Fine Art Photography
Fine Art photography is hard to define. It can be about anything the photographer personally finds intriguing and decides to photograph. It is produced for beauty rather than utility. It requires expertise in skill and technique. The most popular items photographed are scenic areas, landscapes, wildlife, and people in various poses.
The invention of photography changed history and changed people’s perception of history, of time, and of themselves. Privacy became a controversial issue of photography as cameras were used to record most areas of human life. The photograph was considered proof of an event taking place. People became more cautious with some of their actions.
As photography became more popular, there was a huge demand for more images. Photographers went to every corner of the world to take photos of everything in site. Photography was a tremendous find to history. Photographers accompanied expeditions to the new frontiers in the American West, China, and Egypt. The photos were records of lands and people never before seen.
The power of the photograph was demonstrated when photographs of the Yellowstone area persuaded Congress to make the area a national park. This sparked the idea to use photography to inform the public regarding important issues to generate social interest and change.
Photography as fine art was very controversial. It was questioned as being a legitimate form of art. Critics felt that the mechanical and chemical processing of photography categorized it as a craft rather than an art. Photographers turned to the art of painting to help get their art identified as such. They began to make photos soft and powerful with attention to detail in the images they captured. This was an important reason why photography was allowed to be considered a fine art. It no longer represented only images.
Ansel Adams is the best know fine arts photographer. The posters made from his photos are said to be the most beautiful every produced. In 1996, Corbis Corporation purchased the rights to the work of Ansel Adams. The company is owned by Bill Gates. This collection of fine arts photography includes some of the most striking and well-known photographs of the American wilderness.
