Chapter 1 Summary

The section begins by describing how different photographers and areas influenced photography as an art form. It also describes how photography can show how “we are the alter egos of animals” or “alternative realities”. The artists described in this section all had their own unique styles as well. Some took photographs of people who were not allowed to change their appearance before the photograph was taken, others looked at cultural differences as a subject, others focused on objects or writing, and a few more focused on natural landscapes.  Although each photographer had his or her own styles, each one tried to do the same basic thing: make the viewer feel or think about something. As artists, that is their main objective. Whether they simply want you to feel a sense of calm by looking at a landscape or to think deeply about a political issue, they still want you to feel something. This chapter did a good job of showing how so many different styles of photography can still achieve the same goal just in different ways.