My favorite images that no one else likes

You're right, Matt. "Like" and "nice" and similar words are "weasel words" "that suck the life out of the words next to them" (Stewart Chaplin, 1900).

My friends who are artists very much care about whether others find their work interesting in some way. I also agree that one cannot just say that the opinions of others are of supernatural indifference because dialogue ends at that point. For me, I feel that I don't know any more about the true nature of photography today than I did back 40 years ago when my most important concern was getting that black bodied Nikon and praying that the NYT picked up my shot of the Buffalo Bills' game on the wire.

After all is said, I do feel that it's worth some time to revisit the questions every so often.
 
Damaso said:
What's interesting to me are the images that I don't much care for but that everyone else is passionate about!
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I have that problem too...I have even stated "I don't really like this one"...
There are photos you take that may have more to them than just a decent image...you were there at that moment...you remember the smells, the sounds and maybe the emotion you were feeling then...all these can add to why you like certain shots that others may not...
 
It is a bit frustrating for sure when I think an image I took is good and doesn't get one comment. Then I see here and on flickr images that in my eye are (to put it bluntly)... crap and get all kinds of attention. I don't get it!
A good part of it though I know for fact(unless you are actually good) is the people that comment on pictures get comments on theirs. I played that game for a while but I realized I was kidding myself. I don't need those kind of comments...a favor. I would much rather one or two genuine comments than 100 because I commented on theirs.
I totally agree with "williams473" saying "To say "I don't care what people think of my work" is simply to opt out of the discussion" If you don't care, why bother posting anywhere! Sure I wish my crappy photos got more attention but there is not much I can do about it 🙂 I just try to do better and hope someone can tell me I've gotten better.
 
I don't mean to be opting out of the discussion, I just don't care about what people think of my pictures. If I like a picture I've taken, it's a satisfaction like nothing else. If you don't, why would that be anything more than trivia? Conversely, if we both like my pic, and we try real hard to come up with a number of other ways of saying it, do we like it any differently? I also think declaring that I'm "opting out of the discussion" is pretty arbitrary, it's nice to be the one to decide the limits, innit williams473?
 
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Shoot cause you like it!

Shoot cause you like it!

I've been reading this thread and it occured to me that Vivian Maier left over 100,000 undeveloped pictures.I find that hard to get my head around that. Her work is SO good. Did she know it? I fill a roll and I can't wait to see the results. Any improvements? Did I get lucky with a shot? A hundreh thousand unseen shots.Well she'd seen them once.
 
chris7521 said:
It is a bit frustrating for sure when I think an image I took is good and doesn't get one comment. Then I see here and on flickr images that in my eye are (to put it bluntly)... crap and get all kinds of attention. I don't get it!
A good part of it though I know for fact(unless you are actually good) is the people that comment on pictures get comments on theirs. I played that game for a while but I realized I was kidding myself. I don't need those kind of comments...a favor. I would much rather one or two genuine comments than 100 because I commented on theirs.
I totally agree with "williams473" saying "To say "I don't care what people think of my work" is simply to opt out of the discussion" If you don't care, why bother posting anywhere! Sure I wish my crappy photos got more attention but there is not much I can do about it 🙂 I just try to do better and hope someone can tell me I've gotten better.
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Surfing thru your flickr work and it seems you've done pretty well. How many people get 47 comments... ?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/-chris_b/476472234/
 
Whats the old expression? "No one ever went broke by under estimating the taste of the public." Too true. I notice it on Flickr. If I post a photo of a pretty young woman or a cute child or puppy it gets heaps of attention. Post something I am really proud of and it gets zip. Which is why essentially I photograph for myself. I could not imagine becoming a commercial photographer and having to take boring photos for boring people. I much rather photograph subjects that interest and challenge me. And hey, that's o.k. as it makes me an artist. (Even if I am a crap artist :^) )
 
It's all about context, about striking a chord with the viewer.

I'd assume that you take a lot of joy from these particular images because they strike a personal chord with you, and trigger a pleasant memory of sorts. Maybe you were able to get the exact results you were after, or were documenting a particularly meaningful moment in your life. But you have to remember that your viewers will not benefit from this information and will be approaching your work with no pre-conceived notions or emotions.

If you post a lot of images online, I think you will find in time the exact opposite holding true as well. What I mean is, you may post an image that you think is so-so, but everyone will seem to go nuts for it.

I have experienced both sides of this phenomenon myself.

Beauty, as they say, really is in the eye of the beholder. We all see the world through a different filter.

Keep shooting.

As long as your draw joy from it, rest assured, you are doing it right. 🙂
 
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jan normandale said:
Surfing thru your flickr work and it seems you've done pretty well. How many people get 47 comments... ?
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Like I said, I used to play the game of commenting on all my contacts photos and also posted to groups that you have to comment on other peoples photos. Photos I may not normally comment on. I could get lots of comments that way. It's a big game lots of people play on that site. If anyone wants to play that game, you can but, you are fooling no one but yourself😉
 
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