Reading List

ALHS N, 2009, Newark through time, Amberley Publishing, UK

This book was useful in starting to think about Assignment 4 and how to show the character of a place. It is essentially a collection of old photographs and the photographer has taken images of how the place looks today. A historical reference and useful to show change through the years.

Angier, R. (2007). Train Your Gaze: A Practical and Theoretical Introduction to Portrait Photography. AVA publishing SA

 This is easy to read and makes me reflect on practices and consider what I have taken in a different light. I especially liked the reference to it being "folklore" to position subjects in the centre of the frame, which relates well to using a wide angled lens for exercises in part 2. I revisited my image of the line up for Cyclelive Nottingham and gained an insight into why I liked the image of the older gentleman in his winter coat who was not positioned in the centre of the frame. Makes me question images and want to try out some of the experiments.

Badger, G (2007) The genius of photography – How photography has changed our lives Quadrille Publishing Ltd, UK

This was a really interesting book. I had come across some of the photographers mentioned in it in previous research. Full of so much information and interesting images. I did wonder if it would be easier to watch the DVD format from the library or whether both work together better. The book documents the history of photography through the ages, gives an insight into various photographers and looks at the culture of photography.

Binder, J (2008) Capture the portrait: how to create great digital photos, Lark Books, NY

This book resided on my bookshelf and I found it useful for looking at images and thinking about their effectiveness. It was good to revisit but is very basic. 

Bright, S. ed. (2010). Auto Focus: The Self - Portrait in Contemporary Photography. London: Thames and Hudson. 

Library book I thought looked interesting. I liked the concept of this book, but ended up taking it back to the library as I had little time to experiment with this along side the coursework and everyday life. 

Cartier - Bresson, H (1999) The Mind’s eye, Aperture Foundation, New York,

This is a book which I read for The Art of Photography. I re-read again. It was useful for studying documentary photography and is easy to read. It gave an insight into the ways he wanted to be perceived as working. Perhaps better to look at the images rather than follows the techniques.

Dyer, G. ed. (2012). The Ongoing Moment: A Book About Photographs. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.

I find I read this book in small bursts because it gives much food for thought. It helps with ideas such as including writing (signs etc) to help the viewer with understanding. It has introduced me to different photographers. I found some of the images quite small and found that on pinterest, people had collected all the images together and these were easier to look at. One of the influences for not including homeless and alcoholics in Assignment 4 came from here. The beginning of the book seemed full of people who became easy subjects for street photography. I appreciated that time and what is acceptable had moved on - and so did not wish to include images like this. I was interested in some of the themes such as how to show the public in America from the funeral train.

David Levi Strauss (2005) Between the eyes, Essays on Photography and Politics, Aperture publishing

This book sat in cellophane on my bookshelf, waiting for time to read it. On a planned photography day, the weather was so wet that I decided to read the book instead of venturing out to do street photography. When I started the book, I was in a negative mood about street photography, not enjoying the exercises for part 4, suffering from a lack of confidence about what I was doing and my photos were not comparable to street photographers of Nottingham. I had met by chance, on my last visit to Nottingham, a street and portrait photographer who I had a long chat with about locations and personal appearances as a street photographer. His affirmation that I was going in the right direction gave me some confidence about what I was trying to achieve. 

After reading this book, I felt that I could relate to what the course was asking me to do (illustration and narrative) than I thought when looking at the project (part 4). Things seemed clearer to me. It didn't matter that I was not photographing a crisis or warzone. What I needed to be looking at to start with was how people used urban places - they shop, they eat lunch, they meet friends, use public transport etc. The other message that came through was how to make people notice photographs taken and that it is important to display difficult subjects in a way that people will take notice of them. I think in the beginning, I was trying to run before I could walk, and taking time out to stop and read such an interesting book gave me the space I needed to "see" where I needed to be.

The subject matter of the book appealed because I have friends who have been to conflict zones and remember crisis' unfolding in the media. At the time of a  recent  crisis I had looked at conflict images by photographers in relation to what was being reported. I was especially interested in the publication in newspapers from Cross and Hoagland's images, as this is something which still happens. I had not appreciated the connection between the images from the publishers point of view. It made me question the ethics and morals behind it. I was also encouraged to look at different war photographers.

Watching the first episode of Sue Perkins voyaging up the Mekong River, I was interested in her visit to the scene of the genocide in Cambodia under the leadership of Pol Pot in 1975 . The images which stood out were the black and white photographs taken of some of the prisoners who had just had their blindfolds removed and stood infront of their captors, unknowing what was going to happen to them. This reinforced to me the phrase used by Strauss as the title of his book "between the eyes". The images were haunting, the expressions on their faces showing fear. These were strong images and I can only imagine how photographers who take images of these situations must feel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04plfkb accessed nov 2014
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~amamendo/photos.html accessed nov 2014

Edwards, R. (2009). Photographing People Like a Pro: A Guide to Digital Portrait Photography. Newton Abbot: David and Charles UK

I came across this book in the library and was drawn to its simplicity but attention to detail. I find books where the author has used their photographs and explained how they were taken interesting and helps me to consider how I could adapt the image to improve my technique. I found his section on lighting useful.


Falconer, J and Hide L (2009) Points of View - Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs, The British Library, UK

Interesting to look at the development of photos of buildings. Discovered Francis Frith (photographer) and researching his work led me to an internet search on his work. Here I discovered an image for the use of the Orangery at Belton House which I could find no documentary evidence about. It was not such a useful book as I first thought.

Fox, A. ed. (2012). Basics Creative Photography 03: Behind the Image: Research in Photography. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA. 

Read for Digital Photographic Practice 1 and enjoyed as it is easy to relate to and put into practice.


Freeman, M (2013) Capturing light - The heart of photography, Ilex Press Ltd, Lewes, UK

 This book looks at the use of light in a more questioning way and suggests how and why natural light affects photos and the psychology of how we perceive the image. This is a book that gives me inspiration for how to describe the lighting in a photo and encourages me to look at using dull grey days more creatively. I have added this book to my collection. I was inspired to look for different lighting such as the food stall in Southwell Minster and think about using different weather  situations.

Hido, Todd (2014) on landscapes, interiors and the Nude, aperture publishing, New York

Purchased following a visit to the exhibition  on American Night Photography at Nottingham University. This book explains reasons behind choices and decisions of his images and how to use that information to look at my own images (those taken and those still to be taken). I found the book helpful to back up my knowledge and explore subjects like lighting, narrative and sequence. I found I questioned some of my images and also tried to declutter compositions, being aware that I should give the viewer something in which they should draw their own conclusions of what was going on. This book helped inspire me through Assignment 4  - people and place.

Marlow, P , (2012) The English Cathedral, Merrel Publishers, London

I came across Marlow's work when researching Southwell Minster. Marlow's images capture the essence of the building. I was drawn to this book I think because it fits in well with the work of the Bechers' which I studied for DPP1. The fact that the perspective of the naves are very similar creates a coherent and easy to read book. I especially liked the technical notes and images of notes on the back of envelopes which gave it a realistic feel and something I could associate with. I was amazed at his patience waiting to take an image with no-one present and the lengths he went to to achieve the right lighting. 

My image Nave 3.2secs f8 ISO100 28mm 

During my research, I came across Magnum Photographer Peter Marlow. I looked at images in his book and read his account of taking photographs of 42 Anglican cathedrals in England. What I liked about his images were the perspective, uniformity and the lighting.[...] I appreciated that the Minster may have visitors and it may be difficult to avoid photographing them. [...]The lighting in the nave was fairly dark. A tripod was essential and by measuring the light in camera I was able to take a range of images to look at in more detail at home and select the most natural one. It took time to position the tripod and camera so that the columns were as straight as possible. My image differs from Marlow’s because my tripod is lower. He cites using a stepladder, a small aperture, shutter speed of 1-5 seconds and focal length of 112mm. My aperture is larger at f8 and my shutter speed was 3.2 seconds. At such a slow shutter speed, figures became motion blurred. I had to take several images so I had a selection to choose from. I included the visitor in the image of the font because it added a sense of scale.

 Link to Peter Marlow's original polaroid of Southwell Minster From Marlow's image, I would guess that he also took this in August as there are no chairs in the nave.

Short, M. ed. (2011). Basics Creative Photography 02: Context and Narrative. Lausanne: AVA Publishing

Easy to read and makes alot of sense. I like this series of books.

West, J (2001) Memory lane Newark and District (Memory Lane) Breedon Books Publishing co ltd Guernsey

Another book I looked at when researching images of Newark. This book was assembled by the local paper with archived images and shows Newark as it was. Useful as a starting point for planning assignment 4 and looking at culture and character, although I used Nottingham in the end. I think the scope of these local history books are too large for an assignment where only 6 images are to be used, so It provided me with food for thought on how to narrow the subject down.

Williams, A (2008) 99 Portrait Photo Ideas, Angela Patchell Books, UK

I had the opportunity to spend the day with Annabel Williams and the team from Photo Plus magazine a few years ago as part of a magazine article for beginners on portrait photography. It was a good introduction to portraits and inspired me to take up photography.  I found revisiting her book helpful to recap what I had learnt on the day.