The Nature of Photographs

An Essential Primer on Understanding Photography by One of the World's Most Influential Photographers "In my roughly twenty years of writing about photography, I don't think I've come across a book that has implied so much with so few words, a book that raises so many important questions with so little fanfare and with such precision." -James Kaufmann, Photographer's Forum By the age of 14, Stephen Shore (b.1947) took his first photograph. By 17, he was a regular at Andy Warhol's Factory photographing both the artist and his entourage. At 23, he became the first living photographer to have a one-person show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At 35, he was appointed Director of the Photography Program at Bard College. An unrivalled pioneer in the field of color photography, his work has been exhibited in numerous museums worldwide, including an exhibition opening this May at the International Center of Photography that focuses on the work from his critically acclaimed books American Surfaces and Uncommon Places. With such an impressive career, no one is a better suited guide to the nature of photographs. THE NATURE OF PHOTOGRAPHS by Stephen Shore, is an essential primer on how to understand photography by one of the world's most influential photographers. Growing out of a college course that Shore taught for many years, this book explores ways of looking at photographs from all periods and all types--from iconic images to found photographs, from negatives to digital files. Its aim is to describe the physical and formal attributes of a photographic print--the very elements that form the tools a photographer uses to define and interpret the content. In the end, Shore teaches us, on the most basic level, how a photograph "works." As well as a selection of Shore's own work, THE NATURE OF PHOTOGRAPHS contains images from all eras of photography, from classic works by Walker Evans, Robert Frank, and Eug