Roland Barthes David
David Shannon
Roland Barthes's Extracts From Camera Lucida
In this writing, Barthes travels through his mind to differentiate the art of cinema and photography and to find out exactly what makes a photograph. I have to admit, this yellow packet sat in my bathroom as reading material for a little bit, and it took me awhile to find out what i liked about it (hehe). This is it; It is the part where he is trying to find his mother in all of the photographs of her (not just find her, but really FIND HER). This strikes home to me. Many a day I have found myself sitting down looking at old pictures of my mom and dad trying to get a grasp of who they are. Seeing pictures of them as children (innocent, the naive attitude) really gave me a sense of who they are and I can no longer look at them like parents but as people. Maybe that is why I always got along with my parents...
Barthes struck the hammer on the nail when he says that "photography gave me a sentiment as certain remembrance". that is EXACTLY what it is. You can't really get more descriptive then that one word. Photographs capture time and space, and that instance caught on camera, whether it be a smile, a kiss, or a death, that instance is immortal, and we remember...
