Travel photography
The travel photography is a genre of photography that deals with the documentation of landscapes, people, cultures and lifestyles.
history
Travel photography has its roots in the photographic documentation of scientific explorations of the 19th century (see also scientific photography , expedition (research trip ) and travel ). Even then, it served to capture landscapes, plants, animals as well as people and their customs and has largely replaced painting for this purpose. In particular, it was granted a special documentary character (see theory of photography ). In some cases, however, the idealized depictions of 19th century painters actually had to be abandoned.
From a technical point of view, the development of the negative-positive process has helped photography achieve a breakthrough as a documentation medium. At that time, however, photographers had to prepare and develop the photographic plates right before exposure. Particularly moving objects could only be recorded to a limited extent. Many pictures therefore appear posed and artificially arranged. The cost of photography was only reduced with the development of film and ever smaller cameras (see also the chronology of photography ).
The lower the technical effort for photography, the more travel photography developed into a medium for the masses. Together with the rise of mass tourism , the pictorial memory of their own vacation became a main motive for many people to deal with the photograph. Today photography as a travel memento is more widespread through digital photography and also opened up to those with no knowledge of photography through “ mobile phone photography”.
literature
- Pohl, Klaus (ed.): Views of the distance. Travel Photography 1850 - Today. Giessen: Anabas 1984. ISBN 978-3870380984
- W. Burger: Photography in hot countries traveling on horseback, mule or camel , in: Photographische Correspondenz , 19th year, Vienna and Leipzig 1882, pp. 104–110 ( online ), pp. 155–157 ( online ) and Pp. 178-180 ( online ).