“Looking at Photographs”- Victor Burgin

I had a huge interest in photographs, I think it is very powerful tool in order to let people communicate, inform, record and entertain. I have been waiting for the chance to learn about photography for a long term so this reading we had to do has really attract my interest. In this reading the writer has emphasized to viewer to look at photographs. Photographs, usually when we think about how and where do we usually see photographs or pictures, we may notice how photographs permeate to our everyday life. Advertising; snapshots; Instagram; signs etc. We use them everywhere: to sell, inform, record, delight.

However, for majority people think paintings and films are only seen as the production that entails an expenditure of time or money to complete. Many people may have the notion of arts is hard, complicate to be interpret. However, the ‘intelligibility of the photography is no simple thing’, if we take a closer look to the exhibition or collection of photographs we rarely see an included photograph which does not have a caption or a title, they usually appeared with long texts or explanation. I am very addicted to Instagram, sometimes when I see photographs posted without explanation by user, we usually use our own experienced or feelings to interpret it. This part of the reading has link me back to the idea in textual analysis where people take their own interpretations of the images, interpretations can depend on viewer/audience’s own social construct.

I do not have any experience with photography but when I am taking a photo and I really want my viewer to understand what I mean by it. I think it is the tough part of photography. People may have their own interpretation for arts, films and photographs but well structured, planned and thought picture should communicate your intention to your viewers more directly, explicitly and deliberately.