Reading Comprehension

PT139 · S3 · P2 · Q13 A Return to Tintypes

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When Jayne Hinds Bidaut saw her first tintype, she was so struck by its rich creamy tones that she could hardly believe this photographic process had been abandoned.

Topic

A current trend of people resurrecting old-fashioned photographic techniques.

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy / Explain Something Puzzling

Main Point

Since our author is spotlighting this current trend of re-discovering old, janky, idiosyncratic photographic methods, what does she think is most distinctive / impactful / interesting about it?

Her voice enters the most in the last two paragraphs, where she seems to be trying to explain the appeal of these techniques to the people engaging in them.

Those paragraphs sound like an answer to the puzzling question of,

The main point should be a distillation of "current trend + motivation for trend", like:

There is a recent trend of photographers' rediscovering old photographic techniques, because they love the unpredictability / imperfection / intimacy / mystery that they get out of using these techniques.

Summary

P1 - Teaser Example 1 (Bidaut, tintype)

In realtime, we probably assume we're reading a passage about Bidaut or about tintype. It's only when we get to paragraph 3 that we realize the trend being discussed is broader than just Bidaut and Estabrook and broader than just tintype.

P2 - Teaser Example 2 (Estabrook, tintype)

This rinky-dink 4-line paragraph is very unusual in LSAT RC, so we would proceed curiously, like,

If we asked ourselves the $1 million question, , we'd come up with stuff like tintype, photography.

P3 - Introduction of Central Topic

Here we figure out that the 1st two paragraphs were just examples of this broader trend that's happening within photography. We would probably use a framework of Highlight Noteworthy (since it feels like a descriptive article about some topic the author finds compelling), or Illustrate General Claim (because we realize now that paragraphs 1 and 2 were just examples of a broader thing).

P4 - Background on Central Topic

This paragraph's first couple sentences telegraph that we will be informed about why these old techniques that are trending are appealing / why they disappeared in the first place. Turns out the two answers are intertwined. The reason they disappeared is because they produce a lot of irregular, blemished results, and that's precisely what these photographers enjoy about them.

P5 - Artistic Analysis

Here the author gets more explicit about the artistic statement practitioners are able to make by using these old techniques, as well as the artistic experience they get to have in making their art.

13.

Based on the information in the passage, it can be inferred that Estabrook believes that

photography in the nineteenth century
Out of Scope: especially striking subjects
These are the only available details we have on Estabrook - having unpredictable stains / imperfections in his photos heightens their sense of nostalgia and makes them appear as if they're objects from a bygone past - over time, photos lose their original meaning, which allows us to project our own sentiments and associations onto the photo This answer doesn't seem to be reinforcing language from either of those available "soundbytes". We never see Estabrook commenting on the type of subject matter portrayed in 19th century photos.
3% picked this
Correct
artists can relinquish control over
Why this is right
This reinforces the first thing we know about Estabrook. - having unpredictable stains / imperfections in his photos heightens their sense of nostalgia and makes them appear as if they're objects from a bygone past He's attracted to the unpredictability of these processes. These processes often have random stains / imperfections that are beyond the artist's control. "His work embraces accident and idiosyncrasy", which is not something a control freak would be able to do. Why is he attracted to some of the uncontrollable "mistakes" that result from these old processes? Why is he embracing them? Because these stains and imperfections heighten the sense of nostalgia / make every photo seem like a lost object / inspire a fantasy / etc., which is the aesthetic he's going for.
Skill tested: Non-Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
71% picked this
photographs produced in the nineteenth
Out of Scope
Out of Scope: intended to exploit Contradicted These are the only available details we have on Estabrook - having unpredictable stains / imperfections in his photos heightens their sense of nostalgia and makes them appear as if they're objects from a bygone past - over time, photos lose their original meaning, which allows us to project our own sentiments and associations onto the photo. We know that Estabrook is definitely using these processes in order to artistically exploit the unpredictability of these processes. But we have no reason to think that Estabrook believes that people 100 years ago used these techniques generally for the same purpose. And it's more aligned with common sense that Estabrook (like us) would assume that people 100+ years ago used these techniques because they were the best available! In fact, we're told that "the stains and imperfections of prints made from gum bichromate or albumen would probably have been cropped out by a 19th-century photographer". So clearly the 19th century photographers didn't want those unpredictable blemishes in their final product.
14% picked this
it is ethically questionable to
Opposite, if anything
We're told in the 2nd paragraph that Estabrook would love to create a photo and stash it in a flea market or antique shop so that a customer seeing it would unknowingly assume it was older than it really is (from a bygone era that never existed). Since he imagines this with glee, it would be hard to argue that he finds this sort of thing "ethically questionable".
1% picked this
the aesthetic significance of a
Too Strong: primarily
If we softened this to say, "the aesthetic significance of a photo can depend in part on factors that can be manipulated after the photo has been taken", then it would be fine. Estabrook definitely thinks that some of the foibles that result from using these processes to develop the photo change the aesthetic value of the final product (they heighten a sense of nostalgia). But we can't sign off on Estabrook believing that more than half of the aesthetic value of a photo comes from the stuff you do after you take the photo.
11% picked this

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