Joe wants to be a good photographer and find a job with the skills he learns. He asked: "But why study the history of it?" Good question! I told him it was useful to learn how photographic processes were discovered and are used, to have a foundation in it, and then be able to go beyond it if you can. Libraries provide credible resources for this topic with books and databases, and I will share examples of what you can find at the SLCC Library.
Librarians often order useful academic print books and other resources, depending on our budgets. Our Photography-related books on the shelves can be searched by using the SLCC Library page search box. Switch to: Find Physical Items. In addition I have put together a selected list of print books in a downloadable list, just below, under the two book examples, to make it easier.
Most Photography History print books are located at the South City Campus Library, but some are at the main Library at Taylorsville / Redwood Campus. Here are two good general overview examples, both at South Library on the shelf:
Also see my selected list Word document below (downloadable):
Summon is now SLCC Library's comprehensive, one-stop search. Two ways to find E-books:
A good example found in O'Reilly is: A Brief History of Photography by David S. Young (Rocky Nook, 2024). It also tells you how long it takes to read it! See the cover image to the right.
Here is another E-book example, from ProQuest E-book Central, on a specific historical topic:
Photographing the Mexican Revolution by John Mraz, Univ. of Texas, 2012.
These titles, and others, are found with the Publication Finder, near the A-Z Databases, which can find Journal titles by subject:
(Use the A to Z databases list, then select All Subjects, and use the drop down for Arts.) From here is a list of Arts Databases, like:
Using a specific database, without the SUMMON search, will provide less results to go through and they will be more focused. This will save time with your research, and is a little less overwhelming.
ArtStor is now is called JSTOR Images, as part of JSTOR look for Images in the search box). Here are many rights-cleared images you can use in assignments, including a lot of photographs.
Using the Library databases and collections will guarantee finding better, more reliable sources than just with the Web / Google alone. And your teacher will be impressed with your (and Joe's) sources!
Find an online item from among each of these resources that you might use. Try these sources to start:
See if you can find a specific book, e-book, and online article on a topic or try Photography History, in general.
Start with Summon, or search E-books, or use other Arts databases, or look for physical print books or DVDs.
If you need any further assistance or advice, you can e-mail me or set up a research tutoring session, or use the online Library chat:
The next guide section is on using Citations with your results, in a paper you write.
