Best galleries for learning imaging skills ?

[srtiwari]

Its easy to buy equipment and develop reasonable technical expertise, but developing 'an eye' for seeing and creating a satisfying photographic image requires much more. Some people come to this naturally, I guess, but clearly, one can learn much from seeing good images. I am looking for some members' galleries that may help this process along. Please list any you are particularly impressed with.
Oh, and do post any images that you feel would help.

Subhash

 

[back alley]

a cheap trick and one that works pretty well is to use a slide mount and just look at 'life' through it for a few weeks.

keep evaluating a scene over and over, breaking it up into sections till you find the 'best' one or the one you like the best.

as for prints, the real thing on a wall is a great way to go.

as for galleries here on rff...todd h., ray g., graksi all come to mind.
there are lots and don't forget to learn from the not so good shooters also. look at evrything you can and ask yourself what do i like/not like about this photo.

 

[ghost]

the library is still the best "gallery" out there.

 

[nico]

Hi,
hope this thread may help you...
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=338251#post338251
Bye
Nico

 

[ray_g]

Joe, I am flattered to be in that company. Seriously, Subhash, I would start by looking at the RFF books, and if possible, the contest submissions, see whose style is similar to your own, and look at their galleries.

 

[boarini2003]

For me, it's books that inspire me and influence me, such as HCB's "A Propos de Paris," or Winogrand's "The Animals." Ask yourself, do you like as a photographer? The strictly techincal matters aren't as inportant in my opinion.

 

[BJ Bignell]

The library is an excellent suggestion. The printed images will usually carry more depth and impact that on the screen. Nothing kills a great picture like having to scroll to see the whole thing! 🙄


An idea just came to me: Borrow a book from the library, and spend the week trying to imitate it, to see the same way. At the end of the week, develop your work and compare. I suspect that you'll see one of the following things:

• You failed to imitate the style in the book. Maybe you need to try again, or maybe you've realised that it's really not your "thing".
• You succeeded to imitate the style in the book, and you like the results. In this case, you've found a style that works for you. You can now take it and grow with it, create something of your own.
• You succeeded to imitate the style in the book, and you dislike the results. In this case, you may have just realised that you enjoy looking at a particular style of picture, but not creating that same style. Return to the library, and get a different book.

I think I'm going to try this...

 

[morgan]

I've been learning a lot by going though books. I just bought a huge Capa book, and have a few others (Winogrand, HCB) that I often look at my stuff and compare to theirs and try to pick out what I'm doing wrong. It's been really helpful. I also have a few friends that have a great eye for photography that give me good crit. I think my keepers per roll is slowly going up, I may be up to around 3 or 4 per 24. It still stinks, but I think I'm making progress. I also think that really getting to know a single lens really helps. I've been trying to stick with my j-3 50mm and I think I'm getting a much better feel for framing, composition, distance than if I were switching a lot. That said, I do have a cv 35/2.5 coming today. 🙂

I usually scan the negatives of my keeper shots, but now I'm actually printing them out at a decent size. It has a lot more impact than a tiny proof.

 

[ghost]

hey...you can even participate in the monthly book club!

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25746