Overview: Break down the elements of photography with Photo, which takes an inside look at the creative process as it plays out between the imagined and the real. By examining the role of European and American pioneers, this 12-part series explores the development of photography from its beginnings to more recent times.

DVD Verdict: This truly indepth and fascinating new series takes the viewer on a wondrous rabbit hole journey from the beginnings of photography through the intricate modern digital age. Expanding a fair bit of time with emphasis on both the scholarly and the creative aspects of catching a moment and preserving it, 'Photo' sets out to educate and show off at the same time; and succeeds on both scores!

1. Surrealist Photography
2. The Primitives of Photography, 1850-1860
3. The New German Objectivity
4. Staged Photography
5. Press Usage
6. Pictorialism
7. New Vision: Experimental Photography of the 1920s
8. Photographing Intimacy
9. The Inventors
10. Found Images
11. Conceptual Photography
12. After the Photo - Digital

In these 12 26 minute episodes we learn things such as the drama and the art involved in photographs, exploring the "how" of the process and the intensity involved in recording moments. We learn about photographers and the thought that goes into the creation of a photograph that "speaks" to the viewer artistically and emotionally.

For sure it's not the FINAL word on photography, but in a relatively short period of time, photography has gone from an experimental novelty, the plaything of the wealthy, to a scientific data recording mechanism for a variety of fields of study. And when all that is embodied here in a wonderful visual viewing medium for all to be enthralled by, well, something that bleeds into everyone's lives can only be applauded and observed in equal amounts. These are all Full Screen Presentations (1:33.1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and it comes with the Special Feature of:

12-page booklet with a history of cameras, a timeline of breakthroughs in photography, articles on photographic portraits and image manipulation, and a glossary of photography terms.