Reading: How to Read a Photograph by Ian Jeffrey

I first came across Ian Jeffrey as the author of Photography: A Concise History, a year or so ago whilst I was studying DPP.  I found his writing informative and accessible especially when compared to many of the so called introductory volumes on theory or history I had bounced off in disgust.  I was quite surprised to find that the above book was the course book for Social Documentary - a pleasant surprise.

This led me back to my book shelf and another of those books bought with great intent at the start of TAOP.  When I first looked at Ian Jeffrey's "How to Read a Photograph" I was really disappointed.  I was expecting something quite prescriptive that would tell me how to actually read a photograph and also was disappointed that the photographers featured were mostly from a long time ago and that almost all the content was in B&W.

How time changes out outlook!  In a recent posting on Flickr Dewald asked what had we learned about ourselves from studying photography, a series of amusing but flippant answers rapidly gathered.  However, one major development for me personally is that I now have a completely different view of art and in particular what I enjoy in looking at photographs.  Reading this book now was another of those journeys through photographic history, but this time with an excellent and very articulate guide.

Apart from delivering a chronology of the greats of photography, this book also reveals biographical snippets about the artists that helps to understand why they did what they did.  Why did mid-20th century British and American photography develop such a social consciousness, the emigres from fascist oppression brought with them a completely new world view: Bill Brandt, Ben Shahn, and to a degree Robert Frank brought a central European outlook to the photography of the cities of the west.  What sets this book apart from other of its ilk is the quality and quantity of the accompanying photographs, the text is a minor element, this is visual history. My primary complaint is that is stops too soon, although written in 2008, contemporary photographers such as those from the German school are absent, however, this is a minor critique.

A particular takeaway for me was the inclusion of Japanese photographers; TomatsuShomei, Nakahira Takuma, and Moriyama Daido, the first real exposure I have had to their work.  Taking them together (probably inadvisable) there is a much closer engagement with the subject, often self revelatory and very gritty.  As I work through my self study I find myself using a similar approach getting in close and not worrying about the finer elements of pixel poking.

The only beef I have with this book is the general observation that I suspect Jeffrey reads far more into the photographs than was intended at the time of the shutter press.  With some photographers I am sure there is a great deal of thought given to allegory and metaphor, however, I also think even then this happened in the darkroom not necessarily the studio or street.