16-year kid shames me and probably you too

[former member]

I was a little bit older than they are now when I took this shot. Still one of my favorites.

and Zoe did fairly well with the then brand-new F2.

 

[TennesseJones]

great link, thanks.

i think this is very interesting, and there is a bit of peculiar defensiveness going on.

however here's my no doubt pointless tuppence about your title about being put to shame. Frank there's a portrait-diptych kind of a thing of yours in the gallery that i have been looking at again and again last few days. it seems a portrait with rawness and simplicity and it seems truly revealing of character.

So i'd most likely want to see your portraits of a subject before I saw your younger friends . And i wonder whether this clarity of sight, a clarity beyond style, has something to do with the benefits age brings to a creative person (a few people have been saying it's youth that's the thing with being creative, maybe...)

anyway, enjoyed the links, thanks again. will see if i can attach the picture of yours i meant.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger - I hope you don't think I was pointing you out in particular? I was infact only pointing to a general tonal undercurrent from a number of posts. Your initial post made me think you felt the very opposite to envy.

Apologies if this is my mistake

Dear Simon,

No, you read my initial post exactly as I meant it. I was just trying to get my head around why and how anyone should feel envious. No apologies needed!

Cheers,

R.

 

[Tim Gray]

I think more telling is the attitude towards them here, I wonder if the comments about the pictures would be the same had the photos been by a seasoned regular here?

Absolutely. If you are on flickr (or other sites) enough you see a lot of this.

Here's another example. I thought this girl was very talented, but you see a lot of the same things going on. I personally found the 'all self portraits, all the time' thing a bit tiresome, but that's just my taste. Unfortunately, it appears as if she's stopped photography, at least on flickr. The only thing I'm really jealous there is the ability to get hundreds of comments on every photo I post on flickr. I'm lucky to get one.

Back to the original guy: The kid is good. He's got a good eye and took some good pictures. I'm certainly not envious and wish him the best of luck. I also said that they weren't amazing and have a bit of a canned look to them. Which isn't bad for 16. Many people his age (or of any age) wouldn't be able to turn that out or stick with something enough to get good at it.

 

[Viktor Sebastian]

We could send him a Leica so he could start photographing signs, shadows, pattern studies, old cars, and women unaware from behind....

Yes exactly because that is what the fashion/advertising industry is prepared to commission people to shot.

Oh, wait...

🙂

 

[btgc]

In any case it's better to take pictures at his 16 (as seen, well over average snapshot level) than smell acetone and steal cars, not mentioning street robbery.
Some of kids go kibersports (funny name, isn't it?) and loose health sitting at screens for days and nights, also not best perspective. Going out to take pictures isn't worse idea he could have at his age.

 

[Damaso]

He's got talent but I'm not looking over my shoulder, yet. Let's see where he's at in a decade when he's actually out in the world...

 

[gavinlg]

I recognize this style as commonly used in ads targeted to youth. Around globe companies roll out campaigns to look like they know youth, like they care for them. But they don't.

Companies care for income, for money youth (and their parents) are going to spend for casual wear which suddenly costs like it's imported from outer space. What companies care for is to turn youth thinking that wearing certain wear is trendy, that they become cooler and smarter that way. This is true perversion not when elder man sits by the kids' playground with camera over shoulder.

What's interesting - companies fool youth by campaigns created by youth themselves. They hire kids to help them fool more kids. That would be truly amazing if that wouldn't be evil!

Aesthetics is aesthetics. I totally understand the gravity and mind****ery of advertising, I just don't care. A lot of the posted photos on this forum are "street photography" of which I enjoy, but not as much as fashion editorial/advertising. There is more crappy street photography on flickr than any other style of photo. More than young girls taking self portraits. You practically have to wade through pages of it to get to anything half decent.

Aesthetics for the sake of aesthetics is no less shallow then a picture of a guy jumping over a puddle on a street (yeah I said it).

All of the young photographers in my original link are well known and marked by the fashion industry as big up and comers. Some of them more than others - for instace Joey L has his own show on National Geographic, and has done some very big jobs in the past - like the advertising photography for the twilight movie series. They all have a large degree of commercial success and viability.
You can't argue with that, wether you like their style and output or not. Some spend their whole life trying to get a foot in the door and never really get there. These young-ins are obviously doing something right.

 

[ebino]

If he was my son, I'd be worried and might get him to join a martial arts dojo or a boxing gym.

 

[Keith]

Aesthetics is aesthetics. I totally understand the gravity and mind****ery of advertising, I just don't care. A lot of the posted photos on this forum are "street photography" of which I enjoy, but not as much as fashion editorial/advertising. There is more crappy street photography on flickr than any other style of photo. More than young girls taking self portraits. You practically have to wade through pages of it to get to anything half decent.

Aesthetics for the sake of aesthetics is no less shallow then a picture of a guy jumping over a puddle on a street (yeah I said it).

Wow ... you like to live dangerously don't you. You may need to consider something similar to the 'witness protection program' after that remark! 😀

 

[varjag]

Obligatory Family Guy reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8A5bsbmUM

 

[zumbido]

If he was my son, I'd be worried and might get him to join a martial arts dojo or a boxing gym.

What do you mean by that, exactly?

 

[Keith]

What do you mean by that, exactly?

I was thinking the same thing ... what did he mean by that?

 

[ebino]

so he could stand up to the bullies?

 

[jsrockit]

While they are certainly influenced by Ryan McGinley (and "hip" magazines), they are well done... better than most of the stuff on this forum. It's not my thing, but at 15, my images didn't...well, I wasn't taking photos. I can appreciate them even if they aren't my style. Good job all.

 

[zumbido]

so he could stand up to the bullies?

What makes you think he's being bullied? And why would that be important enough to make him stop doing what he likes doing and send him to a dojo?

 

[jbielikowski]

Nothing special, just another teen emo with dslr.

 

[ebino]

Gordon Pinsent reads his favorite quotes from Justin Bieber's new memoirs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhh2288zNVE

 

[btgc]

All of the young photographers in my original link are well known and marked by the fashion industry as big up and comers. Some of them more than others - for instace Joey L has his own show on National Geographic, and has done some very big jobs in the past - like the advertising photography for the twilight movie series. They all have a large degree of commercial success and viability.
You can't argue with that, wether you like their style and output or not. Some spend their whole life trying to get a foot in the door and never really get there. These young-ins are obviously doing something right.

Sure, there's no question whether someone likes or not their works. Apparently problem is with me - I'm not very friendly to fashion industry. If youth takes a chance of learning in projects sponsored by industry, develops vision and leaps towards his own way, that's fine. It's a pity when young talents just lie down under industry with "I'm just doing what I'm paid for". If they hit their own track, I don't mind.

 

[Neare]

Will these photos be remembered?

But anyway, the kids posted here are obviously very talented. But we only ever see the final product and only the 1 shot out of god knows how many they took.
I'd be more interested to know what their photography is like away from the studio type shots. Away from telling a person to dress that way and look this what and that etc. I think true photographic 'talent' is represented when everything is in the moment.

But I really am enjoying some of the works that have been shown here mainly from Jessica Sim, Lara Jade, Ann He and Nirrimi Hakanson. These people are already doing so well in getting work at such a young age, huge kudos to them.

It is talent.