Practical Photography

Some photographers get people to view their images through the subject, for example taking photos of celebrities of famous scenes and buildings. But photography can be so much more Photographs can capture the imagination and confuse the mind. One way of captivating viewers is to show them something they can’t understand straight away. This could be because it is visualy complex, or uses obscure perspective, it could be lighting, or a degree of abstraction or unfamiliarity of the subject. These kind of photographs make you stop and think, “What is that?” This captures your attention until you’ve figured out what it is.

There is no technical trickery involved in these images or darkroom magic, you can do a lot through photoshop or multiple exposures but this style of photography is the result of what the photographer saw through a lens. These are not accidental images but are purposely shot by very talented photographers.

Producing optical confusion is not just for the amusement this visual puzzle is a professional style of photography and in mid 20th century art history this was used to substantiate photography as a significant art form. At this time abstraction and formalism were the main mediums of innovation. Photographs were seen as an arrangement of dark and light shapes on a flat surface then more representational of a picture.

Optical confusion in photography is often juxtaposed with Surrealism as when seen from the right angle the image of an ordinary subject can appear obscure, almost dreamlike and sometimes hauntingly ambiguous.