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Olsen publishes new book, 'Reading Frames'

For the past few years, W. Scott Olsen, professor emeritus-in-residence of English at Concordia College, has published a monthly column in Frames Magazine that discusses a photograph in detail.

The process is simple yet effective: Each month, he looks through the images that photographers upload to the Frames Magazine Facebook page. Whichever picture demands his attention is the one he writes about. 

"The photograph grabs my attention, and then I ask why," Olsen said. "It could be use of color. It could be the way it's composed, leading lines, whatever."

Each essay is about 1,000 words.

"There is a kind of formula to them," Olsen said. "I begin with some grounding and then two or three paragraphs to establish some context for the discussion. Whatever occurs to me at the moment when I'm looking at the photos."

“Reading Frames” is a selection of these essays. Olsen chose his favorites, got permission from the photographers, and looped in a copy editor he's worked with previously.

Olsen's work often blends his interests in writing and photography, but he did not initially think of himself as a photographer. He started taking photographs as a way to take notes for the stories he wrote.

"I don't have any training as a photographer. It was just a lot easier to take a picture of a red barn than stand there in a field with my notepad trying to describe it," he said. "I would bring the pictures home, and I would use those as memory prompts for writing."

Eventually, he started taking photos less for note-taking and more for the art of photography itself. Now, he hopes “Reading Frames” can help beginner photography students.

"This is a book about composition," Olsen said. "When you raise the camera to your eye, what is it you're looking for? What makes a photograph compelling? So, on one level, this book is for students in introductory composition or photography classrooms. But it's really for anyone who enjoys photography. If you've ever looked at a picture and said 'that's really cool' or 'that's a famous photograph, but I don't know why,' this book will help you understand."

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