Brutally honest critique thread

[typhillips]

This thread is fantastic, despite the occasional fragile ego. FrankS and Ned, you guys are my new heroes. I've read through almost the whole thing. This type of thread is SORELY... I repeat... SORELY lacking on RFF.

Sorry to get on my soapbox, especially as someone who so seldom posts here, but RFF - much like Flickr and some other sites I visit - sometimes seems like a big sunshine fest, with everyone dishing out empty compliments left and right. It honestly actually turns my stomach sometimes.
Don't get me wrong - I think it's great that the tone here is almost universally very respectful. After all, that's just human decency. However, this "chummy-chummy" culture has the side effect of everyone walking on eggshells and not giving their honest thoughts.

For me personally, having a bunch of people robotically praise an image of mine - or anything I do, for that matter - brings about little satisfaction. However, a well thought out and honest critique is infinitely more meaningful, regardless of how positive/negative it is.

I will personally defend Ned 100% on every comment he's made in this thread.... and I think I read most, if not all, of them. Absolutely nothing he's posted was not in the spirit of the OP's (FrankS) charter.

OK, I realize I am OT here, so I promise I will post some images of mine so you dogs can shred them as viciously as you like. I just need to find something of mine that's actually worthy of your time!!

 

[typhillips]

A four photo collection - Barriers

Would appreciate hearing your thoughts on these as a group, of if you prefer to repsond to any individual.

The first image is very strong, IMHO. I like one of the posters reference to Orwell's 1984. I also disagree with some of the comments about abstraction not working in photography. I see no reason for that... it works in painting and other visual arts. Why not photography, which is after all just a visual art anyway? In this case the image is abstracted just enough for us to not be certain what we are looking at, but the allusion to known forms is there.

The other images are significantly weaker, but they might work as part of a larger series. There is a certain consistency between the photos that implies this.

 

[typhillips]

Since I already said I enjoy abstraction in photography, please peck away!

 

[Hsg]

^If you make really large prints of those shots and then place them in the walls of a home with high ceiling, they could very well pass as 'art'.

If you print them in a book on the other hand, their impact will be diminished.

So the question is what are you intending to do with those images so one can critique it accordingly.

 

[typhillips]

^If you make really large prints of those shots and then place them in the walls of a home with high ceiling, they could very well pass as 'art'.

If you print them in a book on the other hand, their impact will be diminished.

So the question is what are you intending to do with those images so one can critique it accordingly.

Thanks so much for chiming in. I was afraid this thread might be dead! Your question is an excellent one to which I wish I had a proper answer!

As someone who shoots in my limited free time for pleasure only, I often struggle with this question. Recently I have started to create photographic series, with the aim of putting them in a portfolio box or maybe getting them printed in a Blurb/Adorama book. This has been a great exercise for me because it's forced me to think about images in relation to one another, and not as random isolated entities. On some level, however, it is a vain exercise, as I have no interest or intention of trying to sell any of my work (not that anyone would necessarily want to buy it, anyway).

I think these photos will most likely end up in a series with other photographs that will tie everything together... ideally, anyway. The biggest risk with abstract photos is that they come across as cold or impersonal, so perhaps some more "human" images alongside them will provide balance.

Just my immediate thoughts on the subject, anyway.

 

[Hsg]

Thanks so much for chiming in. I was afraid this thread might be dead! Your question is an excellent one to which I wish I had a proper answer!

As someone who shoots in my limited free time for pleasure only, I often struggle with this question. Recently I have started to create photographic series, with the aim of putting them in a portfolio box or maybe getting them printed in a Blurb/Adorama book. This has been a great exercise for me because it's forced me to think about images in relation to one another, and not as random isolated entities. On some level, however, it is a vain exercise, as I have no interest or intention of trying to sell any of my work (not that anyone would necessarily want to buy it, anyway).

I think these photos will most likely end up in a series with other photographs that will tie everything together... ideally, anyway. The biggest risk with abstract photos is that they come across as cold or impersonal, so perhaps some more "human" images alongside them will provide balance.

Just my immediate thoughts on the subject, anyway.

In photography let your photos tell you what you should do.

If abstract photos intrigue you then continue with them.

 

[typhillips]

In photography let your photos tell you what you should do.

If abstract photos intrigue you then continue with them.

I shall, as a supplement to the other types of photos I like to take.

As far as letting the photos tell one what to do, this seems like reasonable advice in many situations, but sometimes you need an external influence to push you down unexplored paths.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

^If you make really large prints of those shots and then place them in the walls of a home with high ceiling, they could very well pass as 'art'.

If you print them in a book on the other hand, their impact will be diminished.

So the question is what are you intending to do with those images so one can critique it accordingly.

Interesting how the use of abstract photography needs different concrete settings to be appreciated accordingly.

 

[typhillips]

Typhillips,
These three photographs are really fine photographs.
The first one could also workif cropped right to the tip.

Abstract photography is as misunderstood, mostly by the photographer himself, as street photography. It's clear to me that you know what you are doing.

Thanks for commenting, Ned. I appreciate knowing that I might at least be on the right track with these.

Regarding the crop, I agree 100% but I prefer it without for some reason... I think because the top of the frame helps ground it a bit, if that makes any sense.

I used to shoot mostly street style photographs, but honestly I was never really thrilled with 98% of what I was able to come up with. Too many distracting objects in the background... I felt like in most locations it was tough to get a "clean" shot and the moments themselves were mostly not remarkable enough to compensate for flawed compositions.

These days my "street" photos fall more into the category of what I would call "street minimalism". I hate these terms.... just trying to come up with some way of describing it.

By the way, Ned, I looked at a bunch of work you posted in another thread and found it exceptional! You obviously have spent years developing your craft and it shows. I truly enjoyed looking at every image. However, please do yourself a favor and find a better way of capturing your lovely, painstaking darkroom prints... iPhone snaps?? C'mon!!😀

 

[typhillips]

Interesting how the use of abstract photography needs different concrete settings to be appreciated accordingly.

Perhaps, but I think you could make the same argument about other styles too, though, don't you think? Landscapes lose some of their impact in a small book and are best viewed large. Street images, for whatever reason, often seem to work better when printed smaller, although it depends greatly on the image.