The Genius of Photography - Season 1

First aired: 10/25/2007 6 episodes

Episodes

1. Fixing the Shadows

Aired: 10/25/2007

This elegant, studious documentary - the first of a six-part series - leads us from ancient Rome to the Great War. Taking as its starting point the baffling natural phenomenon of camera obscura, it reveals how mathematician Henry Fox Talbot’s inability to draw led him to pioneer photographic methods, and how the new discovery made a big impression on painter Edgar Degas. The early tussle to see which photographic process would gain the upper hand is a fascinating one. Though occasionally dry and prone to pseudobabble, it covers a lot of territory, and Denis Lawson’s arch narration is the perfect accompaniment to some unforgettable images

2. Documents For Artists

Aired: 11/1/2007

By the end of World War One photography had become the central medium of the age. Photographers began to turn their lenses to the plight of rural victims of the American Depression and minority communities. Alexander Rodchenko and August Sander found their artistic skills put to another use by the state – as propaganda. Documents for Artists focuses on the first few decades after World War One when the potential of photography attracted the attention of artists and governments alike.

3. Right Time Right Place

Aired: 11/8/2007

Examines the photographs of D-Day, the Holocaust and Hiroshima raising questions about history as seen through the viewfinder.

4. Paper Movies

Aired: 11/15/2007

After World War One the potential of photography attracted the attention of artists and governments alike.

5. We Are Family

Aired: 11/22/2007

Having conquered the street and the road, photographers approached the final frontier: the home, the self, and private life.

6. Snap Judgements

Aired: 11/29/2007

Shows how photography has become part of the art world where a single image can cost $2.9m and, in the digital world, where all images are possible.