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Another "Tao of Photography"

Obregon Obregon

Is from: Southold, US
3070 posts

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Mon 18-Nov-02 09:25 AM
A while ago I reviewed a book entitled "The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing" by Philippe L. Gross, and S.I. Shapiro. The book suggested that incorporating this ancient Asian philosophy into one's photography and life might improve both. The book argued convincingly that Taoism was worth exploring. That led me to pick up another similarly-titled book, "Tao of Photography: Unlock Your Creativity Using the Wisdom of the East" by Tom Ang.

The book by Gross takes a classical didactic approach. It lays out the principles of Taoism and then shows how similar principles have been offered by many of the world's great photographers. The approach is not concerned with equipment or technique, but rather with the effect that a philosophy of life has on one's photography.

Ang's book is not so well organized. He selects a variety of photographic subjects and offers his personal observations on them. For example, in a section called "Grain and Gain" he notes that faster film usually has more grain than slower film and that there is tension between film speed and grain in the selection of film. He suggests that occasionally a photographer may even desire grain.

If you are reading this book to establish a better philosophical grounding for your photography, you will be disappointed. Ang dispenses fortune cookie Taoism. Almost the only Taoistic concept he relates to is Yin and Yang. While I'm not a Taoist, I feel certain that there is more to the philosophy then just looking at the tension between opposites. At the very least I wanted some signposts to resolving the tension, even if it were true that "one cannot search for the way".

But even as a book of instruction this volume fails because of its scattered shot approach. It can't decide on its audience. In one section he compares the merits of 35mm cameras with medium format cameras, a topic of education for beginners and intermediates. In another he criticizes phenidone-hyroquinone type developers, a topic that even most advanced photographers might find uninteresting. And what is one to make of this comment on travel photography:"The photographer is no longer a voyager who carries a camera, but someone who is fully part of the entire tourism industry and an integral part of the forces shaping the future of fragile communities."

In conclusion there is nothing in this book that is likely to contribute to the development of a philosophical approach to photography, and little about photograpic techniques that is not presented elsewhere in a more organized and effective manner. And as a final zinger, most of Ang's photographs seemed pedestrian.

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