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Author Topic: Genius of Photography on BBC Four  (Read 22178 times)

DiaAzul

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« on: October 21, 2007, 12:42:26 pm »

For those who are interested, the BBC is transmitting a new series on the history of photography called 'Genius of Photography' starting this week.

Full details are in the link: Genius of Photography

Summary of the series is as follows:
Programme 1: Fixing the Shadows
This tells the story of the inventions of photography and the way in which it became an integral part of the modern world. It describes the remarkable achievements of the pioneer photographers, the revolution that took place when George Eastman made photography available to the masses with the invention of the Kodak brand and the story of Jacques-Henri Lartigue, the child photographer and ultimate amateur.

Programme 2: Documents for Artists
Following the First World War, photography was the central medium of the age. ‘Anyone who fails to understand photography’, said the photographer Lazlo Moholy-Nagy ‘will be one of the illiterates of the future’. Episode Two examines in detail the work of some of the greatest and most influential modern photographers: Alexander Rodchenko, August Sander, Man Ray, Walker Evans and Bill Brandt. With contributions from Martin Parr, Bernd and Hilla Becher and Mark Haworth-Booth.

Programme 3: Right Place, Right Time?
‘Being in the right place at the right time’, ‘the decisive moment’, ‘getting in close’—in the popular imagination this is photography at its best, a medium that makes us eyewitnesses to the moments when history is made. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War and its aftermath, this examines how photographers dealt with dramatic and tragic events like D-Day, the Holocaust and Hiroshima With contributions from Magnum legends Philip Jones Griffiths and Susan Meiselas, soldier-lensman Tony Vaccaro and Jon Snow.

Programme 4: Paper Movies
The three decades from the late 1950s onwards was the real golden age of photographic journeys. Programme 4 relives the journeys that produced some of the ‘greatest paper movies’ ever: Including Robert Frank’s odyssey through 50s America and William Klein’s one-man assault on the sidewalks of New York. It also examines the arrival of colour as a credible medium for ‘serious’ photographers, as controversial at the time as Dylan going electric. Contributors include legendary photographers like William Klein, William Eggleston, Robert Adams, Joel Sternfeld, Joel Meyerowitz and artist Ed Ruscha.

Programme 5: We are Family
Having conquered the street and the road, photographers approached the final frontier: the home, the self, private life. Programme 5 is about the pictures that photographers take of other people and the pictures they take of themselves. It’s about what happens when photography translates personal relationships into photographic ones. The chronological heartland of the programme is the 1970s (the ‘me’ decade) and the 1980s (the ‘me, me, me’ decade) and includes examination of Diane Arbus’s ‘freaks’, Richard Avedon’s confrontations with celebrities like Marylin Monroe and the confessional diaries of Nan Goldin and Araki.

Programme 6: Snap Judgements
The final programme asks what a photograph is worth these days. We also look at the impact of the digital post-production techniques that make anything possible and the rediscovery of techniques which are taking photography back to the 19th century. With contributions from Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky, Gregory Crewdson and China’s leading photographer Wang Qingsong.
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GregW

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2007, 09:17:43 am »

Thanks David.  I saw a promo for this but I'd forgotten to note exactly when it was on.
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Gordon Buck

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2007, 12:27:23 pm »

Can the series be purchased on DVD?
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2007, 11:49:29 am »

DiaAzul

Thank´s for the info on the new show - I´ll try to watch the series, but reception here in Spain is dodgy at best, the only two reliable (fingers crossed) channels being Sky News and Channel Five.

We´ve tried a variety of dishes, but nothing seems to beat the breaking up and ultimate disappearance of signal for a certain part of the evening. I thought digital signals were meant to be immune to atmospheric interference; perhaps they change the footprint at times to protect copyrighted shows that should only reach UK sets?

Ciao - Rob C

PS    DiaAzul - any Spanish connection there?

Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2007, 11:58:02 am »

Quote
Can the series be purchased on DVD?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=147868\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Don´t hold your breath: I contacted the BBC about their series on food which was shot on and from a boat on a canal trip through France, the question being the same as yours: could I buy the series? They sent me a reply which didn´t even answer the question with a direct, unequivocal yea or nay. They are a hopeless entity, more concerned with ratings (though financed via compulsory viewer annual fees) and having useless celebrities on board - gets them to their dinner parties, no doubt, poor sods,  as per example of our last but unlamented prime minister who paid homage to the stars of pop... no, won´t go there again, I´ve got heart problems already.

I hope you get more joy from them than I did!

Rob C

PS   Still don´t know if I can buy the Canal Series!
« Last Edit: January 15, 2008, 03:09:38 pm by Rob C »
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DiaAzul

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2007, 09:59:51 am »

Quote
Can the series be purchased on DVD?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=147868\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I don't know if there will be a DVD, more likely that they will license it to other broadcasters first. There book of the series is already available on Amazon.

Quote
I thought digital signals were meant to be immune to atmospheric interference

Up to a point. The difference is that people would tolerate interference on the analogue system up to a point that they decided the image was unacceptable - but at least there would always be something to watch. With digital the encoding of the signal tolerates up to a certain amount of noise after which it completely breaks down - so you either have a signal or you don't. Atmospheric conditions vary widely and if you are on the edge of the coverage then there is not much you can do. If you have tried a larger dish (1.2m+) and it still doesn't work then you are possibly getting some local interference - try wrapping yourself in tin foil and see if that helps    Failing that you can always move back to the UK : things have really gone down hill in the last 10 years - nearly perfect.

Not Spain, Latin America.
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HiltonP

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2007, 10:41:12 am »

Quote
. . . I contacted the BBC about their series on food which was shot on and from a boat on a canal trip through France, the question being the same as yours: could I buy the series? . . .

. . . Still don´t know if I can buy the Canal Series! . . .

Rob, I believe the series you might be looking for is Rick Stein's "French Odyssey", and it is available on DVD from Amazon. Wonderful series, which I recorded from satellite and created my own DVD for those times of cooking inspiration!
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2007, 11:21:07 am »

Quote
Rob, I believe the series you might be looking for is Rick Stein's "French Odyssey", and it is available on DVD from Amazon. Wonderful series, which I recorded from satellite and created my own DVD for those times of cooking inspiration!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=149162\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Yes, that´s the series; as you can imagine, it was less than thrilling to start losing signal about a third of the way along...

Rob C

Edit:  Exactly the same thing happened with the signal whilst watching the first in the photography series.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2007, 11:38:52 am by Rob C »
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2007, 11:37:13 am »

Quote
I don't know if there will be a DVD, more likely that they will license it to other broadcasters first. There book of the series is already available on Amazon.
Up to a point. The difference is that people would tolerate interference on the analogue system up to a point that they decided the image was unacceptable - but at least there would always be something to watch. With digital the encoding of the signal tolerates up to a certain amount of noise after which it completely breaks down - so you either have a signal or you don't. Atmospheric conditions vary widely and if you are on the edge of the coverage then there is not much you can do. If you have tried a larger dish (1.2m+) and it still doesn't work then you are possibly getting some local interference - try wrapping yourself in tin foil and see if that helps    Failing that you can always move back to the UK : things have really gone down hill in the last 10 years - nearly perfect.

Not Spain, Latin America.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=148998\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Yes, we already have the larger dish but I think there´s a bigger one yet which the folks opposite are supposed to be going to try. If it works, then we´ll probably do the same and move to a modern tv set, but the Sony we have is already great, except that the establishment has decided to make everything wider, so we lose parts of things...

I can just imagine how perfect the last ten years has made the good old UK! The entire family would get out if they could find viable work with which to support their own broods!

It´s so sad to see people with good degrees wasting their lives away in the employ of the state...

Rob C
« Last Edit: January 15, 2008, 03:12:06 pm by Rob C »
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jjj

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2007, 01:56:09 pm »

I saw the first episode and whilst interesting in places, it skipped so much history, it was very disapointing.
For instance they briefly showed this image
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/DStempleDT.JPG
with no mention of the fact that this was the first human caught on film or much else about it.
I realise the programme is called the 'Art of Photography', but this episode was very much about the history of photography and was very lo-fat in content.
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Tradition is the Backbone of the Spinele

jjj

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2007, 02:01:51 pm »

Quote
Yes, we already have the larger dish but I think there´s a bigger one yet which the folks opposite are supposed to be going to try. If it works, then we´ll probably do the same and move to a modern tv set, but the Sony we have is already great, except that the establishment has decided to make everything wider, so we lose parts of things...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=149350\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I always hated old TVs and how films were badly cropped to fit the stupid 4:3 shape, so I'm glad things have improved where TVs and programmes now have a better aspect ratio and films now tend to be shown without half the image missing.
And widescreen TVs have been around for quite some time now, so much so they've been replaced by Flat widescreen tvs!
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GregW

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2007, 03:26:31 pm »

Quote
DiaAzul

Thank´s for the info on the new show - I´ll try to watch the series, but reception here in Spain is dodgy at best, the only two reliable (fingers crossed) channels being Sky News and Channel Five.

We´ve tried a variety of dishes, but nothing seems to beat the breaking up and ultimate disappearance of signal for a certain part of the evening. I thought digital signals were meant to be immune to atmospheric interference; perhaps they change the footprint at times to protect copyrighted shows that should only reach UK sets?

Ciao - Rob C

PS    DiaAzul - any Spanish connection there?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=148118\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Are you using SKY or FTA Satelite.  I'm using FTA on a 1.5m dish about an hour south of Valencia and have no problems when I'm there.  Sky reception used to be a PITA even with a 1.5m but the FTA seems much more reliable.

...and back on topic.  My digital cable receiver died on Thursday evening last week so I'm just about to watch the repeat this evening.  One of the few occasions that a repeat is desirable.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2007, 03:29:49 pm by GregW »
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2007, 03:52:11 pm »

Quote
Are you using SKY or FTA Satelite.  I'm using FTA on a 1.5m dish about an hour south of Valencia and have no problems when I'm there.  Sky reception used to be a PITA even with a 1.5m but the FTA seems much more reliable.

...and back on topic.  My digital cable receiver died on Thursday evening last week so I'm just about to watch the repeat this evening.  One of the few occasions that a repeat is desirable.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=149391\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Good timing, this post: forgot about the repeat, just ten minutes to go - thanks!
The devil we know is SKY...

Rob C

Edit: Just watched again - some of it still  breaking up, but much less so than last time around. What is FTA? Does it carry the same channels as as SKY?
« Last Edit: October 29, 2007, 06:09:06 pm by Rob C »
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2007, 06:20:27 pm »

Quote
I always hated old TVs and how films were badly cropped to fit the stupid 4:3 shape, so I'm glad things have improved where TVs and programmes now have a better aspect ratio and films now tend to be shown without half the image missing.
And widescreen TVs have been around for quite some time now, so much so they've been replaced by Flat widescreen tvs!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=149376\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

jjj

I´m quite sure that Sheffield is probably up to speed with Spain; trouble is, I don´t feel obliged to keep up with the latest stylistic imperative just because my neighbour feels the need, so the shiny new sets remain safely on the many dealers´ shelves, just where I feel happiest for them.

I suppose if I felt the need to kill my mind every evening I´d have a mega set with matching sound - I´m happy enough just fooling around with my own pictures though, so why bother? My wife´s far too intellectual to watch much other than pro tennis - must be that Manacor guy´s Popeye arms - she prefers the Glasgow Herald crossword or something thrilling between pages. No, not chips.

Also, I thought they did a fairly good job on the programme... can´t cover all the bases, ever.

Ciao - Rob C
« Last Edit: October 29, 2007, 06:22:31 pm by Rob C »
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GregW

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2007, 07:20:34 pm »

Quote
Edit: Just watched again - some of it still  breaking up, but much less so than last time around. What is FTA? Does it carry the same channels as as SKY?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Free to air.  [a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air#Europe]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-air#Europe[/url] Basically it's a pan european broadcast system independent of SKY.  Both BBC and ITV (All channels including regional variations, BBC HD and RED button channels) broadcast on it.  Some of the C4 channels are included.  It's currently in litigation with SKY to get out of it's current contract so it can go FTA.  FTA is considered sustainable in context of the public service commitment both the Beeb and C4 have.  

The big benefit is that you and the broadcaster are not beholden to Sky and you can choose the best technical equipment, not just what Sky offer.  Next year the Beeb will launch their own 'Digibox' PVR with HD and EPG.
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Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2007, 04:47:07 pm »

Greg - I´m currently trying to find out what my local TV dealer knows about FTA; should I have any luck, then I´ll let you know about it.

Thanks again for your help - Rob C

Rob C

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #16 on: November 01, 2007, 02:43:10 pm »

For anyone interested, the second segment is on tonight - might get to see it if the signal doesn´t go bad again...

Rob C

alanrew

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #17 on: January 06, 2008, 03:46:42 pm »

Quote
For anyone interested, the second segment is on tonight - might get to see it if the signal doesn´t go bad again...

Rob C
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=150097\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

If anyone knows about a DVD release for this series, please post on this thread as & when it's available - I emailed the online 'BBC Shop' asking them, but got a fairly dumb reply to the effect that they don't know and have no control over when series are released.

I saw the series courtesy of a friend who taped episodes & circulated them around. Very educational I thought, and stimulating to see various photographers talking about their approach to their work. I've ordered the book anyway.
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Chris_T

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2008, 08:54:21 am »

Quote
If anyone knows about a DVD release for this series, please post on this thread as & when it's available - I emailed the online 'BBC Shop' asking them, but got a fairly dumb reply to the effect that they don't know and have no control over when series are released.

I saw the series courtesy of a friend who taped episodes & circulated them around. Very educational I thought, and stimulating to see various photographers talking about their approach to their work. I've ordered the book anyway.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Can't help you with your request. Also wonder if the series is aired in the US.

For dvds of photogs (more street/documentary than nature/landscape) talking about their work, I would recommend the following. Instead of just focusing on the final (well known) images, the photogs showed the contact sheets and commented on how each frame was shot and why the final ones were chosen. Their generosity, sincerity and courage blew me away.

[a href=\"http://www.facets.org/asticat?function=web&catname=facets&web=main&path=/videoexclusives/c]http://www.facets.org/asticat?function=web...deoexclusives/c[/url]

CONTACTS Vol.1:
The Great Tradition of Photojournalism
1988-2000

CONTACTS Vol. 2:
The Renewal of Contemporary Photography
1992-2000

CONTACTS Vol.3:
Conceptual Photography
2001-2004
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AndyF2

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Genius of Photography on BBC Four
« Reply #19 on: January 13, 2008, 10:32:08 pm »

This series begins airing Thursday, Jan 17th, 10PM on TV Ontario.  

It was mentioned in LL thread " TVO series on photography(ers)" but some people may not have recognized the topic was Genius of Photography.  

Andy
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