TED Talks on Photography: Taryn Simon

Taryn Simon photographs secret sites (18:50): Taryn Simon exhibits her startling take on photography -- to reveal worlds and people we would never see otherwise. She shares two projects: one documents otherworldly locations typically kept secret from the public, the other involves haunting portraits of men convicted for crimes they did not commit.

Reference and reading suggestion - The British Journal of Photography

The British Journal of Photography is a magazine about photography publishing in-depth articles, profiles of photographs, analyses, and technological reviews. It was established in Liverpool in 1854 and it was originally printed monthly, then bi-weekly, then weekly until March 2010, when it changed back to its origin monthly period, and is now also available as an electronic magazine on:

http://www.bjp-online.com/ 

Christian Denslow's The Blind Photographer (2011)

The Blind Photographer (2011) Winner of Best South African Short Film from Christian Denslow on Vimeo.

Pioneering experiments: Man Ray's 'Rayographs'

Man Ray (American, 1890-1976) produced his first photograms—cameraless works made by placing objects and other materials on photosensitive paper—after he came to Paris in 1921.

Though he claimed that he discovered the technique through an accident in the darkroom, it seems likely that his exploration was prompted by fellow artist Tristan Tzara, who brought to Paris some of Christian Schad’s earlier experiments with the medium in Switzerland.

Man Ray dubbed the results of his efforts “Rayographs”—a play on his name, but also a twist on the roots of the word “photograph,” meaning “light-writing.” Tzara proclaimed them “pure Dada creations.”