Some musical fun


Some more humour in music and in photography would not go astray.

Photography - The Whole Story

BlogEntryTopperA book I added to my library recently was Photography - The Whole Story. Published by Thames and Hudson, and edited by Juliet Hacking, it’s a book which chronicles the history of photography and does so in a very engaging way.

PTWS-2It provides a framework to explore and put in context, the many and varied approaches to the medium since it's formal introduction in the 1839.

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This is a lively and ambitious book. There are five major chapters each containing in-depth essays that cover many different photographic genre,from portrait to street photography, fashion, war, conceptual, still life, landscape and on and on. This is not just a book of words however but a book of images. It’s a large volume with 575 pages and over 1,000 illustrations. The works and ideas of key photographers are examined to show what motivated them, what were their influences and what they hoped to achieve.

PTWS-5 Detailed timelines give a cultural and historical context. Key works are reproduced that exemplify the characteristics of the period or style in question.

PTWS-6Printed large on a page, each is treated to a ‘Navigator’ feature:- thumbnail sections of the photo are shown on a second page with detailed captions. This can be very helpful to explore and appreciate the concerns of the photographer.

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The photographs are well reproduced on good paper stock and the book has excellent binding. It comes in a soft cover which helps with weight and handles well.

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For anyone seriously interested in photography as an expressive medium this book gives a invaluable insight into it’s development in an easy going way and can act as a signpost to further study. It also is very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.