Over the years, we have all heard the catch phrase, "You can't get to where you are going until you know where you have been." Cliche', perhaps, but pretty darned true. Photography is no different. In (most of) our lifetimes, we have seen photography evolve from black and white to color and now, to digital. A fascinating and exciting ride, and I am sure we have more excitement in store. Digital keeps getting better and better, and as we develop (no pun intended) our skills, we as artists become better. Click here to read more
But how did this all happen? What set the world on the road to photography as we know it today? What made the masters, well, MASTERS? How did this little black box come into being? And how can I take that history and make it useful and meaningful in my photography?
Jeff Curto is a Professor at the College of Dupage in Illinois, and he has been kind enough to not only provide course information, but he has also shared his complete HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY course with us. His college level course (PHOTO 1105) provides "A visually oriented history of the development of photography in both its commercial and creative aspects." The podcasts are audio, however, there are links on Jef's podcast page for the visuals. An entire syllabus is also available on his page.
YOU DO NOT NEED AN IPOD TO RECEIVE THE LESSONS! If you have the Quicktime player installed, you can listen to this extremely interesting series of classes, and probably learn a lot to help improve your photography. A similar class is taught at the Visual Arts Center at TCC, and if you are interested in pursuing a degree, this may be good, free prep for the class there.
The HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY - PHOTO 1105 course is available here.
- Tom