Synopses & Reviews
"Its chief virtues are a succinct, mostly lucid style, a wide intellectual scope, a flood of ideas and insights at every turn, sensitivity to the technology and culture of photography, and a willingness to attend to images . . . In the end, perhaps the best measure of a text is whether or not one would choose it from among all the offerings to use in class. I have chosen to use this book." - Photo Review, Spring 2000
"An excellent introductory history book." - Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism
In this wonderful and entertaining book, Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Newhall. Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students." - exposure: The research journal of the Society for Photographic Education. Vol. 32.2 (Fall, 1999)
Hirsch's prose is very digestible. He writes in a clear, lively style with a minimum of jargon." - Views: the newsletter of the Visual Material Section of the Society of American Archivists
Science, culture, and art come together in this comprehensive history of photography. With superlative production values, rare and unusual prints, and a fresh perspective, Robert Hirsch has written the ideal companion to the first 200 years of photography.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 485-491) and index.
About the Author
Robert Hirsch is the Associate Director of Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, NY and co-director of the Visual Studies Workshop Graduate Program. He is also Associate Professor of Art at SUNY/Brockport.
Until June of 1999, he was the Director of the Center for Photographic Arts (CEPA Gallery), Rochester, NY. Hirsch is the author of Exploring Color Photography . He is a professional photographer and a regular contributor to the journal of the Society for Photographic Education.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Advancing towards Photography: The Birth of ModernityA Desire for Visual Representation PerspectiveThinking of PhotographyCamera VisionThe Demand for Picture-Making SystemsProto-Photographers: Chemical Action of LightModernity: New Visual RealitiesLouis Jacques Mandé DaguerreOptical DevicesImages through Light: A Struggle for PermanenceJoseph Nicephore NiépceJohn HerschelWilliam Henry Fox TalbotAnna AtkinsOther Distinct OriginatorsHippolyte BayardMungo PontonHercules FlorenceChapter 2: The Daguerreotype: Image and ObjectWhat is a Daguerreotype?Samuel MorseThe Daguerreotype Comes to AmericaThe Early Practitioners Early Daguerreian Portrait MakingPost-Mortem PortraitsTechnical ImprovementsExpanding U.S. Portrait StudiosAlbert Sands SouthworthJosiah Johnson HawesMatthew BradyThe Art of the Daguerreian PortraitDaguerreian Portrait Galleries and Picture FactoriesAfrican-American Operators Rural PracticeThe Daguerreotype and the LandscapeThe Daguerreotype and ScienceJohn WhippleChapter 3: Calotype Rising: The Arrival of PhotographyThe CalotypeEarly Calotype ActivityDavid Octavius HillRobert AdamsonWilliam NewtonThomas KeithCalotypists Establish a PracticeLouis Désiré Blanquart-EvrardThomas SuttonGustave le GrayCharles NègreCalotype and Architecture: Mission HéliographiqueJean Louis Henri le SecqEdouard Denis BaldusCharles MarvilleThe End of the Calotype and the Future of PhotographyChapter 4: Pictures on Glass: The Wet-Plate ProcessThe Albumen ProcessFrederick Scott ArcherThe New Transparent LookThe Ambrotype Pictures on TinThe Carte-de-Visite and the Photo AlbumAndré DisdériJohn MayallThe Cabinet Photograph: The Picture Gets BiggerThe Studio TraditionNadarCamille SilvyAntoine Samuel Adam-SalomonNapoleon Sarony Retouching and Enlargements The Stereo CrazeOliver Wendell HolmesChapter 5: Prevailing Events/Picturing Calamity Current EventsEarly War Coverage Roger FentonJames RobertsonFelice BeatoThe American Civil WarMatthew BradyAlexander GardnerTimothy OSullivanGeorge BarnardAndrew RussellHow Photographs Were Circulated Chapter 6: A New Medium of Communication: Art or Industry?Lady Elizabeth EastlakeDiscovering a Photographic LanguageLewis CarrollOscar Gustave Rejlander Henry Peach RobinsonJulia Margaret Cameron Americans and the Art of Nature PositivismHugh Welch DiamondThomas BarnardoChapter 7: Standardizing the Practice: A Transparent TruthMechanical PhotographyThe Traveling CameraMaxime Du CampJohn B. GreenAuguste SalzmannJohn Shaw SmithFrancis FrithRobert MacPhersonFratelli AlinariBisson Brothers Picturing Industrialization Phillip DelamotteRobert HowlettJoseph CundallEdouard BaldusCamille SilvySamuel BourneUrban LifeJohn ThomsonThomas AnnanThe OtherThe American West: The Narrative and the SublimeCarleton E. Watkins Timothy OSullivanWilliam Henry JacksonEadweard MuybridgeChapter 8: New Ways of Visualizing Time and SpaceThe Inadequacy of Human Vision Locomotion Thomas EakinsEtienne-Jules MareyOttomar AnschützTransforming Aesthetics: Technical Breakthroughs The Hand Held Camera and the SnapshotTime and Motion as an Extended ContinuumMoving PicturesColorChapter 9: Suggesting the