(From the book Why My Photographs Are Bad, by Charles Maus Taylor, 1902, digitized by Google Books. The whole book is online.)
Mike
(Thanks to Adrian Studer)
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Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.
Featured Comment by MarkR: "I had independently discovered this book on Google a while back. Oddly, I thought that almost all of the chapter heading examples of 'bad' photography were visually interesting and unique. It's almost as if an entire other book could have been written around those pictures: Why My Photographs are So Rad: or how to get cool effects through double exposures, tilted horizons, and creative cropping."
Mike replies: I had the same thought. I think it's partially because photographers have explored all those visual effects by now and we've gotten used to seeing them "allowed in."
People who won't be scanning through the book will be amused to learn that he spends a little time on a circa 1902 tech controversy—should you use plates (traditional) or film (the latest thing)? Our author's a modern man and comes down on the side of the newfangled film.
Featured Comment by Scott Dommin: "'Why My Photographs Are Bad'—Best photo book title ever!!"
One can, of course, only dream of a 40% keeper rate.
Posted by: Patrick Dodds | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 02:15 AM
The punctuation makes it.
Posted by: Tim | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 04:14 AM
Not online for the UK, sadly!
Posted by: Antony Shepherd | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 06:01 AM
Two of my favorites:
On page 166: Don't - Receive instruction from anyone who cannot give authentic information.
On page 167: Don't - expect your camera to accomplish more than you know.
I wish there were a way for Mr. Taylor to come back for one day and see the equipment we use in 2012, 110 years after his book was published!
Posted by: M. G. Van Drunen | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 08:55 AM
That's a great sentiment ! I have a very modest collection of photo books, but no actual prints of the works of others (well, I do have Ctein's "Moon and Bay Bridge"). I'd much rather have my own pictures on my walls. Not because they're better, but because they're mine.
Posted by: Dennis | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 09:48 AM
What a terrific find! Thanks Mike and Adrian.
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 12:59 PM
Do all your friends address you as Mr Taylor?
Posted by: Barry Milyovsky | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 01:49 PM
Ah, the very origins of GAS.
Posted by: James W. | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 06:34 PM
I keep reading that as 'By All Means Make Your Own Camera....'
Sigh...
Posted by: hugh crawford | Wednesday, 18 July 2012 at 10:03 PM
Like another commenters I found this book on Google Books earlier in the year.
It's rather charming. It reminds me of what a book on photography by Jerome K. Jerome would be like. I think it's meant to be serious but I can't help reading it like "Diary of a Nobody". It could have been called "Photography for Mr Pooter".
It's bad pictures are oddly alluring too perhaps because they're so Edwardian in feel. I could see Alan de Botton using them in a book on failure.
He would have liked "electronic view cameras" with an LCD on the back rather than those tunnel viewfinders you have to squint through:
Almost all the advice remains the same today: take the lens cap off; focus; use a lower ISO when you can; think about your focal length; think about composition.
All that and more evidence that sensor sizes have been getting smaller and smaller for the past century.
Posted by: Kevin Purcell | Thursday, 19 July 2012 at 02:13 PM
All of my Photos are really good (at least the ones I present for viewing). They are good because they please me and my family (aprox 30 people). They remind me of where we have been, the joy and tears associated with being human and part of a family. Periodically they also please others outside of our family group. I never accept money for my work, it is a hobby which I enjoy. I am continually trying to improve my skill level and derive much satisfaction from just trying.
On the grey scale of capability I have held many positions, all of them enjoyable
Posted by: Bill OBrien | Thursday, 19 July 2012 at 06:03 PM
Is it me, or are 100 year old books more easily read than modern books, by virtue of the former's typography?
It is almost as if the slight irregularity of the individually cast, hand set type enhances comprehension because it forces our eyes to pay closer attention in order to comprehend.
Posted by: Mani Sitaraman | Friday, 20 July 2012 at 06:59 AM
Another great post here. :) Not to go off on a separate rant but couldn't one draw parallels between this text and the trend of using one's iPhone to capture memories?
Add an instant pre-set filter and your pictures look just like everyone else's? ;)
Posted by: Motorcycle Photography | Wednesday, 25 July 2012 at 05:46 PM