Photography DB3 Dyllin Aleluia, Michael Bastin, Matthew Brackett, Rhys Davis When something is reproduced for so many times is that art? What's the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art? What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society? Is photography art, or contribution to the art? Is it just a tool used by artists? How and why Henry Pitch Robinson created Feading Away? What was the reason? Photography has impacted the world of art and influenced some changes in the area of accessibility to art. If mechanical reproduction created revolution, what is happening now with the digitalization?

1. P H OTO G R A P H Y
SHOOTING THE TRUTH
WEEK 3 – DB3
Dyllin Aleluia, Michael Bastin,
Matthew Brackett, Rhys Davis

2. S O M A N Y T I M E S
When something is reproduced for so many times is that art?
• We think about art as something that takes a creative person to h*p://www.merceronline.com/Photorepro.htm
produce. Art is a form of self-expression that relates to how the person
may have been feeling at the time. Art is never finished; people
interpretations of art can be very different from what the artiest
indented it to be. Original art is always unique and has deep meaning
behind it.
Some examples are paintings, sculptures, and photos. When art is
taken from its original form or meaning and reproduces many times the
art loses its value and legitimacy. The art is now apart of the mass
market of reprints and reproductions. The art loses its meaning its just
another thing hanging on the wall.
What's the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art?
• The importance of mechanical reproduction of art allows the artiest to
become well recognized and become a part of the commercial scene.
The artiest will become apart of the mass market of prints and will gain
popularity. The artiest work will become public domain and not been
hidden from mass eyes. Anyone can buy the artwork and place it in
there home.
What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society?
• The impact on mechanical reproduction on the society is great because
everyone can now have that famous piece of artwork in there home,
with out having to pay millions. But with the work going into the public
there are many chances that people will make counterfeits of the
artwork. This is a growing crime; this is because of the easy access to
editing tools, and online software.
BEFORE
AFTER
By:
Dyllin
Aleluia

4. SO MANY TIMES CONT…
Commercial
When something is reproduced for so many times is that art?
• I think it depends on the photo itself. Photography can be split into 3 different
types or genres: Commercial photography, Photo journalism photography and Fine
Arts photography.
Commercial photography is meant to be mass produced and is the least
artistic of the three. Commercial photography has no story behind it, The focus is
to create a nice sharp image to show the product in the best possible way.
Photojournalist photography is also meant to be somewhat mass produced,
but still can be very artistic if done well. Contrary to commercial photography,
photojournalism photography is all about telling a story. The way they choose to tell
the story is up to the artist but the story can be very broad or very obvious. While
with photojournalism, following basic artistic guidelines can take a back seat, this
type of photography can usually benefit from a nice composition and other traits
Fine
Art
common in commercial photography.
Fine Arts is the most subjective and harder to generalize compared to the
other types. In my opinion, Fine arts benefits the least when it is mass reproduced.
The sole purpose of most fine arts photos is the artistic experience. Fine arts often
strives to break rules and the stories they tell can be very subjective. This makes
this type of photo very suitable for galleries or personal art collections but not for
mass production.
What's the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art?
• Mechanical reproduction of photography is very important for communication. The
fact that we are able to know and see what's going on during an election or a
disaster on the other side of the world or even a sports event brings the world
closer together. For a lot of people, words can only tell so much and it is beneficial
for us see what is happening. It is also beneficial for commercial photographers by
allowing them to sell stock photos to a much larger audience than they could have Photo
Journ.
otherwise.
What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society?
• There are a many number of impacts mechanical reproducibility has had, and not
just in the photography fields. It has given everyone exposure to photography
where in the past it would have been only those who could afford it. It allows
people to see things that they never would have otherwise. Obviously it has grown
interest in photography to help turn it into what it is today. It has allowed us to
make interesting book covers, help us identify criminals, give us useful photo
identification, help travel agencies show different exotic locations, sell products we
could not see first hand and countless other things.
By:
Mike
BasAn

5. W H AT I S I T ?
Is photography art, or contribution to art?
Is it just a tool used by artists?
• Photography is absolutely a form of art. Whether it’s used alongside other forms to
aid in production, compliment or contrast them, or used solely. Photography is no
more a tool used by artists than the act of painting, it is a process. The camera is
the tool artists choose to wield, as is the paintbrush.
There are many forms of photography, not all of which can or should be
considered art. There is no question that in the hands of a creative mind, a camera
can be used to capture beautiful works of art.
Early forms of photo masking and combination printing were pioneered and
painstakingly developed by hand. These processes, as used by Gustave Le Gray of
Paris and Oscar G Rejlander of Sweden were comprised of several negatives, each
composed specifically and intentionally, and later printed one after the other into a
final composition. Some such compositions used upwards of 30 separate negatives,
often picturing a number of subjects across various settings and landscapes. One of
Rejlander’s such compositions “The Two ways of Life” (1857) took six weeks to
develop, compose and finally print the final piece, not including the setup time
required for planning and arranging his numerous subjects and set.
Henry Peach Robinson, one of the most influential photographers of the
second half of the 19th century commonly began his process of creating these
combinations by drawing a sketch of the final composition before ever picking up
the camera. With such an elaborate, meticulous process and the amount of
creativity & thought behind them, it would be insulting to refer to these works as
anything other than beautiful works of art.
It’s far too easy for people to undermine the credibility of the art form
because of its accessibility and extreme technological advances. The same processes
described above can now be accomplished with a few clicks of a mouse, but the
creativity required to imagine, compose, frame, light, and shoot such works can
never be overlooked.
“A work of art is a work of order, and if the artist is to put the stamp of his own mind on his
work he must arrange, modify, and dispose of his materials so that they may appear in a
more agreeable and beautiful manner than they would have assumed without his
interference.” - Henry Peach Robinson
By:
Rhys
Davis

7. F A D I N G AWAY
How and why Henry Peach Robinson created Fading Away?
What was the reason?
• Robinson's photograph titled "Fading Away" depicted a young girl near
death with her family comforting her around her. Fading Away was the
photo Robinson was most famous for, many people finding it controversial
because at the time people saw photography as a medium to show things
how they are, and the models in the photo were only posing. The photo
was created using 5 negatives. Other techniques he used included soft
focus, lens filters and darkroom manipulation.Robinson wanted photos to
have the same appeal as paintings. He removed parts of a scene that were
unnecessary by posing his models. It was the same idea as using Photoshop
to fix imperfections.
By:
Mike
BasAn

9. I M PA C T T H E W O R L D
Photography has impacted the world of art and influenced some changes
in the area of accessibility to art. If mechanical reproduction created
revolution, what is happening now with the digitalization?
• The digitalization in photography is bringing a faster and ever expanding
generation of photographers into the world. The cameras are easily accessible
and the software in today’s world can make any amateur photographer look like
a pro. When walking around on the streets or different neighborhoods of
Toronto, you are bound too see someone shooting with a standard basic
camera. With company’s like Canon and Nikon releasing standard starting
camera like the Canon XS or the NikonD3000 in bundles for great prices
anybody can start to be a photographer.
Along with easily accessible standard cameras the design programs are
almost an instant download away. When shooting today and something doesn’t
come out as planned, it easily fixed in Photoshop. Having a design suite is
making digital photography easier and easier. Back in the day when analog
cameras were the only product on the market, shooting a perfect photo was
crucial. When shooting on an analog camera if you didn’t get your shot the first
time, you would have to go back and reshoot. A contemporary photographer
today can now edit all mistakes and make a photo look perfect with this very
software.
Digitalization in photography has its pros and cons. The pros of digital
photography are as followed, easy access, cheaper and fast. Today a photography
shooting a fashion line can easily see what they have shot, as well then can edit
it almost on the spot. Back in the day the photographer would have to shoot,
send away film to be developed and then select their photographs. If the
photographer made a mistake, they would have to reshoot the entire line of
fashion. The cons to shooting digital photography are as followed, easily ripped
off, over crowded and less creative. Today anybody with a standard camera can
be a photographer, overcrowding the true artists in the field. The major con to
digital photography is the simple fact that it is less creative. Analog photography
is an art, in how you control your light. Digital photography and editing simply
make every digital print worthless.
By:
Ma*hew
Bracke*

10. T H A N K YO U !
Sources:
• http://ezinearticles.com/?His-Most-Famous-Photograph-%28Fading-Away%29---
Henry-Peach-Robinson&id=2785850
• http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Collection/Photography/
RoyalPhotographicSociety/CollectionItem.aspx?id=2003-5001%2F2%2F23282
• http://blogs.creativepool.co.uk/blog/the-most-reproduced-image-in-the-history-
of-photography/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEA79UkCnbg
• http://www.photoquotes.com
• http://google.com
• http://google.com/images
• Art Photography - The History of Photography by: Beaumont
NewhallEncyclopedia Britannica