Look at This! Great Photographs Revisited

Photographs offer another layer of experience—a reading experience as rich as any written prose—if we take the time to observe and process the photograph’s visual language. In this Learning Guide you will read examples and do assignments to train your eye to look at images.

Posts in this series

How to Read a Photograph
Examining photographs gives us access to stories that are greater than the visual representation contained within the frame. Taking the time to examine...
Dawn Oosterhoff
10 Dec 2015
Photo Critique
Look at This! Boys Diving
John Boyd's photograph of boys diving off a pier radiates fun! Examine how the photographer's use of clever composition invites us to join in the action and...
Dawn Oosterhoff
17 Dec 2015
Photo Critique
Look at This! Travel By Train
Rosemary Gilliat’s photograph depicting a young woman (Anna Brown) sitting in an observation car on the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Instantly, questions...
Marie Gardiner
24 Dec 2015
Photo Critique
Look at This! A Portrait of the Artist
With this photograph of author HG Wells, Yousuf Karsh has created something visually striking and dare I say it, intimidating. Let’s look at why.
Marie Gardiner
31 Dec 2015
Photo Critique
Look at This! Where There's Smoke
In one portrait, Yousuf Karsh shows an actor both as a villainous character and a quiet, refined gentleman. Study Karsh’s ability to use lighting and...
Dawn Oosterhoff
7 Jan 2016
Photo Critique
Look at This! Leisure by the Waterside
In this photograph we see a family scene; something fun, playful and peaceful; but why does it make us feel that way?
Marie Gardiner
14 Jan 2016
Photo Critique
Look at This! Diving for the Ball
This photo from the US Navy of students playing underwater football has a lot more to it than it appears. It's a compositionally and creatively strong image...
Harry Guinness
21 Jan 2016
Photo Critique
Look at This! An Unusual Underwater Portrait
Photography has rules that when followed will normally result in a decent image. Sometimes when they're broken you can get some stunning results. In this...
Harry Guinness
29 Jan 2016
Underwater
Look at This! Pictures of the Great Depression by Berenice Abbott and Dorothea Lange
In this photograph we see some cobbled together huts and two men sitting outside. What can we glean from this? Are they just homeless or is there more to...
Marie Gardiner
4 Feb 2016
Photo Critique
Look at This! An Aerial Photographer's View of The World
Here we have an aerial view of fields and houses. Is this a straightforward shot of the landscape our photographer was flying over at the time? Or is there...
Marie Gardiner
18 Feb 2016
Photo Critique
Look at This! A Special Portrait From Voodoo Macbeth
This photograph from a production of Macbeth is part of the Billy Rose Theatre collection. Here we'll look at how this image makes us feel, along with some...
Marie Gardiner
26 Feb 2016
Photo Critique
A New American Gothic
What can you tell from a photo? From the Look at This series, join Melody Nieves as she dives into the story behind this 1942 photograph by photographer...
Melody Nieves
9 Jun 2016
Look at This!
A Boy Among Men
In this post for the series "Look at This: Hail the Maintainers," we take in a powerful group portrait of a boy with his coworkers during a time long gone.
Amy Touchette
16 Jun 2016
Look at This!
On the Station Platform
Sometimes images aren't what they first appear to be about. In this Look at This! I examine Toni Frissell's Victoria Station, London, 1951 to see what the...
Harry Guinness
30 Jun 2016
Look at This!
The Trainyards Welder
This is a photograph of Mike Evans, a welder at Proviso yard in Chicago, taken by Jack Delano in 1943. Here we look at the historical context of the...
Marie Gardiner
14 Jul 2016
Look at This!
Look at This Photo of The Bronx in 1970
Look a little closer at this photo of New York City's Bronx for a startling character hiding in plain sight.
Andrew Childress
31 Dec 2017
Photography
MS Mae Jemison in Spacelab-Japan: a Work Portrait
In 1992, Mission Specialist Mae Jemison flew into space aboard the Endeavour, becoming the first African-American woman in space: here's a great picture of her.
Jackson Couse
12 Feb 2019
Photography