The Genius of Photography- Part 6 ,,Snap Judgements"

1) How many photographs are taken in a year?

Nowadays most people own their own camera, whether that is a phone camera, compact camera, SLR or a camera built into any other device. Photography is the easiest, fastest and most common way of recording our life. 80 billion photographs are taken every year.

2) What is Gregory Crewdsons modus operandi?

Gregory Crewdsons modus operandi (method of operation) is a set up of object and people to create this perfect image (6 exposures are taken and merged together digitally to achieve the final outcome). There are many people involved in that operation and the entire scenery looks like the production of a film. Gregory himself doesn’t even press the button to take a picture. He is very much interested in just the picture he wants to create and for that he needs to use a camera.

3) Which prints command the highest price & what are they called?

The highest price prints are usually the ones that were made by a photographer himself, closest to the time the picture was actually taken. They are very often old and a little bit destroyed but they are original and authentic. These pictures are known as ‘’vintage prints’’.

4) What is a Fake photograph? Give an example and explain how & why it is fake.

A Fake photograph is a photograph reprinted from the negative by someone else other than the photographer who took the image. Very often the Fake photo is printed in a vintage style however the market value is lower than the original vintage print.

The above photograph by Ansel Adams was taken and the negative made in the 1920s. It was reprinted in the 1940s however the vintage print was done in 1927.The monetary value of the vintage print to the copy print is 2/3 less. Also the vintage image has darker mountains.

5) Who is Li Zhensheng and what is he famous for?

Li Zhensheng is a Chinese photographer. He was a Red Army news soldier, a photojournalist who in the 1960s and the early 1970s found himself covering the Cultural Revolution. He secretly photographed events which took place during that time. The first exhibition with this photo-reportage was opened in America. They are still forbidden for viewing in China.

6) What is the photographers “holy of holies”?

,,Holy of holies’’ is the most prestigious photographic agency in the world and it is called Magnum. The agency is run by members who are also the photographers.

7) How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls photography?

Ben Lewis says that Jeff Wall didn’t re-invent photography. He took photography back to 19^th century to painting where everything is created. The people, the light, everything is kind of constructed for meaning. He includes much contemporary and theoretical concerns ie gender or racial stereotype. 

8) Which famous photograph was taken by “Frank Mustard”?

The Famous photograph taken by Frank Mustard is called ‘’The river scene, France’’. This photograph is an example of 19^th century photographic manipulation. People on this photo were posing, the sky was created artificial and it was added. He also introduced white clouds and leaves on the tree. Originally it was believed that the photo was taken by Camille Silvy.