1055 (from autumn 1975). Julia Margaret Cameron: Her Life and Photographic Work

The following is one of three reviews written for a photography class I took my first semester at Texas A&M University - Journalism 315.  We were required to write two book reviews on "biographical material" - about photographers, or at least I interpreted it that way, and one on a "picture book" (a book of photographic images).  Here is one of my biographical material reviews, on Julia Margaret Cameron: Her Life and Photographic Work, by Helmut Gernsheim.

I chose this book because, again, it is about a female photographer, and, even more interestingly, about one of the earliest female photographers.  After reading the book, however, I like neither its subject nor the style of the author.

Julia Margeret Cameron was a photographer from 1864 to 1878 in England and Ceylon.  Her photographs include portraits and "compositions" illustrating religious, symbolic, allegorical, literary, or historical subjects.

Very few of her pictures are outstanding.  Nearly all of them are blurred, due to her use of a lens with chromatic aberration and her careless developing and printing techniques.  Even after she obtains a lens with no aberration, it seems as though she either deliberately or carelessly continues to take pictures that are out of focus.

Her portraits show good composition in posing her subjects, and good artistry in the use of lighting and capturing the moods and personalities of the people.  It is too bad that many are ruined by blurriness.  Her "composition" pictures, however, are awful.  They are too artificially posed and look like cheap imitations of paintings, which many of them were.

I suppose what really turned me off was Cameron herself, as described in the biography.  She was extremely eccentric and had a very domineering personality.  She also had a very (too!) high opinion of herself.  Excerpts from her letters (so gushing - yuck!) show her to be quite vain about her work, assuming it to be better than all others.  She listened to the opinions of friends (none of them photographers) too much, and to those of others in her field too little.

The author, in his enthusiasm for Cameron's work, is just barely objective in his biography.  He seems to be defending her much of the time.  In the plates of her photography which he puts at the end of the book, he only uses her better photographs (nearly all portraits) and few of her poor ones.

All in all, I did not particularly care for this book (isn't it obvious?).

My professor, Howard Eilers, (who is still at A&M, celebrating 50 years in 2019), wrote this about my report:  "I like your style and writing."

© Amanda Pape - 1975

1054 (from autumn 1975). Portrait of Myself

The following is one of three reviews written for a photography class I took my first semester at Texas A&M University - Journalism 315.  We were required to write two book reviews on "biographical material" - about photographers, or at least I interpreted it that way, and one on a "picture book" (a book of photographic images).  Here is one of my biographical material reviews, on Portrait of Myself, by Margaret Bourke-White.

I chose this book for two reasons. First, it is about a female photographer, and I was interested in learning what it was like to be a major photographer from one of my own gender. Second, the book is an autobiography, which I feel is more reliable than a biography. In the latter, the subject's thoughts and feelings are often lost or twisted in the biographer's own mind-maze of opinions and ideas.

I found Margaret Bourke-White to be as good a writer as she is a photographer. Her wording was clear, her organization logical, her style not pompous (which one often doesn't expect coming from famous people).

What I found most impressive about Miss Bourke-White was her great courage. She was never afraid (or never showed it) in dangerous situations. And she was in plenty of those....bombing raids, a sinking ship, the Italian front in World War II, deep in gold mines, and in the midst of Korean guerrilla warfare. And yet, throughout these episodes, she did not call attention to her lack of fear. Only an explanation for it was given in the first chapter.

Another aspect that amazed me was that she was able to do all the things she did. That's surprising, considering she's a she, and this was long before the women's liberation movement!

Also interesting were the three stages Margaret Bourke-White seemed to go through in her photographic career, stages I imagine most serious photographers go through. She began by taking pictures of what she liked best....dramatic industrial scenes in her case. Later, after beginning to work for the industrial magazine Fortune, she found beautiful pictures weren't enough. In her words:

Working for the integrated whole require[s] a much wider conception....pictures could be beautiful, but must tell facts, too....the idea of searching to record the 'unseen half' [is] an invaluable habit for a photographer to form" (page 70).

Then, after an assignment to photograph the situation in the Dust Bowl, she learned something else:

I think this was the beginning of my awareness of people in a human, sympathetic sense as subjects for the camera and photographed against a wider canvas than I had perceived before. During the rapturous period when I was discovering the beauty of industrial shapes, people were only incidental to me, and in retrospect I believe I had not much feeling for them in my earlier work. But suddenly it was the people who counted.(page 110)....a man is more than a figure to put into the background of a photograph for scale...I was learning that to understand another human being you must gain some insight into the conditions which made him what he is. The people and the forces which shape them: each holds the key to the other. These are relationships that can be studied and photographed" (pages 134 and 136).

I feel that was the most valuable point in the book, a lesson which I will remember.

My professor, Howard Eilers, (who is still at A&M, celebrating 50 years in 2019), wrote this about my report:  "I'm glad you chose this book and liked it.  She is one of photojournalism's greats."

© Amanda Pape - 1975

1053 (from autumn 1975). Central Park Country: A Tune Within Us

The following is one of three reviews written for a photography class I took my first semester at Texas A&M University - Journalism 315.  We were required to write two book reviews on "biographical material" - about photographers, or at least I interpreted it that way, and one on a "picture book" (a book of photographic images), which is this review:

I first read Central Park Country: A Tune Within Us in 1973, when I saw it on display in my high school library. I was drawn to it because of enthusiastic comments I'd heard about Central Park from a friend from New Jersey. Being pessimistic about "his park," I decided to check the book out.

Well, I was impressed by the presentation given by the book. I am a lover of color pictures, particularly those with scenic views (especially around water - I love its reflections!), and close-ups of people (I don't care much for group shots, or for long-distance views, unless they create a mood). Also, I loved the text. I feel no book of photography is truly complete without words to tie the pictures together and relate them to a theme.

Nearly all of the scenic views in the book are good. I especially like those on pages 33 (rock texture), 54 (stormy sky), and 57 (subdued light, water reflections). The picture on page 61 is very beautiful. However, I think the photographer should have stepped back a few feet in or4der to include some part of the the stream below the falls, so they wouldn't look "cut off" -- although this could be due to poor cropping.

The viewpoint is very important in a scenic photograph, as well as the lighting. A good example of this is two contrasting aerial views of Central Park. The one on page 6 is taken from a low angle, and "head on." The lighting is hazy. Compare it with the picture on page 53. Here the higher camera angle and cross view, plus bright lighting, make the picture more effective.

Human interest shots abound in this book. I prefer close-ups, in particular those on pages 23, 27, 28, 38-39 (especially if it's a candid!), 40 (a good action shot), 41, 49 (good viewpoint), and 128. My favorite is on page 145. Notice how the little girl seems to be looking directly at the White Rabbit's watch! Some of the human interest pictures taken from a distance are pleasing, too, because the distance creates a mood of peace and solitude. Examples are on pages 79, 80, 141, and 150. 

A few of the photographs could use improvements in point of view. On page 62, a few steps to the right would have framed the rowboat and the people inside with the tree branches. A vertical picture would have been more appropriate for the boy on page 88, besides eliminating the distracting boy to the right. On page 93, use of a telephoto lens would emphasize the player directly beneath the ball and made the picture more dramatic. The same lens focused only on the karate fighters on page 96 would improve that picture. In both pictures, the people in the background or nearby are doing little and are distracting.

Some of the pictures in this book show faults (due either to composition or cropping in the darkroom, or both) that one would not expect in a good photography book. Photographs on pages 11, 30, 44, and 64 are blurry or have distracting blurry parts that should be cropped out. Parts of people have been cut off on pages 24, 29, and 101.

Other pictures have poor composition. Subjects and action are vague on pages 71 and 98. The backgrounds could be improved on page 123 (hard to see dark-skinned people on a dark background) and page 132 (why are the buildings in the picture? Why not concentrate on the animals?). Blurry bars in the foreground detract from the picture on page 134.

All in all, however, I feel this book is excellent. After al, much of my criticism (and praise) is based on my own prejudices on what I feel is good and bad in photographs. The pictures in this book show the beauty and vitality of New York City's Central Park, a beauty and a vitality a non-witness like me may not believe possible, until coming alive in the words and pictures of Central Park Country: A Tune Within Us.

My professor, Howard Eilers, (who is still at A&M, celebrating 50 years in 2019), wrote "good job" on my report.

© Amanda Pape - 1975