tjnoodle's review against another edition
4.0
A good thought-provoking reflection on the meaning behind photography from an era before ours. Many good points about the potential for banal photography that can be applied to much of media today, but he stops short of finding the real depth of contemplation that can be found in a truly good photo (as in any art!)
lookhome's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished re-reading this and fell in love once again.
The text seems to become more and more relevant as Barthes' discussion of photography & its relation with death becomes almost intrinsically in sync with what I believe is a contemporary and expanding social obsession with nostalgia.
This love story with instantaneous nostalgia, taking pictures of food and concerts with the belief that it will never be re-experienced, is becoming a concern. The idea that life can never be truly felt in the moment and so must be relieved in a future tense is making the present obsolete. We look forward to the future merely in order to reminisce about it as soon as its past.
Photography isn't the source of the everlasting moment. It is a document of a thing lost or no longer present. It is a moment extended indefinitely rather than an indefinite moment.
Anways, A must read.
I'm bumping it to 5/5 this time round.
I also really want to see what the image of his mother looks like...
The text seems to become more and more relevant as Barthes' discussion of photography & its relation with death becomes almost intrinsically in sync with what I believe is a contemporary and expanding social obsession with nostalgia.
This love story with instantaneous nostalgia, taking pictures of food and concerts with the belief that it will never be re-experienced, is becoming a concern. The idea that life can never be truly felt in the moment and so must be relieved in a future tense is making the present obsolete. We look forward to the future merely in order to reminisce about it as soon as its past.
Photography isn't the source of the everlasting moment. It is a document of a thing lost or no longer present. It is a moment extended indefinitely rather than an indefinite moment.
Anways, A must read.
I'm bumping it to 5/5 this time round.
I also really want to see what the image of his mother looks like...
opheliapo's review against another edition
5.0
I was at first bored by the ‘philosopher voice’ that Barthes adopts in Camera Lucida. Oh, yes. Quote Sartre and Kant at me and drop your knowledge of Mapplethorpe and Latin right into my ear. Nothing would give me such pleasure!
But, as it turns out, this book was profound, simple, and not at all pretentious (besides those few eccentricities that can be forgiven).
It was a work of truth, more as wisdom than as study. Barthes’ sentiments on death, the arts, and eroticism feel correct, even if they are only musings.
But, as it turns out, this book was profound, simple, and not at all pretentious (besides those few eccentricities that can be forgiven).
It was a work of truth, more as wisdom than as study. Barthes’ sentiments on death, the arts, and eroticism feel correct, even if they are only musings.
rwaringcrane's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended by a prof when I described a series of family photos I'm working with.
The writing is, at first, a bit convoluted and challenging. However, I found that with patience I was able to hear Barthes in the context of my own experience with photography and the Photograph.
I came away with several pages of scribbled quotes in my journal. These for consideration as I work with two different image/photo-based projects: my Feminist Family Tree and The Body Catalog.
The writing is, at first, a bit convoluted and challenging. However, I found that with patience I was able to hear Barthes in the context of my own experience with photography and the Photograph.
I came away with several pages of scribbled quotes in my journal. These for consideration as I work with two different image/photo-based projects: my Feminist Family Tree and The Body Catalog.
bobby_cav's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
lillyreads_08's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting piece on literary analysis and philosophy.