Photo Literature Study Group?

jl-lb.ms

jl-lb.ms

John A. Lever
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I'm inquiring whether there's any interest in conducting a study group of some of the literature of the philosophy of photography. I'd propose reading and commenting on e.g. Susan Sontag's "On Photography" at perhaps a chapter every few weeks.

Any takers?

John
 
Good idea - maybe it is easier to get going on the net... I have tried initiatives like this before, and it is hard to get it going - at least IRL.

Perhaps it would be possible to set up a separate section in the forum for this?

And - it should be a commitment to a certain degree, don't know how, but if not it will often not work the way it is intended...
 
jl-lb.ms said:
I'm inquiring whether there's any interest in conducting a study group of some of the literature of the philosophy of photography. I'd propose reading and commenting on e.g. Susan Sontag's "On Photography" at perhaps a chapter every few weeks.
John
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I like the idea. But I'm not so interested in Sontag right now. And therein lies the problem. We drift off into suggestions for this, that, and the other; and then people who have or haven't read what we have or haven't chosen start telling us how foolish we are for opinions expressed (or not).

But if you are going to read Sontag, I would be interested in what you think. Why you selected the book. Examples from your photos or other experiences that relate to Sontag's thinking. Even something as basic as why you'd recommend. I agree that a separate forum would be a great idea.

WHAT AM I READING? Henrik Krogius, New York: You're a Wonderful Town! (Fifty-Plus Years of Chronicling Gotham) , Arcade, 2003.
WHY? I picked this up on the "sale" table ($10) at the Leica Gallery on Broadway. Krogius is a journalist, and these are photos framed as a memoir of his time in NYC from the 40s on. He writes a substantial amount of personal and historical text about his coming to understand and experience NYC. As a recent arrival here, I'm also using photos to reflect on my experience. This book is a great model, and I'm starting to see my photos around town as part of a work in progress.
 
I'd love to participate. I only got two essays in before it was due back at the library. It was thought provoking to say the least.

School keeps me pretty busy, but never without time for reading about photography and posting on rff.

Cheers,

Cluckey.
 
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I really find a lot of the discussions in here worth taking part in, and especially this section. Also most people in here are types who tend to go deep when learning something, if not we would not have ended up doing RF photography these days!

There is always the problem with gear-talk, it should be banned in this case - except for when it really is relevant to get the right result/image...
 
Let's ease into this before structuring forums and establishing rules. 3 questions to those who've posted so far:

What are you reading?
Why are you reading it?
How might it influence your thinking and photos?

After lots of posts (if that happens), there might be a need for multiple threads. Two or more people might want to read and discussing the same thing. Others might have read the book or be motivated to buy it. Still others might be interested in "listening in" even if they have no intention of reading the book. Maybe they would want to ask questions?

Martin
 
Bump.

@Martin.
I'm back to "On Photography". I'm just trying to read it again and see if I can understand it!!!

Another good one is "Diana and Nikon".

Anyone else?
 
jl-lb.ms said:
just trying to read it again and see if I can understand it!!!
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IMO, Sontag's novels are annoyingly didactic, but her social and art critiques have an appealing narrative. So that's how I'd recommend her: find where her story intersects with your own, and don't worry about the details. She's smart, brilliant, influential, makes you say, "Why didn't I think of that?" but when it's all said, she's just making this stuff up.

Like many with a strong and famous persona, she's also private, and she worries (among other things) that photography is, fundamentally, an intrusion into others' lives.

This has been a topic of countless posts on RFF. Many of us are aware (in awe) of the powerful instruments we use.
 
back alley said:
a study group?

seems a bit high brow for this crowd...;)
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Agreed. I also think it's as much a structural, web problem than brow height. And I don't know what "study group" means, anyway. On the other hand, it would be nice if the "Philosophy Forum" actually welcomed posts by people who read about photography and wanted to pass ideas along---get others' ideas. Of course, there are those who may believe that reading and ideas interfere with their picture taking.
 
"Diana and Nikon" is a terrific read. Another one is "The Ongoing Moment" by Geoff Dyer. More accessible, personal and yet less subjective and theoretical than many others. In the end, both are enjoyable and I learned something.
 
I am in, and I think that On Photography by Sontag would be a fantastic starting point. It seems to be a book that many people are familiar with, and one that is fairly easily accessible to everyone, both in terms of phyiscally locating the book, as well as content wise. Another reason for it being a good choice is that it is mentioned by name in the intro statement to this section of the forum. If we can get a decent number of people, I would definitely be up for a discussion thread for a chapter every week or two, and then, if it catches on, we can move on to other works from there.
 
I Googled "Diana and Nikon." Hadn't heard of it. Book's expensive, but the author has a very nice 1976 article in "The New Yorker." If you subscribe to the magazine, you have access to all their archives back to the 20s.
 
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