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On Photography (Unabridged)
 
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On Photography (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

by Susan Sontag (Author), Jennifer Van Dyck (Narrator)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Audio Download
  • Listening Length: 6 hours and 12 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Unabridged
  • Publisher: Audible, Inc.
  • Audible Release Date: 2 Sep 2011
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005KSOPBW
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Product Description

First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images, which are continually inserted between experience and reality. Sontag here develops further the concept of "transparency". When anything can be photographed, and photography has destroyed the boundaries and definitions of art, a viewer can approach a photograph freely, with no expectations of discovering what it means. This collection of six lucid and invigorating essays, with the most famous being "In Plato's Cave", make up a deep exploration of how the image has affected society.

©2003 Susan Sontag; (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
Humankind lingers unregenerately in Plato's cave, still reveling, its age-old habit, in mere images of the truth. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By brainleek007 TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm in my first year of a photography degree and this is one of the recommended texts. Despite being released in the 70's it's still very relevant.

The book is essentially a series of essays by Sontag. It's value is that Sontag knows her subject extremely well and, with reference to the great photographers, has constructed her essays in a way that really make you contemplate what photography is all about. Sontag was not a photographer herself so it's not a book of technique; it's about the interpretation and appreciation of other's work. If you're new to photographic theory as I was/am it may very well make you feel quite ignorant, as if you don't even know what a photograph really is any more. However, that's the point; to make you think. This most ubiquitous medium is now so common its almost unnoticed but the book gets under the skin of what photography is and why photographs are so appealing. It's not the easiest or lightest reading but conversely the essays are not over long.

If you're studying photography or art or are simply interested in more philosophical views on the subject I'd highly recommend this to open up new ways of thinking.
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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By D Mann
Format:Paperback
This is an exceptional book and one that is best read by flicking through and reading litery snap shots of Sontags work. If you are about to do a photography course this is the book for you and if you have ever wondered about photography this book will inform you. I read two short quotes from this book to my father in law who has no real connection with photography, he walked away and said 'i thought a photograph was just a photograph" and asked if he could borrow the book... Thats how good it is....
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59 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is just a fantastic book. It is packed full of genuinely insightful material through which the reader is driven with a prose style that is clear, unprentious and energetic - often rhapsodic.

Although the book has some content that is of particular interest to those living or interested in the United States, there is plenty that would appeal to any reader interested in photography generally and as a cultural phenomenon. Consider the following:

"Most tourists feel compelled to put a camera between themselves and whatever is remarkable they encounter. Unsure of their resonses they take a picture. This gives shape to the experience: stop, take a photo and move on. The method especially appeals to people handicapped by a ruthless work ethic - Germans, Japanese and Americans. Using a camera appeases the anxiety which the work-driven feel about not working ... "

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Before Photoshop...
This is a collection of six essays on the nature and practitioners of photography which were written by Susan Sontag in the early `70's. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John P. Jones III
Sontag's On Photography
A meaty and complex, in-depth analysis on the consequences from the development of the photographic process, it's influences on art,culture and society and it's long fight to be... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Miranda
Very Fast
The book came very quickly to my house. Overall it was a very smooth process and I would buy from them again.
Published 15 months ago by AaronH
Christmas presents
The two books ordered came very quickly. They were Christmas presents for my son. The packaging in perfect condition. Thank you very much and a Happy New Year to you all.
Published 17 months ago by Katag
Great Book
This is a great book to everyone who likes to take picture.
This is not a book about "how to take pictures". It's about photography in general.
Published 17 months ago by Joćo Costa
I enjoyed it
I enjoyed this book. However I believe it is one of those reads that must be tasted a little at a time.
Published 19 months ago by Ettore Vulcano
Not for the Art History scholar but great for general reader who wants...
This is one of the best known books on the cultural context of photography and is quite insightful for the general reader. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by Ann Margret Murray
Insights into the world of photography
Sontag has created a 'Ways of Seeing' for the photographer, only with a lot more text! A controversial and stimulating read.
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Prospective Gapper
People forget
Photography has always been a grubby little medium to most intellectuals and critics who came from a mainstream arts background. Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by Cakeman
Girl on Film
We were born into a world ruled by photography. From x-rays to holiday snaps, our memories and sense of self are now shaped by this magical little black box. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 2008 by Oliver Redfern
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