… As a photographer, or anyone that is interested in making or collecting photographs.

It’s kind of weird to write about this. But we live in a much different world today than we did when I went to art school to major in the craft. Many people today make their first camera purchase, usually a digital camera of some sort, learn how to use it as one would learn how to use a computer, and then call themselves a photographer. That’s only a small part of what it means to be a photographer.

History is something that should not be ignored, whether it is world history, political history, history of place, family history, art history, the history of maps, or, yes, the history of photography. The history of things. Each subject of historical record is only really important to the few people who love that particular aspect of our humanity.

The things we learn when we study the history of photography will influence the way we make photographs. We study light and shadow, the main components of photography itself. We study compositional elements. We study mood and dramatic elements. We see how those who came before us used the camera as a tool to make art. We see the work of the photographers that came before us as something to emulate and expand on, or as a jumping off point to take a style or work ethos to a whole new level.

In this series of posts I will write loosely about individual photographers who are worthy of study, worthy of reading about, giving just enough information to make you curious – I hope! I will recommend books for your library, or, for you to find at your local library. Photography books are great to have around, to inspire you, to hold as a tangible image in your hands. But looking at them on the web or some other electronic format is helpful too.

Find books related to The History of Photography on Amazon.