Whilst reading other students’ blogs for the Level 2 module ‘Progressing with Digital Photography’ (PwDP) I read a review on an out of date book called ‘Pictures on a Page’ which had been published in 1978. I managed to obtain a copy which looks a little old but is still a very interesting read. The book is well set out and each chapter clearly described.
There are dynamic introductions to each chapter giving
compelling explanations of famous images, some of which I had seem before.
The author stresses the importance of honest, reality captioning which I
have found interesting, as I have just been working on the above module and in
project 3 there is one exercise on captioning pictures accurately. Harold Evans emphasised that a caption could
make, break or distort the truth.
Harold felt it was important to spot the
differences which moved an average picture into one that was unforgettable. He described a session with Henri
Cartier-Bresson about picture composition and was advised by Bresson to turn a picture
upside down to highlight the good and bad points of it.
He quoted that W. Eugene Smith (page 123,
Beauty out of Minimata) who felt that cropping should be carried out
selectively as ‘the world did not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm
camera’.
It's a very old book considering how the
fast today's digital world moves but all the chapters are still very relevant
today. So many times a photographer
today pushes his shutter button knowing he could manipulate the subsequent image to
improve itextensively. Looking at the images in the
book shows that manipulation was rife in the darkroom for skilled darkroom
technicians and you are given a glimpse of what could be achieved 30-50 years
ago.
If you are keen to produce excellent images
within a publication, then find a copy of this book and scour it from end to
end. You will be amazed how relevant it still is.
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