Abstract
Abstract Group F.64 began in 1932 as an elite photography group created on the foundation of a shared photographic style; sharp, clear images. The style was achieved using the f.64 setting on SLR cameras, a small aperture that brought everything visible to the camera into focus, thus inspiring the group name. The group originated in opposition to the pictorialist photography style popular at the time, one in which the photographer manipulates the photo rather than just recording what is in fr ont of them. Group F.64 aimed to prove photography as an art form, and photographers as artists rather than machine operators.
Future exploration for this group will be to create a digital presence and connect with social media. Group F.64 brings the original mission into the 21st century by challenging its members to reject digital manipulation of images to create false reality in photography, specifically in social media.
The new era of F.64 is split into 3 categories: The Human Experience (portrait and street photography), Making Statements (photojournalism, documentary, political statement photography), and Redefining Landscapes (moving beyond perfect nature landscape to look at human habitat as a landscape). Each section of the overall exhibit includes its own material and signage. The book, created for the exhibition, reflects the overall shift in photography for Group F.64.