Initial Posting Instructions: Lecture 17 & 18
After reading through the two lecture presentations assigned this week, think about what you learned or discovered. These discoveries will become the basis of your “Ten Important Points.” Be sure to choose five points from each lecture for a total of ten points. Write out the ideas you find most important, explain their relevance or significance, and discuss specific photographs, ideas, and or processes from the lectures when applicable to support and/or facilitate your points.
The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate understanding of topics and ideas. Keep in mind that it is most important to write in your own words rather than copying from the lectures verbatim. You may treat this assignment like a journal per se as long as you follow the rules of grammar and spelling. Please provide three sentences for each point made.
All points should be numbered!
Assignment Length: Each point is worth 4 points (consisting of three or more thoughtfully written sentences)
Examples of UNSATISFACTORY Points
“Photography was invented because painting was too expensive for most.”
While this is a true statement it does not follow the instructions. It is not three or more sentences and does not contain enough details in terms of demonstrating a thorough understanding of chosen topic.
“Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the oldest photo in 1826-27. It’s dark and blurry and hard to read.”
While this is also a true statement, it does not follow the instructions. It’s much too short in length, does not identify the oldest photo in the question as “A View from his Window at Le Gras,” and does not contain enough details in terms of demonstrating a thorough understanding of chosen topic.
Examples of SATISFACTORY Points
“Niepce made the photo “A View From His Window at Le Gras.” It’s said to be the oldest known permanent camera based photo and dates back to 1826-27. He used bitumen because it is sensitive to light and that is what made this photo a successful negative. While this rooftop photo seems inferior as compared to the photography of today, its historical significance lies in its invention.”
“While there were many other inventors of the photographic process, Louis Daguerre was given the credit because he got to the finish line first. This is because his associate, Francois Arago, presented his camera process to the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1839. As the Academy was blown away with Daguerre’s invention, they wanted it to be France’s gift to the world.”
“Photography was born out of the desire to commemorate one’s existence. As painting was more of an aristocratic endeavor, middle and lower class society members could only get likenesses made from silhouette and physionotrace machines which were much cheaper. While these machines made profile likenesses in a drawing format, nothing compared to Daguerre’s invention that provided crisp and clear photographic images.”
“Anna Atkins’ “Algae Flagellatum” seems like a modern piece of art. I love how the algae floats beautifully in the 3D space. This photograph is blue in color because Atkins used the cynaotype process created by another photographer named Herschel. Atkins is important to this discussion because she is one of the very first female photographers in history.”
“Daguerre’s photo “Boulevard du Temple” is one of the first known daguerreotypes made by the inventor of photography (or man given the credit for the invention). The photo is crisp and clear and depicts a street scene that includes a building and shoe shine worker. Apparently, there was a horse and carriage moving down the street in the scene but the early process could not capture this type of movement at the time since the process was slow.”
