Pickett Wilson
Veteran
I've been thinking lately (as is obvious from a previous thread) about where photography goes from here. Making sharp, clear, well exposed images is trivial now. Everyone is a photographer. We can tick all the boxes, reference all the photographers that came before. We can portray others, shoot some more rocks and trees. Turn another HDR trick with Photoshop.
But, for me, the portraits all look the same. The street photos are just more street photos (amazing stuff these days thanks to cameras with no ISO limits not withstanding). The landscapes? Some really amazing stuff technically; but, really, just another landscape. So, now what?
The one thing I don't see much of, and that includes in my own personal photography, is the world view of the person behind the camera. You would think we would see more of this in fine art photography, but what I'm seeing is mostly impersonal stuff in the art world. Commercial "art" photography, designed to sell. Or simply attempts to be radically different (which is very hard to do these days).
I think the challenge going forward will be to create images that are intensely personal, personal in the sense that they reveal the way we uniquely see the world, what we actually think (and feel) about the people, events and objects we point our cameras at. There is a challenge, there, because it means we are going to have to understand, ourselves, where we are coming from, to reveal it in our photos. And it makes us vulnerable to criticism. But I think this direction is the only one that will ultimately make our photos interesting, and unique, among the billions of photos produced each year.
What do you think? Legit, or just the ramblings of an old 60's model hippie?
But, for me, the portraits all look the same. The street photos are just more street photos (amazing stuff these days thanks to cameras with no ISO limits not withstanding). The landscapes? Some really amazing stuff technically; but, really, just another landscape. So, now what?
The one thing I don't see much of, and that includes in my own personal photography, is the world view of the person behind the camera. You would think we would see more of this in fine art photography, but what I'm seeing is mostly impersonal stuff in the art world. Commercial "art" photography, designed to sell. Or simply attempts to be radically different (which is very hard to do these days).
I think the challenge going forward will be to create images that are intensely personal, personal in the sense that they reveal the way we uniquely see the world, what we actually think (and feel) about the people, events and objects we point our cameras at. There is a challenge, there, because it means we are going to have to understand, ourselves, where we are coming from, to reveal it in our photos. And it makes us vulnerable to criticism. But I think this direction is the only one that will ultimately make our photos interesting, and unique, among the billions of photos produced each year.
What do you think? Legit, or just the ramblings of an old 60's model hippie?
D.J.
-
I think you're becoming an artist. Welcome!
icebear
Veteran
Hi P.W.
"nice rambling". I think you are right, especially with the exponential growth in the numbers of pictures taken (with digital cameras) and pictures shown (on the web).
This has literally created a flood of everything. A flood of pictures, a flood of information. The key is always to find the needle in the haystack, if you are the viewer or to produce that outstanding picture that is different from the "billions" in case your are behind the camera . And it has become more difficult to stand out. I think the "last week's best pics" thread reveal everytime that there is lot of outstanding stuff here on RFF.
Bob Michaels
nobody special
I don't see this as being anything new but a continuation of a process that has been happening for 100 years. Yes, there are technological advances currently. This is nothing new as they have been happening for 100 years. We just tend to have a very limited field of view believing that we and our point in time are very unique. In reality we are not special nor are new photo technologies. Do we honestly believe that digital and current iso's (which we consider mind boggling) are a bigger transition that not having to coat your own wet plates just before exposure? Emulsion speeds that made cameras hand holdable? Color film?
Photographers have always faced the challenge of creating work that expresses and communicates a unique personal view. Walker Evans faced it. Robert Capa faced it. HCB and Ansel Adams faced it. Even Alfred Stieglitz faced it.
Let us not delude ourselves into believing we are somebody special at some special point in time facing some challenges that have never been faced before.
Photographers have always faced the challenge of creating work that expresses and communicates a unique personal view. Walker Evans faced it. Robert Capa faced it. HCB and Ansel Adams faced it. Even Alfred Stieglitz faced it.
Let us not delude ourselves into believing we are somebody special at some special point in time facing some challenges that have never been faced before.
bsdunek
Old Guy with a Corgi
This was my first thought too. When you want to express what is inside you, and you don't give a da** what others think, then you are on your way to becoming an artist.
I am pulled two ways. I love doing what I want on one hand, and then think "but it will never sell" on the other. What's interesting is, sometimes it does sell. I say, do what you want for your own work. You'll be happier.
mfogiel
Veteran
I think, the point you are making in short is: nowadays, EVERYTHING AND MORE is not only technically possible in photography - IT HAS BECOME EASY.
Hence, the focus should shift on expressing one's individuality, stressing our "unique" way of seeing.
The problem is, it isn't so easy as it may seem, because most of us see in a similar way, and often we have been brought up looking at the same "iconic" images, which have shaped our tastes.
This is why I like to look at photographs of e.g. asian photographers, because, they often see differently, not having been raised on "TIME","LOOK" and "National Geographic".
http://www.hiroshiwatanabe.com/
http://www.yamamotomasao.jp/
http://blog.leica-camera.com/photog...ica-oskar-barnack-newcomer-award-winner-2011/
The other problem is, in today's internet age everything needs to be instantaneous - I think it is only possible to show your individuality in a series of photographs, maybe even a book, hence a difficulty for anybody to break through.
Personally, I believe to have "discovered" and hepled popularise these two:
http://www.smague.fr/
http://www.marksurloff.com/
and would very much like to do it as well with this one:
http://jasoneskenazi.com/
Hence, the focus should shift on expressing one's individuality, stressing our "unique" way of seeing.
The problem is, it isn't so easy as it may seem, because most of us see in a similar way, and often we have been brought up looking at the same "iconic" images, which have shaped our tastes.
This is why I like to look at photographs of e.g. asian photographers, because, they often see differently, not having been raised on "TIME","LOOK" and "National Geographic".
http://www.hiroshiwatanabe.com/
http://www.yamamotomasao.jp/
http://blog.leica-camera.com/photog...ica-oskar-barnack-newcomer-award-winner-2011/
The other problem is, in today's internet age everything needs to be instantaneous - I think it is only possible to show your individuality in a series of photographs, maybe even a book, hence a difficulty for anybody to break through.
Personally, I believe to have "discovered" and hepled popularise these two:
http://www.smague.fr/
http://www.marksurloff.com/
and would very much like to do it as well with this one:
http://jasoneskenazi.com/
keytarjunkie
no longer addicted
Never make work for the sole purpose of selling it.
There's a great letter (you can probably find it online) that Stephen Shore wrote to a young artist...in it, he notes that he often sees young artists making work with the goal of being in a gallery. He notes this approach as wrong, and encourages them to make work for themselves. Amen to that.
NeeZee
Well-known
sounds a bit too pessimistic if you ask me
people who care about photography still do, i think. real content might be too hard to swallow for many but that holds for all forms of art, be it classical music, painting or whatever as long as you have no interest in it. not really only a problem of the 'internet age' either - before that the majority liked the cheap shots as well...
Exdsc
Well-known
The only way forward for photography is a step backward.
The companies who're making money of other people's photography and personal stuff are social networking sites such as flicker instagram, facebook, google+ etc. These companies have completely devalued photos by giving everyone the platform to show their images for free, but on the background they're profiting by holding the monopoly over the display space.
If people stop posting and sharing their images through social networking sites and control their display space on the web, once again photos will have a value. It is an impossible yet plausible strategy.
Otherwise, no matter how good a photo or work of photography, it has no value if its lost in the tsunami of photos in the social networking sites.
The companies who're making money of other people's photography and personal stuff are social networking sites such as flicker instagram, facebook, google+ etc. These companies have completely devalued photos by giving everyone the platform to show their images for free, but on the background they're profiting by holding the monopoly over the display space.
If people stop posting and sharing their images through social networking sites and control their display space on the web, once again photos will have a value. It is an impossible yet plausible strategy.
Otherwise, no matter how good a photo or work of photography, it has no value if its lost in the tsunami of photos in the social networking sites.
Charlie Lemay
Well-known
In order to find our unique personal vision, we first have to learn to see what we are actually looking at instead of what we expect. I tell my photo students, "Don't show us the things we've all seen before. Show us the images, that if you don't make them, no one else will ever get to see." This is the very definition of discovery. It takes a change in awareness to find something that was always there, yet unnoticed before.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Bob,
Exactly. Especially the highlights. Except that it's more like 150 years.
Cheers,
R.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Charlie,
Exactly. Or to quote a picture library owner I used to know, "We want the extraordinary photographed in a familiar way, or the familiar photographed in an extraordinary way."
Cheers,
R.
btgc
Veteran
Welcome back to the future! I'm pretty sure someone wrote something very similar when first AE cameras appeared, or commercial processing evolved rapidly. Everyone suddenly were photographer. Think also about spread of compact fully automatic cameras, how they changed photography. Or now it's different? Each storm covers coast with a ton of debris and still there are few treasures, along with some amber.
NeeZee
Well-known
Agree - I guess the first box cameras (vintage disposables) must have been a shock for the 'real' photographers back then...
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
Yes, technology has always been disruptive. I think, though, that there is a convergence of technology now that is fundamentally different. A camera, that can handle all the technical details, in everyone's hands (cell phones, etc), always available; and the Internet, that makes everyone an instant publisher, at effectively no cost, is a different order of disruption than we've seen before. Literally millions of photos every minute flowing in a continuous stream of noise onto millions of people's devices makes even the uncommon, common. Instantly.
mynikonf2
OEM
...from one "old 60's model hippie" to another,
"...let go Luke, feel da forced-image"
But seriously, I do understand & can appreciate what you are saying (at least I think I do). That in light of today's tech driven, auto-photographer mode cameras, where everyone, even those with just a cell phone (and a passing interest), is suddenly a "Photographer", who is fully capable of delivering a "WOW" techno, well exposed, in focus image. [The proof of this can be found at any one of the numerous web "image banking/sharing" sites where we can view page, after page, after page of these marvels of technology.] It had come to the point of despair for me because no matter how well I can create an image "manually" it could be matched or bettered by a computerized camera & post processing software. So, IMHO it had become an issue of: How can I express my heart felt desire to be an artist and imprint this within the images I make? As you have said, "... to create images that are "intensely personal". Perhaps it can be done without our complete awareness? Case in point, Vivian Maier: taking her images individually, we may or may not see any purpose behind its capture. But, when we consider the image as a part of a body of work (that took most of her adult life to produce), it is within this context that I begin to see her "intensely personal" imprint on the individual image. Like a good book is remembered by the story told within the sum of its pages, so too is an "intensely personal" story told, one image at a time, within the body of work that we create. What will ultimately set us apart from the mass of image makers will be the quality of the story we tell and our story will be a memorable one, determined one image at a time...
"...let go Luke, feel da forced-image"
But seriously, I do understand & can appreciate what you are saying (at least I think I do
). That in light of today's tech driven, auto-photographer mode cameras, where everyone, even those with just a cell phone (and a passing interest), is suddenly a "Photographer", who is fully capable of delivering a "WOW" techno, well exposed, in focus image. [The proof of this can be found at any one of the numerous web "image banking/sharing" sites where we can view page, after page, after page of these marvels of technology.] It had come to the point of despair for me because no matter how well I can create an image "manually" it could be matched or bettered by a computerized camera & post processing software. So, IMHO it had become an issue of: How can I express my heart felt desire to be an artist and imprint this within the images I make? As you have said, "... to create images that are "intensely personal". Perhaps it can be done without our complete awareness? Case in point, Vivian Maier: taking her images individually, we may or may not see any purpose behind its capture. But, when we consider the image as a part of a body of work (that took most of her adult life to produce), it is within this context that I begin to see her "intensely personal" imprint on the individual image. Like a good book is remembered by the story told within the sum of its pages, so too is an "intensely personal" story told, one image at a time, within the body of work that we create. What will ultimately set us apart from the mass of image makers will be the quality of the story we tell and our story will be a memorable one, determined one image at a time... 
Dan
Let's Sway
Think about when Kodak introduced the Brownie at the turn of the century. That technology liberated photography from the studio, with it's stiff, infrequent formal shots, into the flux of everyday life that could be randomly captured by anyone.
I bet there was a novel period of adjustment to the new kind of photographs being made and seen, if only by the tiny segment of the population making them. Perhaps we're too closely situated at the front of the new digital expansion and adjustment in public photographic expression. All this picture-taking activity is the process of sifting through and moving forward.
I bet there was a novel period of adjustment to the new kind of photographs being made and seen, if only by the tiny segment of the population making them. Perhaps we're too closely situated at the front of the new digital expansion and adjustment in public photographic expression. All this picture-taking activity is the process of sifting through and moving forward.
Damaso
Photojournalist
Ramblings I'd say (with respect). Everybody's been a photographer since the Brownie. Yes it has gotten easier and yes it has gotten more ubiquitous but this is not a new trend. Is the imagery out there getting more homogenized (both commercial and amateur)? Probably. Again I don't think this is a new trend. In most art forms people tend to try to reproduce the work that is considered successful. I think if you spend enough time looking out there you will see plenty of work that is unique and/or personal. That doesn't mean you don't have to search for it. I think the web has made it easier to find that work than it was 40 years ago and I think the availability of distribution through the web has made the work of more people, and I include myself here, more accessible.
kxl
Social Documentary
To put it succinctly, my guiding principle in my photography and my writing is:
"The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying F@%# About You."
Basically, it's a 'JUST DO IT' perspective that is the opposite of the "I'M AN AUTEUR WHO'S EMBARKING ON THE NEXT BIG THING" philosophy.
Don't overthink it - just do it. If it's a masterpiece, then on to "THE NEXT THING." If it's crap, then guess what - it's still on to THE NEXT THING.
Either way, the universe marches on....
"The Universe Doesn't Give a Flying F@%# About You."
Basically, it's a 'JUST DO IT' perspective that is the opposite of the "I'M AN AUTEUR WHO'S EMBARKING ON THE NEXT BIG THING" philosophy.
Don't overthink it - just do it. If it's a masterpiece, then on to "THE NEXT THING." If it's crap, then guess what - it's still on to THE NEXT THING.
Either way, the universe marches on....
it'sawhat?
Established
Pickett , hasn't this always been the issue for anyone
wanting to stand out from the masses? If you are bothered by all the bland boring images posted online then just quit wasting time looking at them and spend time on improving what you do. I don't mean that as an attack, just saying why bother with something you don't like when you can spend time on getting better at what you do.
wanting to stand out from the masses? If you are bothered by all the bland boring images posted online then just quit wasting time looking at them and spend time on improving what you do. I don't mean that as an attack, just saying why bother with something you don't like when you can spend time on getting better at what you do.