How was artistic photography born?

1839, photography was officially announced. In the early days, photography was not regarded as an art. In people's eyes, photography was just an invention, an invention that could accurately record natural images.

In order to promote photography from "mechanical recording means" to the field of art, Talbot and painters made their first attempt.

First, the initial attempt

In most of the photos of early pioneers, it seems difficult to feel the meaning of art. The indoor objects piled up at random, the trees in the courtyard with no aesthetic feeling, and the simple houses are just the reappearance of real life, which proves that photography has the ability of accurate realism. Therefore, the pioneers of photography called the images taken by cameras "sunshine paintings" or "natural handprints", and the photos were just specimens collected from the wild.

This mediocre record was quickly broken by Talbot. From the summer solstice of 1844 to the spring of 1846, Talbot published The Brush of Nature in serial form. In this famous book, there are 24 photos: a corner of Queen's College in Oxford University, Lin Yin Avenue in Paris, Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire and the Black Tower in Westminster Abbey, as well as glass, statues, apples, pineapples and other still lives on the table.

Although the contents of these photos are a bit messy, we can still see the photographer's deliberate arrangement. In some photos, Talbot has begun to use the suggestibility of images to emphasize the key points of photos to attract people's attention. The sixth photo in the book, The Open Door, is the most typical example.

In this photo, a half-open door was photographed, with a broom beside it, harness and lights hanging on the wall. Together, these things are filled with a mysterious atmosphere of the ancient countryside. Talbot himself commented that this is an early trivial photo, and some friends who prefer it are willing to comment on it.

For us, the Dutch school of painting has enough authority in taking familiar things as subjects. A painter's eyes are often attracted by what is common to ordinary people. A ray of sunshine, a shadow cast on the path he walked, a withered oak tree or a mossy stone will cause him a series of thoughts, emotions and unique imagination.

Talbot's comments explain how photos should create a picture. He believes that the existence of every simple element in the photo must be carefully arranged to arouse people's "unique imagination."

The open door is a scene waiting for people to appear. Lanterns are waiting for darkness, brooms are waiting for users, and doors are waiting for entrants. These meaningful details make people have rich associations. As a result, artistic imagination came into being, and photography is no longer just a copy of material reality.

Talbot once said: The record of the camera is unreserved. But what can we learn from their findings without guidance or some kind of emphasis?

The Open Door makes a useful attempt to this end.