grid? Of weighting? Of value? (Student photograph by David Chmielewski.) always be in focus . . . but it may not be in the frame of the camera. The trick is to focus more carefully as you use larger apertures. After focusing, do not move forward or backward. When the subject is relatively close and the depth of field is very shallow, this can be crucial. (Depth of field will be covered in Chapter 9.) A third cause of poor clarity concerns the other half of the shutteraperture equation: As the shutter speed decreases, the chances of blurring a picture increase. This may be caused by a subject that moves, or by "camera shake," particularly in lowlight situations. You have little control over the movement of a subject (other than asking it to sit still), but you can control camera shake. Try pressing the camera tight against your forehead and cheekbone, holding your breath while you shoot, or bracing yourself against a wall —or all three at once. Another good technique is to prop your elbows on a solid surface or, in a pinch, on your knees. You will soon learn how slow a shutter speed you can safely use, which (as we'll discuss in Chapter 10) will vary according to the length of the lens you're using. For photographs that require a lower speed, use a tripod (see Appendix 4). In addition, a print may be fuzzy because the enlarger was incorrectly Developing a Critical Eye 73
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REVISED EDITION THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EY
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Student photograph by Gregory Conra
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Part 3 People, Places & Things: Exe
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part 1 Getting Started Student phot
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chapter 1 S urprisingly few new art
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light, producing a positive image o
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Mathew Brady, Magazine in Battery R
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Peter Henry Emerson, Gunner Working
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Alfred Stieglitz, The 'Flat Iron',
Page 20 and 21: chestra. His first photographic job
Page 22 and 23: 1959 Development of first zoom lens
Page 24 and 25: Minor White, Moon and Wall Encrusta
Page 26 and 27: Fortunately, however, commercial ph
Page 28 and 29: 1904-71 Margaret Bourke-White, Airs
Page 30 and 31: Variations Mixed in with these gene
Page 32 and 33: Student photograph. 34 The Photogra
Page 34 and 35: violin money can buy, but a blues s
Page 36 and 37: Each kind of lens has its own chara
Page 38 and 39: Additional Tools Once you've select
Page 40 and 41: whether the camera is in manual or
Page 42 and 43: motor-drives, see Appendix 4.) In t
Page 44 and 45: • Film-Advance Sprocket Just to t
Page 46 and 47: EXERCISE Testing the Shutter & Aper
Page 48 and 49: Is a plastic hose interesting? It i
Page 50 and 51: Attention to detail is the primary
Page 52 and 53: 54 The Photographic Eye Weighting t
Page 54 and 55: still seem to be interestingly dist
Page 56 and 57: FOCAL POINT: Composition Tips As yo
Page 58 and 59: An unusual kind of balance is produ
Page 60 and 61: Two kinds of dynamics are at work i
Page 62 and 63: EXERCISE Mat Frame Turn to the back
Page 64 and 65: Student photograph by Jay Le Claire
Page 66 and 67: produced. Skill is the key ingredie
Page 68 and 69: Another "rule breaker"—this time
Page 72 and 73: focused. Use a focusing aid (see Ap
Page 74 and 75: EXERCISE Sample Crit Describe the d
Page 76 and 77: The value of this photograph is res
Page 78 and 79: How would you evaluate this photogr
Page 80 and 81: Used correctly, the "point of depar
Page 82 and 83: Student photograph by Linda Raymond
Page 84 and 85: There are three basic line effects
Page 86 and 87: How many basic line effects are in
Page 88 and 89: Notice the soft-focus lines behind
Page 90 and 91: EXERCISE Pattern Your assignment is
Page 92 and 93: Can you distinguish line from textu
Page 94 and 95: Student photograph by Man- McCoy. 9
Page 96 and 97: photograph, your attention may also
Page 98 and 99: EXERCISE Leaves Your next assignmen
Page 100 and 101: A series of similar curves, an inte
Page 102 and 103: In this high-contrast print, shape
Page 104 and 105: 106 The Photographic Eye
Page 106 and 107: As with line and texture, a photogr
Page 108 and 109: EXERCISE Circles & Ovals Use at lea
Page 110 and 111: Student photograph by Bruce Cakebre
Page 112 and 113: Bright sunlight is best suited to c
Page 114 and 115: An unlighted subject against a ligh
Page 116 and 117: Low-light tends to be very somber,
Page 118 and 119: FOCAL POINT: Light Meters If your c
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couch. The average light in the sce
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promote rhythm. Alternating bands o
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long, or "wide," depth of field, th
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A skillfully handled blurred motion
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A fast shutter speed (or flash) wil
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Panning will at least slow down a m
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EXERCISE - Blurred Movement Assignm
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Converging lines and an appropriate
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For now, let's stick with the liter
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feet, making distant objects appear
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you'll have many focal lengths to c
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Student photograph by Russell Wells
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EXERCISE Point of View Assignment:
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part 3 People, Places & Things: Exe
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chapter 12 Things y now, you should
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1886-1958 Edward Weston, Pepper, 19
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Student photograph by Charles Stuar
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Student photograph by Han June Bae.
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Student photograph by William Roche
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Student photograph by Lynne Mattiel
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,- Student photograph by Lynne Matt
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EXERCISE Old Things Assignment: Pho
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chapter 13 Places s you progress fr
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1902-1984 Places 169
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Student photograph by Al Webb. Stud
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Student photograph by Mark Crew. St
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Student photograph by Gerald Allen
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The placement of the cat, combined
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EXERCISE Construction Sites Assignm
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chapter 14 People oving from photog
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is especially useful on location, i
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People 185
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EXERCISE Elders Assignment: Do a se
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Student photograph. Student photogr
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EXERCISE Side-Lit Portrait Assignme
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Student photograph by Michael Cothr
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EXERCISE Mood Portrait Assignment:
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chapter 15 Putting It All Together
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1908- During World War II he served
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Student photograph by Amy Walsh. Pu
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EXERCISE Rain Assignment: Do a seri
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Student photograph by Vinnie Rodzie
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Student photograph by Karen Demuth.
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chapter 16 Breaking the Rules hroug
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Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, 1966.
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Student photograph by John Dean. St
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Student photograph by Dave Hornback
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Student photograph by Lynne Mattiel
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As this photograph demonstrates, gr
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EXERCISE Photo-Copy Photos Assignme
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Variations: Shoot a sequence at dif
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In this example, an excerpt from a
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appendix 1 Processing PROCESSING FI
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perience. Start by loading your pra
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influences, such as incorrect expos
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The enlarge: can be raised or lower
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6. Place the negative file over the
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The easiest way to identify the emu
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that amount of time. Then cover the
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camera or are being careless during
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appendix 2 Color t's a good idea to
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Complicated Imagery The first thing
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of white mat board) or flash fill (
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TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS In additio
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more important consideration: cropp
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appendix 3 Manipulation & Presentat
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5. Use an 8" strip of masking tape
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7. Expose 2 more 2x3" sheets. 8. De
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just called opaque), a sticky red g
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Student photograph by Ray Shaw. 4.
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Retouching Even if you are extraord
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appendix 4 Advanced Techniques TOOL
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image area. Special effects filters
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amount of control over everyday lig
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and some black dots in the white ar
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Mat frame. Trace this frame, cut it
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The Museum of Modern Art (of New Yo
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Glossary Aperture Ring The ring on
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Index Adams, Ansel, 23, 152, 168, 1
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fixed lens, 36 fixer, 228-229, 231,
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ain (exercise), 203 range of light,
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Acknowledgments The authors wish to
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ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS The following is
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Copyright 1445 Da\ is Publications.
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Introduction TECHNIQUE vs. CREATIVE
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port 1 Teaching with The Photograph
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Similarly, a teacher who has darkro
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work of your students in a rotating
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a wealth of old photographs of inte
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PREPARING THE CLASSROOM slide show
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A well-equipped (and carefully desi
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Film drying closet rows, creating a
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2. One full array of developing tra
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part 2 Planning the Course Naturall
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Crit sessions offer an opportunity
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STUDENT PORTFOLIO Our recommended g
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RESEARCH PROJECTS You may want to m
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• the moral and ethical implicati
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TEXT PAGE p. 100, 101 p.l 10, 111 p
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RETEACHING OPTIONS AND PRODUCTIVE P
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far enough away from each other to
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Chemicals A student examines a newl
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Photo Processes to be Avoided in th
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WEEK? WEEKS WEEK 9 44 Topic: Light
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WEEK 3 46 Goal: Begin taking and pr
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WEEK 21 WEEK 22 WEEK 23 48 Topic: P
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ADDITIONAL SOURCES Films 50 Write t
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Books Davis, Phil. Photography. Dub
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54 lines. A reasonable amount of le
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Photograph Evaluation Name Assignme
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Early Photography — Reading Works
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Early Photography — Reading Works
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Early Photography — Photography R
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Quiz for Chapter 2 — Tools 9. Wha
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Quiz for Chapter 2 — Tools — An
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Film Developing — Photography 8.
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70 Contents Chapter 1: From Blurs t
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72 Contents Chapter 12: Things Chap
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THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE

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