Famous Photographer #1: Nicéphore Niépce

Nicéphore Niépce is a French photographer. He is known as one of the inventors of photography. In 1822 he took the world's first photogravure etching of Pope Pius VII. Unfortunately, when he tried to duplicate it the original was destroyed. The first surviving etchings were of a man with a horse and of a woman with a spinning wheel. In 1825 Nicéphore Niépce's first photograph was created. He used a process called heliography. In 1829 he collaborated with Louis Daguerre and they developed the physcautotype. That is a photographic process that uses lavender oil. Aside from improving the photography process, Niépce created the Pyréolophore. It was the world's first internal combustion engine. He invented it with his brother. Nicéphore Niépce paved the way for photography.

How I Perceive Sally Mann

Sally Mann said, "It is my philosophy to try to make art anywhere, everyday." I love this philosophy and I think it's a an important idea all artists should live by. Sometimes people get so wrapped up with their lives, that they forget to take a moment and appreciate their surroundings. I know that I take things for granted, and through photography I am able to appreciate nature and my life. I try to create art everywhere through my lens. When I walk to class I always take my camera with me and I make numerous stops along the way to capture the art I see. Sally can make a print of a subject that would usually be viewed as "ordinary" and when someone sees the print they see the beauty of the subject. I have had this happen to me. There are pictures of bikes, walls, or other objects that I thought were ordinary, but then I see pictures that show these objects and I am speechless. Photographers are able to see these objects in a different way then I was able to see them. The photos completely changed my view of how I look at things. Everything has the potential to be seen as beautiful if the person look at it takes the time to find its beauty. One thing Sally Mann and I have in common is our love for shooting landscapes. I love shooting a place and making it look magical. I want my landscape pictures to be so moving that people want to go to the places in the photos. Sally succeeds in doing this because I love the locations of her pictures. A huge difference between us is the materials we use to take pictures. Sally shoots in film and only makes black & white pictures, whereas I shoot with a digital camera and I take color and black & white pictures. Sally Mann definitely has a different way of looking at the world. I think her photographs are more raw and untouched than Annie Leibovitz's pictures. Sally isn't afraid to photograph controversial things such as her children naked, or decaying bodies. It was extremely interesting to watch this movie because I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences between Sally Mann's life and Annie's Leibovitz's life.