Photography Is the Prosaic Fusion of Arts and Science - Essay Example

Who will decide in which category to place 'high-speed photography'?
There are tons of photographic genres defined so far. To name a few; fashion photography, flash photography, aerial photography, black and white photography, stock photography, environmental photography, erotic photography and the list goes on. As far as the evolution of these genres is concerned, one needs to trace each genre back to its origin, the basic principle of capturing light through the pin-hole camera. To answer the question, ‘does postmodern or even modern photography like digital photography borrows the aesthetics of the past, the answer is obviously yes.
Without getting inspiration from the past or from pre-modern art movements, there could not have been any post-modern art. Photography has evolved like a blooming flower that grows petals frequently but it all started with the basics. For instance, late Jan Groover was considered an icon of contemporary photography, but her aesthetic inspiration came from the renaissance period (Kennedy, 2012). It shouldn’t be surprising for the people who are familiar with her work that she was a painter and learnt much from the works of Fra Angelico, Giorgio Morandi and Cézanne. The way she captured black and white in her photography instantly ring the bell that although this is contemporary the inspiration is ancient.
To compare and contrast, what could be a better choice than landscape photography and nature photography? To the layman, they might seem almost similar but they differ in many ways. Landscapes don’t usually show much human activity or even the obstructions like factories or walls created by humans. The theme is to capture the vastness of the earth. To test how nature spreads its arms in the serene beauty of the landscape. In the process, landscape photographers usually capture weather, landforms, fields and ambient light. The most popular subjects in landscape photography are coastlines, mountains, waterfalls and seascapes. It might seem all too ‘natural’ but to go completely natural, there is another genre. Nature photography encompasses landscape photography too, as all the elements of nature, like plant life, wildlife and landscapes are enveloped in this genre. The use of color in nature photography doesn’t follow any specific norm. For instance, color images are not mandatory in nature photography, Ansel Adams uses only black and white to capture nature, on the contrary, Galen Rowell uses bright saturated colors to quench his aesthetic senses.
Just like music, painting and dancing, photography is a broad art form. Just like other art forms have tons of genres, so does photography. And the evolution of arts (creativity) doesn’t stop, as no true artist would want to hurt the soul of maestro Leonardo Da Vinci. Read More