Photography - The Key Concepts (David Bate)
This was purchased out of a desire to understand something that I really have very little knowledge of; art theory. I can't begin to suggest that I'll ever be the type to ever use a camera in any artistic sense, but i'm none the less quite interested in learning about the mechanics and theories to be found therein.
This book covers a lot of the basic concepts of photography; it discusses portraiture, still life, landscape, art and documentary photography. Two chapters are also devoted to the history of photography and the current rise of global photography with the dawn of the internet.
Each chapter presents itself with a simple title, quite in contrast to the depth of discussion and somewhat obtuse and technical language used throughout (I've now added words like 'rhetoric' and semiotic' to my vocabulary). If you can persevere through this language barrier there is a lot to be gleamed. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on still life; among other things it discusses the evolution of the advertisement photograph over the past century and divulges how objects are made to look desirable, especially as social context and means change over time.
Overall I'd say I enjoyed reading this book, but wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It is clearly aimed at the undergraduate level, so perhaps isn't the best way of jumping into the subject for beginners.
Photography - The Key Concepts (David Bate) on Amazon
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