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back alley

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i put a few shots in my gallery and i really like a couple of them, but they all got pushed through kinda quick.
i don't normally ask, but if you have some time i would appreciate a look and some feedback.
there are 2 that i think are some of the strongest shots i have taken in awhile.

i ask cause most of the time the shots that i think are weak get better feedback and the ones i like get no comments at all.

i'm trying to evaluate, learn, grow and get better at this.

many thanks,
joe
 
I have the same "problem"; when I look at something fresh out of the camera, i am too much in the original scene and can't see if the photo is really worth anything as it is. Therefore I rarely throw out non-eek stuff right away, i do the editing some time (weeks, months) after.
 
backalley photo said:
i ask cause most of the time the shots that i think are weak get better feedback and the ones i like get no comments at all.

Nice photos, Joe. I particularly liked "Look."

I read something along these lines in the current issue of Lenswork. In Bill Jay's endnotes, he mentions that over the years, many of his most satisfying images where from shots that he wanted to throw out on first examining the contacts.

I think Winogrand waited several months before proofing his street shots, so as to objectively look at his photos.

Bill Jay also expressed his fear that now that he is exclusively shooting digital, and most of the "unacceptable" images are deleted right away, even at the in-camera stage, he may be inadvertently deleting these future "keepers."

Food for thought.
 
Everyone is different, I suppose, at least I am!

If others like some of my pictures, while it does make me happy, having someone say that a particular image that I like is "weak" isn't going to change my opinion of it. Since it is my photography that I do for myself, ultimately it is only my opinion that counts. (I'm talking pictures I take for myself, not paying clients, those you have to please.) I do not like the idea of giving editing power over to anyone else. Everyone has their opinions about an image. So do I, and since it is my photography, it is my opinion that matters. If I let others edit my work, it is less of my own photography. If I let others direct my work, it is less pure "me". I just want to be me.
 
backalley photo said:
thanks pherdi!

i need to ask for feedback more often if i ever intend to 'improve' my work.

i'll expand more on this later.
joe

to be clear...

i'm asking for feedback for various reasons but the end goal is to improve.

i never ask for feedback or rarely even discuss my photos with anyone. people make comments, 'oh i like that, 'how did you take that?' etc. and i usually mumble something in return.
i dislike the idea of being an 'artist' and think discussing my 'work' is pretentious.

but then i never really know what others think. what IS IT that they liked or didn't like? what are YOU seeing that i am not or what an I seeing that no one else seems to.
i agree, in the end, i must please myself but right now i am intensely interested in what you see and HOW you see it.

joe
 
I wasn't meaning to say that there is anything at all wrong with what you are doing/asking - I started off by saying that everyone is different. Feedback that you would find helpful I might not. That's okay. I'm okay, you're okay.

My problem might be that I don't find words adequate to discuss images. (my inadequacy?) Beyond the technical: it's too dark/light/contrasty/fuzzy etc, what can you say beyond: I like that image, I like that image a lot, or, it doesn't do it for me. Try cropping like this? Try not to cut off their limbs at the joints.
 
my response was not directed at you frank.
i was answering my own post from earlier when i was at work, was busy and could not expand on my need for feedback.

i too share in the frustration that is the english language but the need to learn & i hope move forward is stronger than the frustration.

joe
 
to all who have left comments you have my deepest appreciation.

to those who have not yet posted any comments, to those who never post any comments and to those who only rarely post comments,
please do so now.
they too will be greatly appreciated.
joe
 
thanks ray, i was just reading them.

it is amazing some of the things that people have said that i did not think about.

i don't want to name names but some of the remarks have actually given me a fresh look at a familiar subject for me. some tie ins that are remarkable and in truth a bit of a boost.
this has been/is an exciting process.

i would recommend it to all.
joe
 
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