Bolo Kukus
en vacances...
For my usual personal reasons, I'm again considering yet another retirement from photo web site commenting, and I've been thinking about posting this for some time. So here goes.
Okay, young or not-so-young - let's say a photographer who asks for guidance and wants to hear our wise words.
Having now reached that mostly underrated life-staged known as "elderly" (aka "officially old" or less kindly "dufferdom"), I find myself resisting the urge to mentor young(er) photographers in developing their skills to a level of 'art' or at least to take photos beyond the level of the currently popular fad imagery less than kindly known to many of us as 'digicrap'.
Over the years and camera clubs and alas, many web photo sites have attracted a number of perhaps well-meaning malcontents who appear t be ego-driven or emotionally needy in their approach to preaching to newcomers. Indeed, one could well ask, why preach to anyone in the first place? there are times when I've wondered this, and tried my best to bite my tongue or word my counsels in the most general terms I could think of.
I particularly recall a past poster (happily not on this site) who was about my age and in a similar situation as a retired pro, who reacted much like someone who had just been groped in public, in his response to any criticism however slight or well-meant of his too often over-the-top comments. This worthy once branded me a "smartass" for daring to challenge a glaringly incorrect technical point he was passing off as holy gospel. said gentleman he has now dropped out of the scene, I hope to some better situation to walk the walk, not talk the talk.
What he most took exception to was my politely worded comment that he should step off his soapbox long enough to consider the best way to guide other photographers to find their own style was not to lecture, but to let them make mistakes and learn from them. Good advice, I reckon, in all areas of one's life.
All this said by way of my introduction. My question now. How to approach advising, counseling, directing, guiding without pushing or shoving the younger photographers who are open to advice in their approach to making better images in their own way?
For the sake of discussion, it would perhaps be best if we avoid the usual techno-generalities (= check your focus, bracket your shots, expose for shadows/highlights/in the middle, set your colors correctly, that sort of thing) and delve more deeply into our own, individual ways of looking for as well as making our images stand out as uniquely ours, away from the hurdy-gurdy merry-go-round of today's trendy (and sadly often crappysnapping) photography.
I will now throw open this thread to your interesting and useful suggestions and even disagreements (but please, no calling anyone "smartass" for daring to disagree with one's gilded words).
What would you say to a photographer who asks you what your approach is to making your own unique images?
Good people, this thread is now yours.
Okay, young or not-so-young - let's say a photographer who asks for guidance and wants to hear our wise words.
Having now reached that mostly underrated life-staged known as "elderly" (aka "officially old" or less kindly "dufferdom"), I find myself resisting the urge to mentor young(er) photographers in developing their skills to a level of 'art' or at least to take photos beyond the level of the currently popular fad imagery less than kindly known to many of us as 'digicrap'.
Over the years and camera clubs and alas, many web photo sites have attracted a number of perhaps well-meaning malcontents who appear t be ego-driven or emotionally needy in their approach to preaching to newcomers. Indeed, one could well ask, why preach to anyone in the first place? there are times when I've wondered this, and tried my best to bite my tongue or word my counsels in the most general terms I could think of.
I particularly recall a past poster (happily not on this site) who was about my age and in a similar situation as a retired pro, who reacted much like someone who had just been groped in public, in his response to any criticism however slight or well-meant of his too often over-the-top comments. This worthy once branded me a "smartass" for daring to challenge a glaringly incorrect technical point he was passing off as holy gospel. said gentleman he has now dropped out of the scene, I hope to some better situation to walk the walk, not talk the talk.
What he most took exception to was my politely worded comment that he should step off his soapbox long enough to consider the best way to guide other photographers to find their own style was not to lecture, but to let them make mistakes and learn from them. Good advice, I reckon, in all areas of one's life.
All this said by way of my introduction. My question now. How to approach advising, counseling, directing, guiding without pushing or shoving the younger photographers who are open to advice in their approach to making better images in their own way?
For the sake of discussion, it would perhaps be best if we avoid the usual techno-generalities (= check your focus, bracket your shots, expose for shadows/highlights/in the middle, set your colors correctly, that sort of thing) and delve more deeply into our own, individual ways of looking for as well as making our images stand out as uniquely ours, away from the hurdy-gurdy merry-go-round of today's trendy (and sadly often crappysnapping) photography.
I will now throw open this thread to your interesting and useful suggestions and even disagreements (but please, no calling anyone "smartass" for daring to disagree with one's gilded words).
What would you say to a photographer who asks you what your approach is to making your own unique images?
Good people, this thread is now yours.
