Camera Lucida

And now the final RA Favorite Book for this class of RAs in 2014-15, Camera Lucida by Roland Barthes.  Barthes, a French author, publishes this critique and philosophy on the importance and meaning of the photograph. The short book, 119 pages, though dense at times regarding the subject matter, is broken into two parts.  The first provides an overview of what is the importance of photography relative to who is in the picture, what it means, the types of photographs and finally, the difference between photographs and real life.  This theoretical review provides “deep” interpretations and meanings, such as his observation of the three intentions of photographs,   the operator, the spectator and the spectrum of the photograph (get lost yet?), stay tuned as you will, unless you commit to read it a few times.  Yet, I find the author to be brilliant!  I had not thought so deeply about the photo and its meaning previously.  In the second part of the book, Barthes shares photographs of people and locations and provides analysis into what he observes in each of the photos.  Look at the fingers of the kids, the fabric being worn by the subjects, and the incongruities and style of representation that the photographer captures in the photo and what we, the “viewers,” experience when reviewing the pics. Yes, he is pretty darn smart!  There is a significant amount of reflection and depth in the book especially helpful to those who study photography as I have no doubt this is a seminal read for all students in the field.  I love picking up books that have a large impact on my thinking in such a brief account on the topic.  Barthes made me think differently about the field of photography.  The pictures he shares coupled with his thoughtful insights give the student of the art-form subtle hints into how to further their craft.   This one is worth it for anyone who enjoys the field and analyzing the meaning the artist was trying to present.