There is no argument in the real world, only in the mind of the author.
Frankly I hear echoes of the argument from photographers themselves all the time. We are often ready to critque our own kids, but let a stranger dare…..
For example, the idea that nearly everything in photography has already been done, which I've heard discussed even here.
Consider:
Nature is astoundingly beautiful: can any of us claim to to have seen a photograph which can compete with the real thing? Trouble is our own presence is limited to a single place, so a landscape with great light and effect from another location is arresting.
Yet a giant Bierstadt, for some, can compete, and is to an excellent landscape capture what a meal cooked from scratch is to a pre-readied microwave dish, at least in the mind of Jones. What the image has over the painting is perhaps a potential for realism, though some painters show they can be very “realistic”
🙂
Special effects, e.g. fast lenses and long exposures, and selective framing can be applied which highlight particular aspects and inspire the mind. Humans are strongly attracted to symbols, and photography certainly is fantastic for creating and transmitting visual symbols.
Perhaps this is one source of the "soulless" aspect in his thinking. Mass production brings down unit cost...and Jones would argue it brings down the value as well. In other words it's too easy and too ubiquitous to make images which captivate the average viewer. Photography is corn syrup. The end effect is to jade the eye, and the mind becomes obese.....
The comeback to this might be: It’s like refrigeration. Makes life easier for anyone with access, and the worldwide diversity and quality of eating has improved as a result. (except it hasn’t LOL)
No people are harsher critics of photography than shooters, and there is no photographer I can think of, with the possible exception of a few giants, who I have not heard dismissed by one shooter or the other, in terms equal to the lexicon of Mr Jones.
The recent thread about Maier a case in point.
What’s the matter with photography today? Why is it so tough to make a living at it?
One arguement might state: becasue nearly anyone with the proper gear and determination can produce jaw-dropping images of just about anything. Take an unknown image by one of the greats and throw it up on a forum for review, as if a newbie shot it. No doubt many may really like it, but taken a step further and asked if it’s great….better than nearly anything they’ve seen by anyone on the forum. No Way.
It used to be very hard to get from Bejing to Paris. When you arrived you were not the same person as who left. Today you can get on plane. It’s worse than easy, because that incredible convenience has terrible side effects. Again a “Soullessness”, perhaps. Why take the time to describe a special location to your friend, when you can just snap a picture?
Our brains have been shrinking, literally, ever since we moved into cities, and some postulate that the rise of communication by image is a further fall.
OK Devil’s advocate role is taxing my tiny brain...where’s my Leica? It might not make art, but as daily fare, it's captures taste pretty good
🙂
