i just realized...

[DougK]

I thoroughly enjoy the gear discussions (although my wallet doesn't) but I'd also like to see more topics on the process of photography, composition, etc. I've taken some good shots, but I'd really like to increase my hit ratio and sometimes I just feel like I'm fumbling in the dark with this stuff... although I do have some cool gear to do it with now. 🙂

 

[tedwhite]

Joe:

Fertile idea, and why not. You gave some examples of "simple." My favorite phrase is "simple elegance." By that I mean that nothing is there that doesn't need to be there. A friend of mine said that in a Chekov short story if he calls your attention to a sword mounted over a fireplace, it's a significant detail, and it damn well better be used before the story ends.

Which, I hope, implies that what made you decide to make an image of "A" should perhaps contain nothing else in it that doesn't contribute to a viewer's understanding, or emotional appreciation of "A." Sometimes a portrait is done against a blank wall, or not. An environmental portrait tells, in its way, a story about the person; where she lives, what she does for a living. Maybe merely where she eats lunch.

There, I've done it. Stepped into it for sure.

Ted

 

[Pherdinand]

Here we are onto gear again. 😉

Yes, my goal was reached🙂 Joe, you are so easy to manipulate!

 

[taffer]

So... do you mean these things take photos ?!!! 😕

...

Wait a minute... then.. that's probably what that thing called film is for ! 😱

 

[back alley]

Yes, my goal was reached🙂 Joe, you are so easy to manipulate!

i feel so cheap...

joe

 

[rbiemer]

YIKES! Two fairly distinct things you're asking about, joe. I can easily explain why I take pictures--it is a release for me. In my daily life I spend 8-10 or more hours most days doing what other people want me to do. As do most working stiffs, I suppose but it's a bit more literal in my case(I'm a chef)so the time I spend with a camera is time solely for myself. I can take pictures of whatever I please(or nothing) and I don't have to apologize or explain. I find that being completely selfish in this way lets me be more empathic to the folks around me at home and work.
I also use that time to get out side and having acamera with me focuses my vision so that I look alot closer at the world around me. I'm a social enough person that I sometimes want to share what I've seen so I usually have film in the camera.
I have a strong creative impluse and while the job lets me use some of that I need other ways to express my self. I'm not a good enough writer for that to be satisfying and I've tried other ways and was even worse.(I did OK at oil painting until somebody rearranged the numbers).
I know this thread isn't about gear, but the choices I have made are part of my identity as a photographer, they reflect some of what I'm trying to do esthetically.
I am trying to keep the equiptment simple. I find that my pictures are better when I have to think about the choices I make. So these all mech./all manual cameras force me to decide aperature,shutter speed lens lenght,etc and at some level I have to think about what I'm trying to do in a photo.
Usually I want pretty pictures some one could hang on their wall. I make no apologies about that.
There is another thing about my photography-- I have given a few framed prints to my friends over the years and( if I am honest with myself) that is for my ego as well. I know that a piece of me is always around them. That they like me well enough to display that affection by giving some of my work a place in their homes.
I shouldn't need it but that external validation is important to me.
Again, YIKES!
At least if I talk/write about this stuff here, you folks get it. Thanks!
Rob

 

[back alley]

...but the choices I have made are part of my identity as a photographer, they reflect some of what I'm trying to do esthetically.


well said, i like that!

joe

 

[RubenBlaedel]

I forum for debating photography is a great idea joe - please make it happend