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The Nature of Photographs – A Primer, by Steven Shore

This is a neat, succinct, and poignant proposition by Steven Shore on the essential elements, “levels,” in photography that are unique to the medium. The three levels are:

Physical Level
Depictive Level
Mental Level

The levels are used as tools in looking at photographs and understanding them as physical objects. It is a contemplation of how a moment becomes a photograph and helps us see photographs separate from a reality they may depict.
The book grew out of a course Mr. Shore taught at Bard College and it reads almost like a slide presentation.
Or a poem.
I’m including a quote below from the book – something to think about.

“The artist starts with a blank page and must fill it. The photographer starts with the clutter of the world and must simplify it.” Stephen Shore

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