Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/08/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Lew I think you got it ass backwards. I think photos didn't not appear in the press till way later as the halftone ( 1872) came way after the Daguerreotype -(1840-1855) The first printed photograph was an image of Steinway Hall in Manhattan published on December 2, 1873" " The first truly successful commercial method was patented by Frederic Ives of Philadelphia in 1881" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halftone The amazing detail of the Daguerreotype made it an instant sensation for the public. None of the dozens of photo processes which came later and come now did not equal it in resolution and detail. They were not really in competition with the paper prints Talbot came up with the same week in England 1839. They totally dominated the hearts and minds of the public from day one. Sure you had to hold them so they caugth the light right be that just added to their allure. The idea that people had do learn to see 2d photos? Wow! Do we have a URL on that? I think "pictures" had been around for a long time before they started making with with camera obsuras which has photo sensitive materials in them. Starting with cave paintings. On 8/14/13 12:11 PM, "Lew Schwartz" <lew1716 at gmail.com> wrote: > I don't think it's a folk tale, although I don't have the source at hand. > There are social satirical cartoons that appeared in the French press which > poke fun at the fact that it took the public some time to "get" the images > they saw in early Daguerreotypes, (ie that they were representations of > stuff out here in the world was not immediately obvious until they were > taught how to decode by a peer). Interesting because they were already > visually literate enough to appreciate images reproduced in the press. > Additionally, you yourself were likely taught this skill. Kids need to have > the correspondences between a 2d image and reality pointed out to them > repeatedly before they "get" it as well. It's a fascinating process to > watch and/or participate in. Grab a grandchild and try it out. > > Two additional notable things about this learning process: It works best > when pictures of the parents are used first and, once mastered, the > learning process itself is entirely internalized. No one remembers that it > is an acquired skill and not something that seems entirely self evident. > > -Lew Schwartz > > > On Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 10:34 AM, George Lottermoser <imagist3 at > mac.com>wrote: > >> I'd love to see an actual source for this oft repeated folk tale. >> I read a good deal of Mead in college; and don't recall coming across this >> "report." >> Nor can I find any documentation of it; except as repeated in photo >> discussions. >> >> I question its veracity due to ancient cave art; as well as the level of >> abstraction, coupled with a sophisticated sense of proportion, found in >> aboriginal artifacts all around the world. >> >> Can anyone help with citing a Mead source for this legend? >> >> a note off the iPad, George >> >> On Aug 14, 2013, at 7:43 AM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote: >> >>> When Margaret Mead showed Tahitian natives black and white photographs >> of themselves and their village, they rotated the photos this way and >> that, >> shook their heads, and handed them back. "Nice designs", they said, "but >> what are they?" Mead then realized that photographs were such abstractions >> that only long experience enables their interpretation. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- Mark William Rabiner Photographer http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/