20 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHS IN HISTORY

The title is a bit misleading as the images are those selected from one collection, that of The Royal Photographic Society. The choice therefore is a bit restricted but is still an interesting mix. I would be most interested to hear what you consider the 20 most important photographs of all time from whichever source you like.

The Hippopotamus at the Zoological Gardens’ by Juan Carlos Maria Isidro Count de Montizon de Borbon, 1852 ©National Media Museum, Bradford

‘Soldiers of the Sky’ by Nickolas Muray, 1940 ©Nickolas Muray Photo Archives

In 1853, Prince Albert noticed how quickly the world of photography was developing, so urged the Royal Photographic Society to start collecting images quick smart, to be sure they recorded its rapid rise. And so they did. The result? A collection of more than 250,000 images, 8,000 items of photographic equipment and 31,000 books and documents, including some of the greatest examples of photography yet.

Now, for the first time, photography fans can witness some of the best images from the entire body of work. Drawn by Light, an exhibition running from 2 December 2014 to 1 March 2015 at the Science Museum’s Media Space, showcases shots by such high-profile names as Ansel Adams, Madame Yevonde and Lewis Carroll, right up to Don McCullin, Terry O’Neill and Martin Parr. From still lives, nudes and portraits to photo-reportage and landscapes, it spans the gamut of styles.

‘Afghan Girl’ by Steve McCurry, 1984

Science Museum has selected these 20 images from Drawn by Light,  exclusively for Condé Nast Traveller, for you to lose yourself in.  www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/drawnbylight

‘Aspen’ by Ansel Adams, 1958 ©National Media Museum, Bradford

‘Audrey Hepburn’ by Angus McBean, 1950 ©National Media Museum, Bradford

‘Bewengungsstudie Movement Study’ by Rudolf Koppitz, 1926 ©National Media Museum, Bradford

‘Nude on Sand, Oceano, 1936” by Edward Weston ©Edward Weston

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico’ by Ansel Adams, 1941 ©National Media Museum, Bradford

Go here for this article

Here is a BBC review of the same

Buy the book here

Portraits of women – by the men who loved them

Sean O’Hagan writes in The Guardian about a new exhibition in Madrid.

Some of the greatest photos ever taken were by men whose muses were their own wives, as two breathtaking shows at PhotoEspaña 2013 prove

Edith, 1963 by Emmet Gowin

The Azca gallery is tucked at the back of a shopping mall opposite Real Madrid’s towering Bernabeu Stadium. It’s the unlikely setting for one of the most interesting shows in this year’s PhotoEspaña festival: the first European retrospective of the American photographer Emmet Gowin. The show includes his later landscapes, the most dramatic of which capture the volcano Mount St Helens in Washington, US, just after it erupted in 1980. But it is his images of home and family that remain his most evocative……Gowin studied under the great Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design, another photographer who made his wife his enduring subject. Callahan’s work is paired with that of Edward Weston in an exhibition at PhotoEspaña entitled……

Edward Weston, Untitled. Photograph: Edward Weston / Center for Creative Photography

It is a study in contrasts, with Weston’s formal approach turning every nude female into a study of light, shade and shape, while Callahan’s images of his wife, Eleanor seem more intimate and less rigorously posed……..

Read the full article here

If you are going to Spain then you might like to check out this exhibition

International Festival
of photography and visual arts

 

Thoughts on fine art photography

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein

Introduction
What are the most important aspects of composing a Fine Art Photograph?  The answer to this question certainly varies from photographer to photographer because each of us places more importance on some aspects than on others.  What follows is what I personally consider to be the most important aspects of Composition. Writes alainbriot on Lightstalking

This list is excerpted from a longer list that I use for teaching during my workshops and seminars.  The decision to create a shorter list, with only 15 items instead of 37, stemmed from the desire to focus on the essential aspects of composing a fine art photograph regardless of the  subject we are studying or the specific project we are working on. The resulting list is free from a particular teaching emphasis and represents what I look for in a Fine Art Photograph.

1 – Composition is the strongest way of seeing
This is Edward Weston’s definition of composition. It is still my favorite definition of composition

You might like to think about our Composition Course – Seeing Pictures which starts 6th March

Read more here 15 Thoughts on Fine Art Photography Composition by Alain Briot (With Photos)