Media: Photography Is photography art? Of the millions of photographs that are taken every day, only a very few could be considered art. Most of us who use cameras don't consider ourselves artists, nor are our motivations artistic. When we take pictures, we are usually recording images for personal or commercial use. In the hands of an artist, the camera and the infinite variety of developing and enlarging equipment become creative tools — much like paintbrushes, pencils, and printing presses. The artist's vision and skill make the difference between ordinary materials and an extraordinary experience. To learn more about photography, click Types of Photographs. Through the lens of an artist As a technical tool, photography has provided convenience, speed, and the ability to easily record data. The capacity to mechanically capture and reproduce images from nature — even images invisible to the unaided eye — has led to revolutions in science and the dissemination of information worldwide. However, all the technical prowess in the world doesn't necessarily add up to art. The basis of photographic art is the foundation of all art: the artist's vision. The photographic artists selected by NextMonet have demonstrated both technical mastery and original vision. Drawing with light The term photography comes from the Greek words photos (light) and graphien (to draw). Just as the word is a compelling combination of two concepts, the process itself is a combination of two scientific techniques: one optical and the other chemical. Peeking through the keyhole pays off In photography, an image is projected by focusing light onto a surface. In the 16th century, artists discovered that light passing through a small hole into a dark room projected an inverted image on the wall opposite the hole. This is the basic concept behind the camera obscura (literally, "dark room"), which artists developed into a portable box with a lens on one side as an aid for sketching. Double eureka Artists noticed that the images projected by the camera obscura had a remarkable luminosity and lifelike quality — but the problem was that these images could not be permanently captured. After various European scientists noticed that certain chemicals darkened when exposed to light, artists began to explore the possibilities of capturing light patterns on chemically-treated surfaces. By the early 19th century, at least ten individuals were trying to capture an image permanently by projecting light onto a light-sensitive surface. By 1840, two had achieved important breakthroughs. In France, Louis Dauguerre discovered how to develop one-of-a-kind photographs on metal plates (Daguerreotypes). Meanwhile, in England, William Henry Talbot produced a negative image on paper, which could be used to print multiple positive images (Calotypes). Since these twin discoveries, photographic technique has evolved rapidly — and today, equipment of astounding technological sophistication is widely available. Photography: An open-and-shut case Even though we now have at our disposal high-tech cameras with computer chips and fancy lenses, the basic mechanism behind most photography is still pretty simple. A camera records an image when its shutter opens and closes, allowing light to pass through the camera's lens and onto the film. The film itself is coated with light-sensitive silver salts. The salts on the film are activated when the light from the scene comes through the shutter and strikes a portion of the film. Turning salt into silver Once the film is exposed, it has to be developed. To do this, the photographer immerses the film in a chemical solution that transforms the silver salts into silver metal. The more light is in the original photographed scene, the more silver salts are activated — and the more metallic silver is deposited on the film. The metallic silver creates dark areas on the developed film, so the brightest areas of the original scene — a bright summer sky or a flash of pearly whites — show up as the darkest areas on the developed film. Since the chemically altered film shows the photographed scene in the negative, it is called a negative. Accentuate the positive The photographer transforms this negative into a positive image by repeating the developing process. The negative is projected onto light-sensitive paper, usually by means of an enlarger (like the one pictured here). This process reverses the darks and lights seen on the negative: the dark areas of the negative (the brightest areas of the original scene) pass the least amount of light onto the positive image, resulting in less activation of the silver salts and consequently brighter areas of the final image. At last, a photograph The exposed paper is then passed through three solutions: a developer (to activate the conversion of the silver salts into silver), a fixer (to stop the conversion and set the image on the paper), and a rinse (to remove the chemicals). The image is then dried and flattened — and a photograph is born. Below is a sampling of the photographs available from NextMonet. Click on any image to learn more about the artwork. Clint Imboden Larry Schwarm David Wolf Alan Becker Next: Sculpture — What makes sculpture different from the other visual arts?