I'm currently having a few frustrations with my camera equipment and until I can afford to sort it out, I've decided to give myself a bit of a study break. I'm starting by reading some of the best photography books that have come out in the last few years. First on the list is a trio of Michael Freeman titles: 'The Photographer's Eye', 'Perfect Exposure' and 'The Photographer's Mind'.
'Eye' and 'Mind' are to do with the theories of why certain images work while others don't. I have to be honest, I've never had much time for media theory - mostly because at University when we were talking about semiotics, lecturers would often say 'clearly by constructing the shot in this way, the director intended to emphasise...' and I'd think 'how do you know they didn't just shoot in that angle to avoid showing something distracting in the background' or whatever. Fortunately Freeman appeals to me within the first page: 'This will never prevent art critics and historians from supplying their own interpretations, which may be extremely interesting but not necessarily have anything to do with the circumstances or intentions of the photographer.'
I'm now a few chapters in and enjoying thinking more deeply about the arrangement of element in the frame.
