Let's talk making great images.

[SeaRubi]

was andy warhol "good"? or just dumbed down prints with outlandish colors?

 

[Lost Canadian]

was andy warhol "good"? or just dumbed down prints with outlandish colors?

^Good call. Andy Warhol painted freaking Cambells soup cans for heavens sake. Not exactly mind blowingly difficult. But his concept of pop art resonated so loud it shook the art world to the core. Are the Cambells soup can paintings good paintings, most would say no, but they sure did make waves. I would say that "good" in art terms, is a subjective term.

 

[Michael Slade]

Define "good."

You can't.

 

[Lost Canadian]

All this talk about good and bad reminds me of this talk Malcolm Gladwell gave at a TED convention. It's good, it has nothing to do with photography or art, but then again maybe it does.

Which brings me to taste. If I may Michael, is it fair to say that you have a preference for well structured images with exquisitely fine detail along with subtle and pleasing tones colors shapes and themes? Heck I know it is, one look at your fine work tells me this is so.

Me on the other hand, I prefer bold design, harsh rough textures, images that don't necessarily have great structure but grab you with their immediacy. If an image doesn't catch my eye from 50 feet across the room then I typically don't gravitate towards it. Now that's not to say I don't appreciate the latter, absolutely I can, and I do, but I'm very much like a child, heck, even my personality sometimes reflects that. I'm more reactionary than I am reflective when it comes to art.

I'm the same way when I'm going through my images as well. Nathanael made a comment that he sometimes waits long periods of time before processing his images. Me, I'm in and out, I have no patience when I comes to post, I want to see what I got, do what I need to do and get out. Ironically enough the only point of relection for me is when I'm actually out in the field taking pictures, it's the only point in my entire workflow that I slow down. That may be a reflection of simply being in calming environments but it is what it is I suppose. So ya taste, here's me, I paint my bedroom walls red, my kitchen is turquoisey green blue, I have one wall in my living room painted rusty/orange. I love bold, I love color, I'm reactionary, I like things that create a strong emotional response without a lot of thought. Is it right or wrong, certainly not, it just is. What's this have to do with photography, well it's the same. Not everything fits, but finding what works for you is a key point to creating something that is reflective of you.

 

[Michael Slade]

Which brings me to taste.

...for which there is NO accounting...

If I may Michael, is it fair to say that you have a preference for well structured images with exquisitely fine detail along with subtle and pleasing tones colors shapes and themes? Heck I know it is, one look at your fine work tells me this is so.

That is fair to say. I find that as I get older I am drawn to compositions and subject matter that demands patience from the viewer. I want to reward them for sticking with me and letting me tell a more involved story. Personally I don't like the 'hit-and-run' photography, which doesn't demand much from the photographer or the viewer.

I like the kind of imagery that takes research and a time commitment from the photographer and the viewer. I like the extended photo-essay. I like the photographers text often more than their imagery. I like to get to know what they are trying to tell me on a deeper level than just the 'oooh, that sunset is pretty'.

If you want to see the kind of photography I like, take a look at Weston from the 20's through the mid 30's. His writings called his 'day-books' give the reader a glimpse into his psyche the way his imagery cannot. We see into his day-to-day existence, the trivialities and the more serious issues he had to contend with.

Weston is the photographer's photographer. At first glance, 'Pepper #30' is just another pepper. On further review it is much, much more.

Generally I also do not like color. I am a firm believer that the viewer (and the photographer) is all too often 'seduced by color'. That is a whole new discussion that I don't have time to get into right now (because I'm printing in the darkroom as I write this!). :Wow1:

 

[Lost Canadian]

You know what's funny, I've seen that picture countless times, but have never really spent any time to really look at it. Until you just pointed it out I never saw the pepper. I saw something completely different. I love that.

 

[Michael Slade]

You know what's funny, I've seen that picture countless times, but have never really spent any time to really look at it. Until you just pointed it out I never saw the pepper. I saw something completely different. I love that.

So basically you're upside down and backwards. You should be shooting large-format.

 

[Lost Canadian]

So basically you're upside down and backwards. You should be shooting large-format.

Huh, perhaps. Lol. The honest to goodness truth of the matter is I haven't been at this game long enough to even begin to sort myself out, but then again perhaps I never will. I do know what I like however, and at the moment it is a mixed bag, but I guess that's the process we all follow. Who knows where you, I, or any of us will really be in futures time, creatively speaking. That's the best part though right? The journey.

 

[Michael Slade]

When I talk to people and tell them that I have all but given up on digital imaging for any of my personal work they are shocked. I was such an early adopter and a proponent of digital imaging that they thought I would never go back to film. In my mind all of the digital B&W work was just practice to get back into ultra-large format film.

Go figure.

Huh, perhaps. Lol. The honest to goodness truth of the matter is I haven't been at this game long enough to even begin to sort myself out, but then again perhaps I never will. I do know what I like however, and at the moment it is a mixed bag, but I guess that's the process we all follow. Who knows where you, I, or any of us will really be in futures time, creatively speaking. That's the best part though right? The journey.

 

[Lost Canadian]

Let's just hope the choice to shoot it remains. It's always sad when old is replaced by new without the consideration for creative impact.

 

[Michael Slade]

Let's just hope the choice to shoot it remains. It's always sad when old is replaced by new without the consideration for creative impact.

I'm at a point where even if they discontinue making film I can do it all myself. From film to paper I can manufacture it all. I am not looking forward to the end of commercial film manufacture, and don't think it will happen anytime soon...but when/if it does I am ready.

I'm making my own photo paper right now...it's blue. :Wow1:

 

[Lost Canadian]

Frustration. How do you guys and gals navigate through it. This for me easily the hardest part of image making. I can do the math, make the camera see exactly what I want it to but 9 times out of 10, I look and say, nope that's not what I want. I'll echo sentiments expressed earlier, and I also wish I could paint,...paint well that is. The reality is can't though and photography is the closest thing I have found for allowing me to express myself, and yet I'm not satisfied. I'm sure I'm not alone here. So how do you guys deal with frustration. Have you ever taken time away from it?

Edit: The reason I ask is because I have this big trip coming up, and I should be all excited about seeing and shooting something new, but I'm not. I almost don't even want to bring my camera but I know once I get there I'll be like a crack head looking for my fix.

 

[Michael Slade]

I don't think what you're fighting is frustration, I think what you're fighting is inspiration or maybe better put, ideas and subject matter of things to shoot while you're on this big trip.

For me, I have a trip to Sweden planned in July/August of this year. In '05 I was in Ireland and photographed a lot of standing stones and researched the living daylights out of the areas I was staying. This trip to Sweden has me already studying and finding out where things are that I can go and shoot. This is what gets me excited to go and photograph somewhere new.

I would suggest looking at this area and finding out some history about the place. What makes it unique? What are ways you can show how it is unique? Where are places that showcase how it is unique? IOW...tell me why I should want to go to this place. Show me what I won't see in a travel brochure. Show me what makes people who live there think it is special. If no one lives there, show me why people don't live there.

I would say that hitting a lull in your excitement about shooting is normal. I haven't been out to the lake in about 2 months. I am starting to get anxious to go out again...

 

[SeaRubi]

Take a different camera. Something cheap. Something to force you to shoot differently. I hate using the same camera all the time.

Frustration. How do you guys and gals navigate through it. This for me easily the hardest part of image making. I can do the math, make the camera see exactly what I want it to but 9 times out of 10, I look and say, nope that's not what I want. I'll echo sentiments expressed earlier, and I also wish I could paint,...paint well that is. The reality is can't though and photography is the closest thing I have found for allowing me to express myself, and yet I'm not satisfied. I'm sure I'm not alone here. So how do you guys deal with frustration. Have you ever taken time away from it?

Edit: The reason I ask is because I have this big trip coming up, and I should be all excited about seeing and shooting something new, but I'm not. I almost don't even want to bring my camera but I know once I get there I'll be like a crack head looking for my fix.

 

[Stan the Man]

Wow! 15 pages?! I have some reading to do... :Wow1: