Why are a master’s photographs praised when you cannot see what makes them good? From the art market to researching photographers, this essay explores how criticism builds judgment and helps us find our own photographic path.
Do blur, sharpness, and camera settings really define a good photograph? Through composition, humor, self-expression, everyday photography, and visual reading, this essay explores how to recognize beauty and make images with substance.
Were the Chinese people of a century ago truly different from us today? Through late Qing photographs in Images of China and Its People, this essay examines form, content, foreign observation, and the enduring power of documentary photography.
Why can wastelands, industrial remains, and ordinary urban buildings become “good photographs”? From German New Objectivity and Paul Strand to landscapes reshaped by industrialization, this essay explores how New Topographics changed the way we see land and cities.
Why can the same flash and street-photography techniques produce entirely different images? Through Bruce Gilden, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Martin Parr, this essay considers how photographers move beyond imitation and style to find a language of their own.
Does a photograph belong to the artist’s intention or the viewer’s experience? From “the death of the author” to the idea that all reading is misreading, this essay explores interpretation, uncertainty, and the limits of photographic meaning.
What is photography, and what should we photograph? An exploration of painting, technique, observation, expression, curiosity, and the reasons we choose to pick up a camera.
What can photographers do when an era shifts from rapid growth to decline? Through Daidō Moriyama and Hiroshi Sugimoto, this essay examines despondency, decay, and photography as a record of generational memory.
A good photograph does not necessarily belong in a good project. Instead of fearing that we are shooting “rubbish,” we might try to make better rubbish. Martin Parr’s workshop offers a way to rethink observation, editing, and a photographic language of our own.
Of course, if we continue to imitate CONPORA photography, we will fall into another form of imitation. Therefore, establishing our own “language” and “system” is also very important.
