As discussed in the opening chapter, photography is an
evolutionary process in the sense one can usually trace
the progression of a photograph back to its technical origin.
The fi nal image depends on the properties of the specifi
c materials involved in the creation. Photography does
not imitate nature, as it is often said to do, but it manifests
personal realities in both its making and interpretation.
Photography can provide the means to transfer
internal thoughts into the physical world. Knowing a
wide range of photographic processes positions one to be
in control of the fi nal results.
Learning to control a process is the fi rst step a photographer
must master to transform an abstract idea into
a concrete physical reality. To facilitate the transformation