Reading Photographs: A Primer
Michelle Dunne Marsh

Reading Photographs: A Primer was published in conjunction with Seeing Being Seen: A Personal History of Photography. The publication takes form in a workbook style Fanzine. Marsh argues ‘We are not Taught how to parse visual information’, ‘Studying well-made pictures may make the process of learning to read them easier’ therefor the aim of this workbook is to follow the questions posed to the reader under three themes, Experience, Facts and Feelings.

Michelle Dunn Marsh is an American of Indo-Burmese and Irish descent; she holds dual citizenship with Ireland. She conceived, and with Steve McIntyre co-founded Minor Matters, a collaborative publishing platform, in 2013. They launched Book Pitch, an online consulting service for aspiring visual authors, in 2020.

Dunn Marsh led Photographic Center Northwest from 2013–2019, spent fifteen years in various roles with the nonprofit publisher Aperture Foundation, New York; was senior editor of art and design at Chronicle Books in San Francisco; and has worked in a freelance capacity with over twenty publishers and cultural institutions on books or public programming.

Founded in 2013, Minor Matters is a collaborative publishing platform, making books through the engagement of our international audience. We highlight underrepresented voices in contemporary art, and preserve our present for the future through publishing their work. At Minor Matters, we recognize that significant art and ideas may stay on the fringes without the support of a community. Like us. With you. Everyone who buys our books in pre-sales is listed as a co-publisher—we’re making books together.¹