Overrated photographers...

Juan Valdenebro

Juan Valdenebro

Truth is beauty
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Have you ever felt any photographer, even if having merits, is being overrated?

Let's name a few of those we don't consider as great as others seem to consider them... (We know there will be different opinions, so let's keep this cool and interesting...)

I will start: Ansel Adams is an overrated photographer to me. Way overrated!

Cheers,

Juan
 
Well ... a guaranteed brawl in the making here ... I'm staying out of this! :eek:

:D
 
I think this is a risky thread.... Ever since photography started mingling with modern art, and photographers started striving to be "original " at all cost, at the expense of beauty and content of the photos, in my eyes they marginalized themselves from what I like to consider the essence of this medium. The list is embarassingly long, but setting aside Man Ray, I would begin with a name which has begun a long series of imitators: William Eggleston. A separate "honourable mention" for dullness and ugliness, merits the whole Dusseldorf school, with their water reservoirs, libraries and wall sized banal shots. FWIW if you want to see a condensed photograpic greatness, look up one of the commemorative albums of Mario Giacomelli - an example of how much photography can offer with how limited means.
 
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William Eggleston is one of my favorite photographers (!), but I have no use whatsoever for Ansel Adams. Other than that, I'm staying out. Photography is so subjective.
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Not guaranteed and you didn't stay out...;)

Cheers,

Juan
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When I said 'staying out' I meant not offering an opinion ... and to be honest my lack of experience with any photographers of note that are out there gives my opinion little validation!

I'll watch quite happily though ... should be a good read. :)
 
Okay, for me, it depends on the year. Once upon a time, I thought Helmut Newton was vastly overrated. I no longer feel this way. Les Krims, on the other hand (with his recreated, Weegee-wannabe stuff)? Yep, overrated. Adams? Certainly not always my cup o' Pilsner, but I wouldn't utter the "O" word his way. And, count me among those who actually like Eggleston's work.

(Hell, on a bad day, I think I'm crazy-overrated...assuming anyone's paying attention, that is.)


- Barrett
 
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I don't see any visual or conceptual greatness in Eggleston either... I just don't know what happened to Szarkowski then... :) Maybe he just wanted to color paint the MOMA in total relaxation... :) Cameras, as life, are not totally democratic...

Cheers,

Juan
 
The swimming pool...the woman in the dress by the roadside....the red ceiling...elvis...the barbeque...

:cool:
 
Keith said:
When I said 'staying out' I meant not offering an opinion ... and to be honest my lack of experience with any photographers of note that are out there gives my opinion little validation!

I'll watch quite happily though ... should be a good read. :)
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Hi Keith,

I was just joking... I bet your opinion would be experienced enough, and it would be nice to have it here... Maybe later...

Cheers,

Juan
 
I think Araki is overrated, though I haven't gone out of my way to see much. Also, that guy who does the big set up shot lightbox transparency things.
 
I like Adams, but I also have spent a lot of time hiking and climbing in many of the places he photographed. His best images, often imitated, capture the spirit and the light of those places in ways not surpassed and often not equalled. Moreover, his images were in some cases instrumental in the preservation of these locations for future generations.

He was an important teacher, one of the most important in the medium's history.

Finally, with Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and the others in Group f/64, he played a key role in moving American photography away from fuzzy romanticism and toward a sharper and more serious approach.

In my opinion, if you don't credit all of these aspects of Adams's work, you shortchange his contribution.

Overrated photographers? Cindy Sherman and Terry Richardson, for starters.
 
semilog said:
I like Adams, but I also have spent a lot of time hiking and climbing in many of the places he photographed. His best images, often imitated, capture the spirit and the light of those places in ways not surpassed and often not equalled. Moreover, his images were in some cases instrumental in the preservation of these locations for future generations.

He was an important teacher, one of the most important in the medium's history.

Finally, with Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, and the others in Group f/64, he played a key role in moving American photography away from fuzzy romanticism and toward a sharper and more serious approach.

In my opinion, if you don't credit all of these aspects of Adams's work, you shortchange his contribution.

Overrated photographers? Cindy Sherman and Terry Richardson, for starters.
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And he was also a very nice person. And my first serious teacher: I respect him a lot... And for sure I love nature as much as he did... I like nature a lot more than his representations of nature, too. He was more worried about transforming his subjects while printing, than about showing a capture... And he stayed away from human emotions... And about nature or landscape: it's a lot more beautiful than all the dodging and burning on his "paintings"...:D

Richardson... I agree.

Cheers,

Juan
 
I will drop some fuel on the fire for discussion: Robert Frank and HCB.

Frank because he did not do anything worthwile after "The Americans".
And HCB because he did the same tricks for 60 years in a row.
 
My favorite colour is Viridian, though it's probably not yours. ;)

But I will say, on flickr for example. People comment on the pictures that others have commented on generally. If you have a great photo with 0 comments, it may never be recognized. If you have an average photo with 50 comments from "you've got best flower picture award! FIVE STARS!" then it will be explored and people will continue to post comments and fav it.
 
Neare said:
My favorite colour is Viridian, though it's probably not yours. ;)

But I will say, on flickr for example. People comment on the pictures that others have commented on generally. If you have a great photo with 0 comments, it may never be recognized. If you have an average photo with 50 comments from "you've got best flower picture award! FIVE STARS!" then it will be explored and people will continue to post comments and fav it.
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Must be sad living in a world where best all time artists are historical mistakes... Now we could know if you think you'll be able to rescue the world or there's no possible solution, and we all will remain cheated...;)

Cheers,

Juan
 
Ranchu said:
I think Araki is overrated, though I haven't gone out of my way to see much. Also, that guy who does the big set up shot lightbox transparency things.
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Araki ... I thought the same until I read some more about him. Now I find Araki actually very interesting.
 
J. Borger said:
I will drop some fuel on the fire for discussion: Robert Frank and HCB.

Frank because he did not do anything worthwile after "The Americans".
And HCB because he did the same tricks for 60 years in a row.
Click to expand...

Like saying in some art discussion Leonardo and Picasso were irrelevant: no fuel on the fire at all... :) But your two reasons are so peculiar... Curious points of view! Thanks!

Cheers,

Juan
 
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