Turning over a new leaf: People only!

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Vics

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Looking at the twenty-one contacts of pix taken on my six-week sojourn in France, I've decided to shoot ONLY PEOPLE for the next year, or from now on. I'm sick to death of my pictures of the sea, churches, rivers, dogs, buildings, etc.! The only pictures that turn me on are pics of PEOPLE, so for at least the next year, it's nothing but people! PLUS, nothing but Tri-X, Leica M3 and Sumicron 50 and Summaron 35. That!'s it! Swear to God!
 
back alley said:
it took forever for my friends to stop asking me...'why do you take pictures of people you don't know?'
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'Because I'm interested in them'... but I'm sure you've through that routine!

Interesting. One could also ask why you take pictures of streets/buildings/squares/cats you don't know. But somehow that question never gets asked.
 
Throwing the blinders on the rest of the world seems quite limiting.
is there any room for wigle room.

Perhaps carry another body to shoot other stuff?

At any rate, good luck with your journy in the people only universe.


Personally I don't like people that much to make them only subject.
But if you can make it work, all the power to you.
 
Good choice of equipment and film, and I agree that people are the most interesting and challenging subjects. I also came back from a trip to Europe, and I am still plowing through too many images of "stuff" - the best shots were of warm bodies.

That said, I think that more abstract pictures of "stuff" can be almost as interesting as people. Maybe what you are really objecting to are tourist photos? No one says you can't photograph the interesting pile of debris next to the cathedral...

Randy
 
Nikkor AIS said:
Throwing the blinders on the rest of the world seems quite limiting.
is there any room for wigle room.

Perhaps carry another body to shoot other stuff?

At any rate, good luck with your journy in the people only universe.


Personally I don't like people that much to make them only subject.
But if you can make it work, all the power to you.
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This reflects my sentiments perfectly and I'll add that in my opinion people are actualy fairly easy to photograph. Their unpredictability makes them perfect subjects because often how the photo turns out is up to them and not so much the photographer. Not that I'm saying this is the rule!

Finding a pile of rubbish in the corner of a parking lot and turning it into an interesting photo takes imagination and good compositional skills.
 
Alkis has been telling (more like commanding!) me to do this for years now. Maybe I need to pay attention. :eek:
 
Good luck. I've been tempted but don't have the discipline - I'm easily sidetracked :)

Let us know how you feel in a few months, it might just inspire better work from all of us.

Tom
 
Vics said:
Looking at the twenty-one contacts of pix taken on my six-week sojourn in France, I've decided to shoot ONLY PEOPLE for the next year, or from now on. I'm sick to death of my pictures of the sea, churches, rivers, dogs, buildings, etc.! The only pictures that turn me on are pics of PEOPLE, so for at least the next year, it's nothing but people! PLUS, nothing but Tri-X, Leica M3 and Sumicron 50 and Summaron 35. That!'s it! Swear to God!
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I went through the same change three years ago and now it seems so obvious to me. Wish I'd done so long before. For now, at least, everything but people feels lifeless.

John
 
....there's no problem with just shooting MORE photos of people. When I was in NYC, I shot almost exclusively street shots of people (about 95%), with some landscape, still life stuff. Now that I live in a town of 1500 people, surrounded by beautiful land and a rich history of artifacts....people photography doesn't appeal to me as much and most of my stuff is the opposite. However, it did inspire my style and it has definitely changed since for the better. Obviously your choice is your choice, but I said a similar thing once and things change.
 
Nothing wrong with shooting flowers and the odd shadows in the parking lot, but documentary people photography is all that interests me now. It's harder (at least for me) but more rewarding (at least for me), and it stands a better chance of saying something of lasting value.
 
filmfan said:
You don't have to only shoot people... just shoot more people.
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You're right, of course. HCB shot landscapes and Frank shot urbanscapes. Sally Mann's Southern landscapes are wonderful. Openness of vision is a good thing.

But I find it hard to focus deeply on two subjects.

John
 
I personally don't get it - making pictures of blurry strangers, but I do think challenging yourself , or changing direction and style is a really great idea. Fresh thinking, new terrain to explore, makes things fun.

I esp like limiting your equipment and material . . . keep it basic, stretch your skills.

Best of luck with your plan.


EDIT: didn't mean to be as snarky as that came out !:D
 
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