Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography

Philosophical journey by author seeking a real picture of his mother. Lots of words to look up while reading.

This book never cease to make me think about the role of pictures and the way it seduces our senses and memory that is difficult to explain by words. A lot of people arguing on the Barthes insistence on the aura of the pictures, though it's remaining true since the early invention of photography. I'm intrigued by this essay and continually fascinated by this search for meaning in the object of picture. Highly recommended!

This is an excellent book for those who want to understand photography criticism. Ronald Barthes was not a photographer himself, but he greatly helped in the construction of contemporary photography. His writings doesn't make sense some times, but understand that this book was originally wrote in French and at the last living year of Barthes. Then you will understand.

I got this book for an Art History class (History of Photography). I gave myself exactly one week to read this book. It wasn't enough time; this book is incredibly complex for Undergraduate reading. I had to reread the book several times, but thanks to my teacher, TA and fellow students, we managed to break it down and begin actually seeing what Barthes is saying. He wrote this book as an essay not necessarily to teach but more so to explain why he was attracted to photos more than others while looking for his perfect photo of his recently deceased mother. The first part of the book breaks down and explains the different parts of photography. The most important term to remember is punctum (and studium which goes with it) and enimos, or essence. The Second part breaks down his discovery of the Winter Garden photo (which is never seen in the book) and why he is attracted to it, or other words, he uses the terms from Part One to explain the photo. As a student I highly dislike this book because of its difficult reading, but as an Art Historian, I find it incredibly useful, especially for any students planning on going into Contemporary art, which is highly dominated by the field of photography.

Nice insights into the meaning and difference of photographs. Barthes covers mainly portraits and doesn't analyze landscape or still life photography. Also, he doesn't make any comparisons with paintings, which would have made it more interesting. His final chapter on photography as DOA is profound.

A marvelous book for anyone who wants an analysis of photography. Barth is a skilled writer, bringing a powerful analysis of photography. This book is worth reading, just to marvel at the sentences he creates.

one of the best books on photography, if you are a photographer or fine artist you must read this, second half gets weird with his mom but a good book for sure

I purchased this book for my photography class. Thus far the book has been quite interesting indeed. Even if it were not a required book for the class, I would have purchased it. Great information!