the Big Question of Today

Pherdinand

Pherdinand

the snow must go on
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Jul 26, 2004
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by the river called the Gender
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What is there to do, when one realizes that his taste seems to be different than the taste of everybody else? Example: I don't understand why so many people like, "love" this or that photo, while I can't see its point at all and I find it utterly boring?

I don't care about the reason(it's probably me not everybody else with a bad taste 🙂 ), i ask about what is there to do. What do you think?
 
If they're asking for a critique, then you can just leave your impressions. If not, just keep on walking.
 
Hi Pherdinand. Unless you are getting paid for producing an image, it doesn't matter what others think, only how you feel about it. Everyone has a unique vision. Conformity in the creative field is not a good thing.
 
We all have different tastes...much of what goes thru the gallery is beyond me but obviously appeals to many...just have to accept it I guess...

A few years ago I produced a series of specialist macro shots for a broadcaster - many of which ended up in newspapers and mags around the world as publicity for a show...including in a series of conferences in Singapore. Flushed with success I carefully put them together and submitted them as my application to join the RPS.

They were judged - and failed on every single count except that of being the correct size! Before sending them in I had checked over previous succesful portfolios for guidance - including one that was a series of b&w shots of a toilet and a sink. Mine failed on style, art, exposure, composition etc...they even complained about the lack of dof (at macro ratios of 4:1)...
That dramatic failure was very painful...but what can you do?

🙂
 
I think there is a purely technical level where photographs can be judged objectively, but beyond that (content as opposed to form) any response is personal, subjective and possibly nothing to do with the photograph as photograph. Far better to dislike a much praised work - that is to have actually made up ones' own mind about it - than to simply parrot popular consensus.

Cheers, Ian
 
A craftsman seeks perfection, an artist seeks creativity.

Each of us contains a portion of each, and the variations are infinite. Whether or how you manipulate images determines your personal style, and it can only matter to others if they've formed a "standard" that they consistently adhere to. That's why submission to any panel depends completely upon their particular biases. If you're trying to impress a panel of judges, you need to know their criteria.

A true artist will never be static, but will let the body of work evolve as he/she experiments with new ideas. It might be safe to say that an artist inherently has more imagination than a craftsman.

Just my opinion...

Regards!
Don
 
it's not about my shots. It's about shots that i can't find interesting opposite to many other viewers. No matter how long I look at them and analyze or try to "feel"something.
I guess i will have to "just keep on walking"as Kin & memphis says. But if i WANT to understand other people's point? If so many like it, there has to be something in it! It cannot be just camaraderie, snobism or cultural background!
 
fishtek said:
A craftsman seeks perfection, an artist seeks creativity.

Each of us contains a portion of each, and the variations are infinite. Whether or how you manipulate images determines your personal style, and it can only matter to others if they've formed a "standard" that they consistently adhere to. That's why submission to any panel depends completely upon their particular biases. If you're trying to impress a panel of judges, you need to know their criteria.

A true artist will never be static, but will let the body of work evolve as he/she experiments with new ideas. It might be safe to say that an artist inherently has more imagination than a craftsman.

Just my opinion...

Regards!
Don
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Very well said.

Todd
 
Pherdinand said:
it's not about my shots. It's about shots that i can't find interesting opposite to many other viewers. No matter how long I look at them and analyze or try to "feel"something.
I guess i will have to "just keep on walking"as Kin & memphis says. But if i WANT to understand other people's point? If so many like it, there has to be something in it! It cannot be just camaraderie, snobism or cultural background!
Click to expand...


I wouldn't sweat it, there are alot of HCB, Winogrand, etc. that I don't "get" or see as anything special that other's fawn over.

Todd
 
Pherdi,

Maybe you can PM that person(s) and ask. I'm sure no one would be insulted if they were asked specific questions about their imagery - good or bad.

Keith
 
Kinsey, the great researcher of American sexual behaviour, said something like 'humans while being all different, try in their minds to be all alike".
 
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ruben said:
Kinsey, the great researcher of American sexual behaviour, said something like 'humans while being all different, try in their minds to be all alike".
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I bet he would have said something different if he had a career in the visual arts
:angel:
 
But also many creative people are not good at articulating the whys & wherefores. Bob Dylan is very disappointing to listen to when he talks. Personally I like things that fire the imagination. I'm reading an interesting book called Interviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester and quite a bit of Bacon's art came about as a result of an accident or a series of accidents. How do you explain that?
 
That's also true, Peter, and that's why it is not very practical asking the reasons or explanations from the one who made the image. And he's also biased.

The case of Grand Masters is a bit different. There people, viewers, have the tendency to like anything because ït must be good, HCB shot it!" . But i consider the case of more simple, unknown people, creating photos.
 
If you wish to understand others, then listening is the answer. If you do not agree with others then dialog may help. Just remember, it is not possible for everyone to agree, but it is possible to understand. Wow, I am being philosophical early in the morning 😱
 
There is a gag on one of the 'delete vs save' flickr groups, in that one of HCB's famous photo (the Escher-like stairs with a blurred bicyclist at a distance) was voted to be 'deleted' from the group, mostly by people who didn't know about HCB.

Reading the people's comment on that picture was both funny and sobering. On one side, there are people who defended their vote, stating that not all HCB shots are perfect, others went the other way saying that if it's from HCB, it's a masterpiece.

To me, the gag proved that subjectivity goes both ways. We will always be affected by glowing-reputation, camaraderie, and general feeling. This will either impair or enhance our objective analysis of a picture.

I think the key is to recognize this and as much as we can take these into consideration when looking at a picture.
 
Sparrow said:
I bet he would have said something different if he had a career in the visual arts
:angel:
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He had a career in the visual arts only in the academic community its called research. 😀
Kurt M.
 
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