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THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EYE
Learning to See with a Camera
P hotography is both an art
and a science. As an art, it
expresses a personal vision.
As a science, it relies on technology.
This double nature is not unique to
photography. Every kind of creative
expression —such as music, dance or
painting —has both a purely artistic
side and a more scientific or techological
side as well. For example,
paints are a kind of technology, and
using them well involves a considrable
amount of technical skill. The
main difference between photogaphy
and more traditional visual arts, such
as painting, is the complexity of its
technology.
In any of the arts, the first step
toward excellence is mastering techique
— learning to use a specific techology
skillfully and effectively. In
photography, this means that you
must learn to control the camera and
darkroom equipment, rather than letting
them control you.
No artist, however creative, can
produce a masterpiece without a
sound basis in technique. On the
other hand, no amount of technical
skill can make up for a lack of artistic
vision. Both are essential. The goal
of any artist is to use good technique
creatively.
Simply speaking, a camera is a
machine that produces a twodimensional
(flat) copy of a threedimensional
scene. The process by
which this is done may seem like
magic. (In fact, when cameras were
first introduced, many people all over
the world thought that they were
magic.) Fundamentally, however,
there's no magic in the camera. It's
just a box with a hole in it. You
supply the magic. When you, the
photographer, use a camera creatively,
it changes from a simple,
mechanical machine into an artist's
tool. Instead of making random
copies of things, it begins to say
something about them
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