looking at my pics...

[Michael Markey]

David Bailey is an artist and master of his craft. I'm sure he had a pool of critics guiding him on his way to success.. maybe his local camera club?

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera". - Dorothea Lange

Err ... I don`t think that you`d find many camera clubs in the East End.

Interesting idea though 😀

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Thanks for the reminder 🙂

They once put it to David Bailey that he didn`t get the respect for his work in the UK as he would if he`d been born in the US.

He answered "respect from who" ," I don`t care ...there`s only a few people who understand anyway".

I think that`s key .
Find someone who understands what you`re trying to do but also understands you.

Here`s the interview .... it rambles as David Bailey interviews are apt to do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbyQgkOB9s

His BW portraits are very classy. Maybe some other projects were criticized. But each country and time is different. Back then he might be criticized to have not enough Lucy in the Sky in his photography.
🙂

 

[PKR]

Err ... I don`t think that you`d find many camera clubs in the East End.

Interesting idea though 😀

Hi Michael; I don't know the east end from the west end (London I suspect) but, as Stan Freiberg said: "Everyone wants to be an Art Director". It holds true today as it did years back when Stan made this observation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCEE9pOkvQU

 

[Michael Markey]

Hi PKR

The East End was a very rough area when David Bailey was growing up .... with a very straightforward attitude to life.

Not much time for art.

The `60`s changed all that though at least for a while.
The West End is the glitzy part with theaters , cinemas ect.
I`m sure that pattern is mirrored in the major cities through out the world.

That link is funny .... he sounds like William Burroughs 🙂

 

[farlymac]

I don't know, Joe. Critiquing someones work is a fine line to tread for most folks. Even when I've asked for some here in the "Critique/Salon" section, it's been sparse to say the least.

I do remember a few years ago posting some photos I took of the cloudy sky at sunset with a Konica C35, and someone said I should try to emulate a certain photographer who takes fantastic cloud photos, and included a link to his site.

I took a gander, and decided I didn't need to be waist deep in a Florida swamp with a large format camera to get fantastic cloud photos. I just wanted to know if the ones I posted were okay composition and exposure wise, given the limitations of the camera.

I post a lot of stuff that gets no comments, or the comment is about something the subject matter reminded them about. I don't worry about getting feedback here, because I can get that from the people I interact with in my life. I'm also not trying to be the next big thing in photography, as that is a finicky achievement to accomplish now days.

But it would be nice to get some technical advice some times. My main style is to tell a story with my photos, not just display them without titles or descriptions, leaving the viewer to wonder what is going on in the scene. There are times I feel I fall flat in that aspect, and would welcome some input. Then again, if I were to comment on every posting I see here, on other forums, and Flickr, I'd spend too much time to even be able to take photos myself. So I limit my comments to something that really hits the target of what I perceive the photographer to be attempting to portray.

I think a lot of other folks do too.

PF

 

[PKR]

Hi PKR

The East End was a very rough area when David Bailey was growing up .... with a very straightforward attitude to life.

Not much time for art.

The `60`s changed all that though at least for a while.
The West End is the glitzy part with theaters , cinemas ect.
I`m sure that pattern is mirrored in the major cities through out the world.

That link is funny .... he sounds like William Burroughs 🙂

Freiberg was a famous AD man in the US. It's likely he read Burroughs.

A women I knew, who's father was an English Prof. and close friend of Burroughs, grew up with "Bill" being around their farm a lot. She told me of long talks with him as a kid, and her father and Bill shooting their pistols at targets in the pasture. Bill liked guns, as I'm sure you know.

 

[Michael Markey]

Wow ... what an upbringing 🙂

Back on track .... I think PF sums up very well the difficulties in providing feed back.

The other thing that occurs is feed back to what end.
Is it not to some extent dependent on what the photograph is going to be used for and how its going to be displayed .

I don`t know just thinking out loud.

 

[jsrockit]

Learn to be your own critic. Study art history, visit museums and galleries. Look at your work critically. Who cares what others think, unless someone is paying you to photograph something? The only thing that really matters is what you think, because if done honestly, that photo is you.

My two cents.

Yes... ... and put in the time and effort to learn... and push yourself and then do it some more.

 

[jsrockit]

That's a great question. Do people want critique or do they want praise? I think people should attend a workshop run by someone they respect if they want their work to be critiqued. Else making do with the "nice shot" is the polite way to go in a public forum. I second the recommendation to be your own critic.

That's the issue... do you want someone who you feels makes worse photos than you critiquing your work? Not really. It's always useful to listen to someone that you feel is better than you. Even then, they can be wrong. Ultimately, it is your journey and you have to figure out what is useful and what isn't.

 

[PKR]

Yes... ... and put in the time and effort to learn... and push yourself and then do it some more.

And, if you like a photo that someone has done, and tell them so, you're telling them that they are liked by you. Most people who have long time trusted friends, don't need the constant patting on the head, telling them they are valued. I think this may be at the root of some of this. With a phone culture of people who rarely communicate head to head, it seems a possibility.

Also, I think the camera has become a "social tool".. look what I had for lunch, etc. more than the creative tool it once was (family snaps aside). So now, everyone wants to be recognized for their "creative work".

Most of my painter friends wanted to sell paintings, not for fame (some are), but for funding art supplies and paying studio rent (if they didn't do other work). In terms of being "understood", that was only expected of their close friends who knew them well. Photography has exploded with digital cameras and social media. Those of us who are seriously interested in "Photography", have little in common with these folks. Why the need for all the petting?

Do the serious work it takes for improvement. People think I'm creative, being creative plus thousands of hours working at what I do, makes me "look" creative. I'm no photo genius, believe me. What I do is hard for me, but it's really fun and often exciting.