Photography: The Definitive Visual History
- Downloads：9998
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-22 09:54:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tom Ang
- ISBN：1409346455
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
This lavish coffee-table book traces the history of photography from the first black and white images to celebrated examples of 21st-century digital photography。
Photography celebrates the most iconic photographs of the past 200 years and includes more than 50 biographies of the most famous photographers， explaining how they pushed the bounds of the medium。 It also shows the extraordinary cameras that photographers experimented with， from the daguerreotype to the latest camera phones。
Charting the influence of social and cultural change， as well as the impact of science and technology， this beautiful book follows the history of photographs from the first grainy attempts at portait and landscape photography to gritty photojournalism， street photography， and digital photography， with special features delving into the stories behind photographic images that changed how people saw the world。
Packed with information and full of inspiration， Photography is the perfect photography book for budding photographers， seasoned professionals， and anyone with an interest in the fascinating story of photography。
Photography celebrates the most iconic photographs of the past 200 years and includes more than 50 biographies of the most famous photographers， explaining how they pushed the bounds of the medium。 It also shows the extraordinary cameras that photographers experimented with， from the daguerreotype to the latest camera phones。
Charting the influence of social and cultural change， as well as the impact of science and technology， this beautiful book follows the history of photographs from the first grainy attempts at portait and landscape photography to gritty photojournalism， street photography， and digital photography， with special features delving into the stories behind photographic images that changed how people saw the world。
Packed with information and full of inspiration， Photography is the perfect photography book for budding photographers， seasoned professionals， and anyone with an interest in the fascinating story of photography。
Reviews
Lisa Banzi
，
Bellissimo coffee table book con immagini emozionanti e reference complete。 Traduzione in italiano imbarazzante e anacronistica。
Ясен В。
，
This was a surprisingly good gift！ An incredible book that took me an year to go through， but I will be coming back to from time to time。
Ross Berg
，
This book is a must read for photographers。 It’s modern and written in a snarky and biased tone but in the best way。 I am so inspired and I am actually a much better photographer now after reading it！
Peter
，
Great book with focus on movements， photographers， equipment， and subjects。 Breakdown of iconic shots。 Large format with beautiful plates。
Logan Hughes
，
Staggering breadth ranging from the beginnings of photography to the 90s with spotlights on specific iconic photos， photographers， historical events/eras， etc。 With few words per photo， there is nonetheless excellent focus on historical context， including controversy。 I think what I wanted that was lacking， though， was more of an examination of the visual elements and technique of iconic photos， but that's the subject of a different book。 Staggering breadth ranging from the beginnings of photography to the 90s with spotlights on specific iconic photos， photographers， historical events/eras， etc。 With few words per photo， there is nonetheless excellent focus on historical context， including controversy。 I think what I wanted that was lacking， though， was more of an examination of the visual elements and technique of iconic photos， but that's the subject of a different book。 。。。more
Justin
，
This was a bargain book at Barnes & Noble。 I thank my lucky stars that I was blessed with this book basically being 95% off a $50。00 retail book。 But don't let the price drop fool you。 This book is worth every penny， even at full cost。 This book is simply awesome！ It took me about a month to read the entire book because I kept coming across interesting facts as I read。 That would spin me off on hours of outside Google research。 Upon which time I would say to myself: "Ok， ok。 Now get back to the This was a bargain book at Barnes & Noble。 I thank my lucky stars that I was blessed with this book basically being 95% off a $50。00 retail book。 But don't let the price drop fool you。 This book is worth every penny， even at full cost。 This book is simply awesome！ It took me about a month to read the entire book because I kept coming across interesting facts as I read。 That would spin me off on hours of outside Google research。 Upon which time I would say to myself: "Ok， ok。 Now get back to the book。" And this process would repeat itself over and over again。 From how photography started， was hated at first， the birth of propaganda， paparazzi and the modern motion picture。 I was stunned at what I didn't know about this subject and I am an avid fan of photography。 It's just loaded with great pictures and the right blend of history， fact， art， science and truth。 Photography is every where these days and changing so much more with the camera phone。 It's estimated that in the year 2017， the world's cell phones produced （roughly， estimating， guessing！） 14 TRILLION photo's。 Yeah。 Think。 About。 That。There is so much to learn in this book and if you are even remotely interested in photography， pick up this book immediately。 You will enjoy it and have fun with it！！ 。。。more
Keen
，
Personally I have always had a deep affection for reference books and this is probably where I first fell in love with reading。 I’ve been a huge fan of the DK format since the 90s， having bought and enjoyed a number of their reference books over the years， along with the likes of Collins， Readers Digest and Taschen， they always signify a true mark of quality and integrity and they tend to be the names that I go to first when looking for a reliable guide。There are a dizzying array of names， techn Personally I have always had a deep affection for reference books and this is probably where I first fell in love with reading。 I’ve been a huge fan of the DK format since the 90s， having bought and enjoyed a number of their reference books over the years， along with the likes of Collins， Readers Digest and Taschen， they always signify a true mark of quality and integrity and they tend to be the names that I go to first when looking for a reliable guide。There are a dizzying array of names， techniques， movements and events that have helped make photography what it is today in the 21st Century。 There are many profiles all through the book too， showcasing the many talents that have made an impact， from the likes of Cartier-Bresson to Alfred Stieglitz and Man Ray and many， many more。We learn about some of the early pioneers like Jacques Mande-Daguerre and Henry Fox Talbot， whose negative/positive format would go on to dominate for over 150 years。 We see the difference between the daguerreotype and the calotype？ Like many new inventions of the era photography was initially a preserve of the select elite and also an opportunity to display status to other elites。 As it grew in popularity， more people in more places started to pay attention and soon countries were keen to record and capture parts of their country for posterity， France took the initial lead with the Rothchilds paying for their possessions and lives to be glorified in print and shown off to the wider world。We go through all the history and high points， with people like James Clerk Maxwell， the first man to produce a colour photograph to George Eastman’s Box Brownie， which brought in a new age of amateur photography。 Like Ford’s T Ford it was relatively affordable to the masses and popularised photography。 The vast majority of photographers hail from the likes of the US， the UK， France and Germany but we also get input from other corners of the world like Rodchenko in Russia。 Tomatsu in Japan and Manuel Alvarez Bravo in Mexico， as well as many others from Africa， South America and Australia。There is also a long list of cameras that will be catnip to the enthusiasts， models like the Graflex and later the Auto Graflex， the Leica 1， one of the earliest 35 mm cameras。 There was the iconic Kodachrome， the Nikon F， which not only changed the photography game， but also did much to help rebuild Post War Japan。 There was the Rolleiflex。 Then Edwin Land’s Polaroid SX-70 （as favoured by a certain Andy Warhol）。 We even get the inclusion of the I Phone 3GS and the Hubble Space Telescope， which at a cost of $2。5 billion is the most expensive camera ever made。We get a highly informative background into many branches of the art。 Seeing how war photography was first used in the Crimean and American Civil Wars， the first conflict to see widespread use of the more user friendly 35mm was the Spanish Civil War， and as many people assert， photography played a huge and invaluable part in raising awareness of the horror of the Vietnam conflict。 Ang shows us how the slum photography of Lewis Wickes Hine and Thomas Annan did much to raise awareness of the grinding poverty that many endured in the inner cities around the western world。 Also portrayals of travel and adventure photography gave us new access to the greater world out there。 It was the 20th century that saw photography really make a powerful impact。 The 1930s is perhaps the decade where things started to get really interesting as this is when some of the more iconic images of the century were captured， in 1936 we had Capa’s falling soldier and then a year later in 1937 we had the Hindenburg disaster。 The authenticity of the former is still intensely debated whereas the latter was all too real。 And of course this was only a couple of years away from the start of WWII。 As the 1900s progressed， magazines like “Harper’s Bazaar” “Vogue” “Life”， “Time” and “Picture Post” took full advantage of what photography had to offer and often these pictures would catapult sales well into the millions at the height of their success。In the second half of the century， we see how global awareness was raised through the art form with the likes of the “Blue Marble” photograph， made in 1972 from Apollo 17。 It soon became a symbol in which conservation movements could use and many photographers would soon join in on the movement， the likes of Edward Burtynsky， Richard Misrach and Sebastiao Salgado would go onto highlight the devastating effects of industrialisation， pollution throughout many parts of the world through their pictures。I have to say that I was a little shocked and disappointed to see that the incredible career of Don McCullin was reduced to only half a column， tucked away at an A-Z of Photographers section at the back， and this is a book that is nearly 500 pages long， and yet there is not a single one of his powerful photographs shown？。。。I was also surprised that there was not a single mention of the tragic， Pulitzer Prize winning photographer， Kevin Carter。Overall this is an ideal guide and overview of the history of photography and should please the expert and amateur equally。 It is written in a clear and accessible way that is open to all and it manages to explain without being pretentious or without dumbing down either。 There are many superb and outstanding photographs included， though as ever with books of this nature， there will always be surprising omissions， but it is always interesting and thought provoking。 。。。more
Sean
，
A beautiful book with great "coffee table" value。 One I love to browse and which makes for great conversation。 A beautiful book with great "coffee table" value。 One I love to browse and which makes for great conversation。 。。。more
Shilpa
，
A picture says a thousand words， or so goes the idiom， and the sweep of recent history enforces this notion -- stories have been told through the camera lens for the preceding two centuries and that is only increasing now with the ubiquity of social media and the accessibility of modern digital photography。Full Review: http://ow。ly/UMan5 A picture says a thousand words， or so goes the idiom， and the sweep of recent history enforces this notion -- stories have been told through the camera lens for the preceding two centuries and that is only increasing now with the ubiquity of social media and the accessibility of modern digital photography。Full Review: http://ow。ly/UMan5 。。。more
Mikko Saari
，
Really impressive book。 Large， with great visuals。 Lots of iconic， world-class photos， and fairly thorough explanation of the history of photography。
andy
，
So good！
Dianne J。
，
Finally finished this beautiful book that brought me back to some amazing photos I have admired and a few I have re-created myself。 I made a list of photographers I want to read more about so I can discover or rediscover their great works。
Hapzydeco
，
Not your ordinary coffee table book。 Tom Ang uses iconic photographs to put a fresh face on photography’s history。
Christina
，
I loved reading through this book and seeing so many photos that illustrate the history of photography， the development of various technologies， and the work of famous photographers along the way。 I would never buy it or own it as there was small bit of nudity in it。
Evelyn Deutsch
，
Absolutely stunning book with a wealth of information presented in a visually powerful format。
Novel Destination
，
DK rarely prints anything that disappoints。 This is a delicious table-sized book meant for sipping。 It would make a nice gift for someone who is a photographer or camera-wielding enthusiast。 The changes in cameras， lens and even subject ideas for photo-taking is richly depicted。 The writing is easy to understand for laypeople。 However， I believe it is the images Tom Ang selected that really draws a person into the book。 A little of something for everyone to enjoy！
Tracy
，
Complete and well-researched book， nicely put together。
Marvin
，
An excellent book to pick up when you have just enough downtime to read something interesting， but not enough time to get sucked into something completely。 Its near perfect balance of text to high quality imagery on every page is a huge plus， and as the title implies， it covers essentially the whole range of photographic history。
The Advocate
，