43   I can talk about art and photography

A    Painting and drawing

At an art exhibition, a variety of paintings and drawings may be on display: for example, portraits¹, landscapes², and still lifes³ (note the plural here is lifes, not lives). Some artists work in oils (oil paints)⁴, while others use watercolours⁵.

Styles vary too: some works of art are realistic, others are abstract⁶. Skilled artists use a range of techniques to create different sorts of effects.

 

Glossary

exhibition  a collection of paintings, objects, etc. that are shown in public.

variety  a number of different types of the same thing. vary V.

drawing  a picture made with a pencil, pen. etc., but not paint.

on display  being shown in a place where people will see it. SYN on show.

style  the way that sth is painted, drawn, built, etc.

work of art  a very good painting, drawing, book, etc. (a really great work of art. e.g. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, is a masterpiece).

realistic  showing things as they are. realism N.

skilled  having the ability and experience to do sth well. SYN expert.

technique  a particular way of doing sth, often needing special skills.

create sth  cause sth new to happen: produce sth new.

sort  a type or kind.

3     Test yourself. Cover the words and look at the picture. Can you remember the words?

  

B    Photography

Word    Example      Meaning

out of focus  The photos are out of focus.  not showing things clearly. OPP in focus.

focus on sth   I focused on the girl’s face.  change the camera until the image is clear.

transfer sth (from... to ...)  I transferred the photos from the camera to a laptop.  move sth from one place to another.

develop a film  Could I have this film developed, please?  Make pictures from a piece of film using chemicals.

automatic  With an automatic camera, photos are usually in focus.  able to work by itself without direct human control.

studio  She has a studio where she does fashion photography.  a room where a photographer or artist works.

 

spotlight  photography, photograph, etc.

Photography is the act of taking pictures or photos/photographs.

Someone who does this as a job is a photographer; someone who does it as a hobby is an amateur photographer.

5     Write the words in the correct order to form sentences.

►   I / film / please? / roll / have / a / could / of  Could I have a roll of film, please?

1     can / studio / in / films / develop / she / her  ________________

2     frame / the / put / photo / I / the / in  ________________

3     negative / two / please / of / can / prints / have / I / this? ________________

4     the / focused / the / in / he / girl / foreground / on  ________________

5     photographers / automatic / often / cameras / amateur / buy  ________________

6     you / computer / to / can / the / transfer / pictures / the  ________________

1     She can develop films in her studio.

2     I put the photo in the frame.

3     Can I have two prints of this negative please?

4     He focused on the girl in the foreground.

5     Amateur photographers often buy automatic cameras.

6     You can transfer the pictures to the computer.

6     ABOUT YOU Write your answers, or ask another student.

1     Are you interested in photography? If so, why? ________________

2     What kind of camera have you got? ________________

3     What features does it have? ________________

4     What kinds of problems do you have when you take pictures? ________________

Answers from a British person

1     I’m interested in taking photographs of beautiful scenery and wildlife.

2     I have a new Japanese digital camera.

3     It has a digital screen and a very good ‘zoom’ feature.

4     I find it hard to stop my hands shaking when I try to take photos at night without the flash.