Where documentary project ideas come from...

[bojanfurst]

Good morning,

As some of you know, I occasionally write about photography for a tiny Medium publication called PhotoCurious. Here is the latest piece on the sources of documentary project ideas: https://medium.com/photocurious/riv...880dca975?sk=a7882102354e21702e8572ae75aa83b0

Cheers

Bojan

 

[Joao]

Quote "... And you should never confuse a good project idea with a good project. Just because your idea is good, it doesn’t mean that the end product will be. Those are two different things... "

Wise words !

Thank you for posting. It is a nice writing.

Regards

Joao

 

[Bob Michaels]

Bojan: I think my ideas for documentary projects come from the same source as yours, a sincere interest in the subject. The subject always has to take precedence over the photography or you end up with pretty pictures but no real meat on the bone. I have a simple subconscious metric. I ask myself if I ran out of film, batteries went dead, or just did not have a camera, then would I still be there? If the answer is no, I acknowledge there is no potential for a meaningful project.

BTW, Bojan's link to the article he wrote is very worthwhile reading as it provides much food for thought.

 

[gabrielelopez]

It's a good point. I like medium as a source...
A point that is always on my mind as I consider to shoot (and in recent time i'm more considering than shooting) is that making boundaries and plans doesn't leave the conversation open and I start to censor myself. The simple act of living and making photos as a refection of that experience does not show enough?
Where does a list of "to do" pictures takes me. As usually happens, a balance of everything is the right solution.

In other words, I try to make something interesting and pictures come with time, otherwise I may end up having more cameras than good pictures.