Henry Fox was among the pioneers who inspired the art of photography just five years after its invention. By then, people were only used to drawings and thus photography was a completely new phenomenon. He published his first book which was mass produced for the audiences depicting how fast the art gained populace. The photographers by then struggled to convince the population that was used to painting as a form of art accept photographs as another form of art. The population valued the level of creativity in the drawings and the uniqueness of the themes therein represented. In the photography art, the lenses will capture what it is directed to capture. Thus, the choice of what to capture is the art behind the photography. The positioning and the included items are subjects that an audience was expected to read on in order to gain a more insight into the meaning of the art.
In the struggle to develop the art of photography, ancient scholars struggled with definitions and categorizations as most people observed the literal depiction of the photos. An example is Jabez Hughes who differentiated between the mechanical photography, art photography and high-art photography as there levels of complexity in the interpretation of the photos. Other artists Gustave Rejiander took the art a notch higher by creating a series of superimposed images that gave the photography a painting like characteristics that could be interpreted in the same as the paintings (Graham, 43). Two such photos were The Two Ways of Life and Fading Away. These photographs employed the same painting techniques known as iconography and were images that sought to tell a visual story.
The artists in those days chose complacent approach in their arts. Just like the paintings that adored the rich and power, they took photos that were acceptable to the rich and the mighty. They were ignorant of the cultural ties and moral issues but rather sought to reinforce the then way of life. This theory is exemplified in the Crimean War images that ignores the brutality and the sufferings caused by the war but rather focus on the army at their leisure times. The same applies to the city photos taken at those periods depicting the iconic buildings and places such as Hyde Park ignoring the Chaotic London that is described in other forms of literature. Thus, unlike the modern days where art resonate with the issues affecting the people, the then art was just for amusement and the scenes were chosen depending on their ability to appeal to the masses. The then art was a literal representation of what one could view. There were no deeper interpretations, as depicted in William Henry Fox Talbot. He photographed book shelves for the literal meaning of demonstrating his academic abilities. Thus, most of the photos were representation and celebration of the exotic nature. As captured in the poems, the painter was supposed to pick rare harmonies in order to achieve the mystery of beauty.
Another development notable in that period was the travel photography whereby artist took photos of different places that they visited. They were able to show the Europeans other cultures through the eyes of lenses. They offered insights into other people’s cultures that the native Europeans who had not travelled could only imagine. They sought to capture the surface cultural constructs. An example is Francis Frinth, Entrance to the Grand Temple, Luxor. In the portrait, the photographer captured women in long dresses. A closer inspection can reveal that with such dresses, women were limited in many roles. This perhaps can give inner insights into the limited responsibilities that women had in those days (P 51).
Lady Hawarden opened a new frontier in photography. He rejected the notion of set scenes and attempts to compare photographs to painting. His notion was that pictures represent what is seen rather than setting like paint. This revolutionized the world of photography and gave rise to the modern photography that focus on capturing the inner cultural and meanings (p 53).
Works Cited
Clarke, Graham. The Photograph. Oxford UP, 1997.
