The History of Photography or The Miracle of Analogy

With its visuals and proposed ideas, The Miracle of Analogy challenges conventional notions about photography and invites the reader to rethink the meaning of "analog" in the digital age. The book evaluates the early years of photography from a different perspective, opening up new horizons for the mind.

The Miracle of Analogy offers qualified content on the reconceptualization of photography. It argues that photography originates from what is seen rather than from the human eye or the lens of a camera, and that it is the primary way the world reveals itself to us.

The photographic image, neither an index nor a representation, nor a copy as traditional studies suggest, is actually an analogy. This principle holds true at every level of its existence: a photograph forms an analogy with its referent, with the negative from which it was produced, with all other prints made from that negative, and with all its digital "offspring."

At the same time, photography is irresistibly developmental, both at the level of the singular image and the medium itself. Photography progresses through time in search of another "relative," some of which may be visual, while others may be architectural, philosophical, or literary. Finally, photography develops with us and in response to us. Historically, it assumes legible forms, but when we strip them of their redemptive power, as we often do, it goes elsewhere.