Fixing the Shadows

I really enjoyed this film. It wasn't a slow one that was hard to get into but it was actually very interesting.  Seeing some of the old photos that people had taken when photography was just invented was neat.  We got to see how not only they types of photography have advanced but also what people take photos of have changed.  The Daguerreotype is a type of photograph I've heard of before but I never realized how well the image turned out.  I expected since it was an old version of photography that the images wouldn't be as sharp but the result of the Daguerreotype was crisp and actually even looked better than some digital images turn out today.  The people really looked almost as if they existed right in front of you.  As they said in the film it's "a mirror with a memory," and looks almost exactly like that.

 The invention of Kodak was a great advancement in photography because it made it accessible for everyone.  "You press the button and we'll do the rest," was their slogan and it brought a lot of consumers in.   I like that photography is an easy to use art form for anyone and everyone because it's important for people to capture certain moments in time that they can look back on in the future and remember a good time.  I believe that there is a difference between professional photography and just amateur photography.  Professionals think about every little thing when composing their photo, from what the lighting is, to what time of day, to what their subject looks like, to which lens to use.  Amateur photographers think about some things but it's more important for them to capture the moment so that they can relive it over and over.  Professional photographers want to create something spectacular and move people.

The photograph that caught my attention in the film was Nadar's Sarah Bernhardt 1859.  This is because the photo is so simple yet so well down.  The way she's positioned brings your eye from the top of her head down a diagonal line to the flowing tapestry that covers her.  Her face and hair are simple and then the robe has a lot more details that capture your eye, like all the ruffles and flows.  The combination of the simple face and complicated robe work well together to create the perfect image.  I also really like that he was able to capture such a normal expression.  The woman doesn't look angry or serious she just looks like she would at any random moment of the day.  He was also able to capture that in his self portrait as well. He looks so unfazed by the camera.  He's used to being behind it but he looks just as comfortable being in front of it.