The Soul of the Camera: The Photographer's Place in Picture-Making

The photograph can be an astonishing means of connecting and communicating with others. But with over one trillion photos taken each year, why are there so few successes? Why do so many fail? With advances in camera technology, it is not because the images lack focus or proper exposure; the camera does that so well these days. Photographer David duChemin believes the majority of our images fall short because they lack soul. And without soul, the images have no ability to resonate with others. They simply cannot connect with the viewer, or even―if we’re being truthful―with ourselves.

In The Soul of the Camera: The Photographer’s Place in Picture-Making, David explores what it means to make better photographs. Illustrated with a beautiful collection of black-and-white photographs, the book’s essays speak to topics such as craft, mastery, vision, audience, discipline, story, and authenticity. The Soul of the Camera is a personal and deeply pragmatic book that quietly yet forcefully challenges the idea that our cameras, lenses, and settings are anything more than dumb and mute tools. It is the photographer, not the camera, that can and must learn to make better photographs―photographs that convey our vision; that connect with others; that, at their core, contain our humanity.

攝影可以是一種令人驚嘆的方式，用來與他人建立聯繫和溝通。但每年拍攝的照片超過一兆張，為什麼成功的照片如此之少？為什麼有如此多的失敗呢？隨著相機技術的進步，這不是因為照片缺乏焦點或正確曝光；現在的相機在這方面做得很好。攝影師David duChemin認為，我們大部分的照片之所以不夠出色，是因為它們缺乏靈魂。沒有靈魂，這些照片就無法與觀眾產生共鳴。它們無法與觀眾產生聯繫，甚至連與我們自己都無法真實地產生聯繫。

在《攝影靈魂：攝影師在創作中的位置》一書中，David探討了如何拍攝更好的照片。這本書以一系列美麗的黑白照片為例，其中的文章涉及工藝、精通、視覺、觀眾、紀律、故事和真實性等主題。《攝影靈魂》是一本個人且深具實用性的書，它悄然而有力地挑戰了相機、鏡頭和設置不過是愚笨而無聲的工具這一觀念。攝影師本人，而不是相機，可以並且必須學會拍攝更好的照片，這些照片能夠傳達我們的視覺；與他人產生聯繫；在其核心中包含我們的人性。