Perception and Imaging: Photography as a Way of Seeing

466 Pages·2017·36.351 MB·English

by  Richard D. Zakia, John Suler

Perception and Imaging

Perception and Imaging
Photography as a Way of Seeing
Fifth Edition
John Suler and
Richard D. Zakia
Fifth edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of John Suler and Richard D. Zakia to be identified
as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Fourth edition published by Focal Press 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Zakia, Richard D., author. | Suler, John R., 1955–author.
Title: Perception and imaging : photography—a way of seeing /
Richard D. Zakia and John R. Suler.
Description: Fifth edition. | New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017006042 (print) |
LCCN 2017006745 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138212190
(pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138212169 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315450971 (ebook) | ISBN 9781315450971 (master) |
ISBN 9781315450964 (web pdf) | ISBN 9781315450957 (epub) |
ISBN 9781315450940 (kindle)
Subjects: LCSH: Composition (Photography) | Visual perception. |
Gestalt psychology.
Classification: LCC TR179 .Z34 2018 (print) | LCC TR179 (ebook) |
DDC 770—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006042
ISBN: 978-1-138-21216-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-21219-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-45097-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
To Dick Zakia
Whose vision of a comprehensive language
for photography lives on in this book.
Dr. Richard D. Zakia, 1925–2012.
Photograph by © Thomas J. Shillea.
I eagerly await new concepts and processes. I believe that the
electronic image will be the next major advance. Such systems will
have their own inherent and inescapable structural characteristics,
and the artist and functional practitioner will again strive to
comprehend and control them.
Ansel Adams
Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical
aspects which for me are not a major concern.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
The soul never thinks without an image.
Aristotle
The first permanent image ever photographed, by Joseph Nicephore Niepce.
A view from his window at Le Gras, 1827. Heliograph.
Source: Rebecca A. Moss, Coordinator of Visual Resources and Digital Content Library. College of Liberal
Arts Office of Information Technology, University of Minnesota.

Contents
Preface to the Fifth Edition xix
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Selection 1
Ganzfeld 2
Figure–Ground 2
Figure–Ground Boundary 4
Graphic Symbols 5
Similar Concepts to Figure–Ground 6
Graininess and Noise 7
Resolution 8
Figure–Ground Enhancement 8
The Bigger Picture of Figure–Ground 10
Notan 10
Visual Search 12
Camouflage 13
Negative Space 15
Noticing Negative Space 15
The Role of the Frame 17
Strategies for Using Negative Space 18
Viewpoint and Camera Angles 20
Vertical Orientations 21
Horizontal Orientations 23
Tilted Orientations 24
Field of View 25
Key Words 28
Notes 28
2 Gestalt Grouping 29
Field Theory and the Gestalt Laws 30
Proximity 32
Proximity, Area, and Contrast 34
Side-by-Side Images 36