mpaniagua
Newby photographer
Point taken Pilot.
As always, as you imply, context is important. And in this context (RFF forum) I agree all photography should be considered art expression (or at least aspire to be).
On the same note, photographer's ability to transmit his intent is a key factor (perhaps more important than the intent itself?) for a photograph to be transmitted as art, so yeah, discussion, constructive criticism and education will surely make the photographer better at transmitting that intent and so, making him/her a better photographer
Best regard
Marcelo.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
I don't think you need a special laguage, words like good, bad, boring, interesting, over-exposed, fussy, lurid come to mind and could all be used. As Winnie the Pooh said, long words bother me, and there's a lot of truth in that. (I think that's aphoristic or is it adumbratic?)
When special languages are created for some subjects I see it as an attempt to crowd out or bully people out of the clique. I guess using straight forward language would let the riff-raff in and spoil things or show up the experts.
OTOH, photography's going that way but it sells cameras...
Regareds, David
Michael Markey
Veteran
mpaniagua
Newby photographer
Have to agree that, as interesting read as they are, watches and fountain pens discussions seems out of place on RFF.
It doesn't bother me at all though. I simply ignore them.
Regards
Marcelo
robert blu
quiet photographer
Ccoppola82
Well-known
Gear talk is fine with me. I knew how I wanted my photos to look, and I researched and asked questions from first hand users regarding which lenses would likely give me the look I wanted. This goes for the chemistry and film varieties as well. This forum likely saved me thousands of dollars by steering me towards the lenses etc that I was looking for. I now have my complete lens set and my go-to film/developer combos. At this point I just want to take photos and not worry about the other stuff though. Hopefully after a few years I’ll be in a position to help others.
David Hughes
David Hughes
True but, surely, 'what inspired me/us' is a fit subject in a thread about photo's of watches and fountain pens? And one or two of us have asked questions about the objects in the photo's but not enough to worry about... And got useful answers.
Regards, David
mpaniagua
Newby photographer
Good answer David. That's what I mean it doesn't bother to me at all. The fact that I don't enjoy them doesn't mean they are not meaningful to a lot of people.
Same with photography talk vs gear talk. Enjoy both of them. Just pick those that seems fine and ignore those that doesn't attract me.
Regards
Marcelo
Big Ursus
Well-known
John, I agree that "You can certainly share what works or doesn't work for you in a photograph."
But when people do that, I think it's essential they point to the specific areas of the photograph they say work or don't work, and explain why they think so.
"You can state how a picture makes you feel or think. You can share what a photograph means to you."
Yes, and once again, the people who are making those statements should spell out which soecific aspects of the picture create those feelings, thoughts, and meanings. That's some of what can happen in a critque. At least, that's been my experience as a student, and as a teacher.
It's not hard - it only requires someone to ask for the specific reasons why the people are making those statements.
Goes without saying that the entire point is that everyone involved wants to learn, to be honest, and to be a "mensch," which is the word my mother used for a decent human being.
"Hmmm, I don't do art, I do photography .... "
And, David, I think I understand where you're coming from. I take pictures, some of them for friends and family; some, years ago, for news papers and magazines; others for gallery exhibitions. In any case, I've always profited from critiques, formal or informal.
But when people do that, I think it's essential they point to the specific areas of the photograph they say work or don't work, and explain why they think so.
"You can state how a picture makes you feel or think. You can share what a photograph means to you."
Yes, and once again, the people who are making those statements should spell out which soecific aspects of the picture create those feelings, thoughts, and meanings. That's some of what can happen in a critque. At least, that's been my experience as a student, and as a teacher.
It's not hard - it only requires someone to ask for the specific reasons why the people are making those statements.
Goes without saying that the entire point is that everyone involved wants to learn, to be honest, and to be a "mensch," which is the word my mother used for a decent human being.
"Hmmm, I don't do art, I do photography .... "
And, David, I think I understand where you're coming from. I take pictures, some of them for friends and family; some, years ago, for news papers and magazines; others for gallery exhibitions. In any case, I've always profited from critiques, formal or informal.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Michael Markey
Veteran
Very reasonable and I agree but the "problem" I have is that out of 21 threads currently being shown on page one of the forum only one "Musicians" is devoted to images.
I find that a odd ratio for a photography forum.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hmmm, well, the threads "Watches" and "Fountain Pens" are about possessions but I thought that was the main theme of a lot of art. Take "Mr and Mrs Andrews" by Gainsborough* which follows a similar line about a smug couple for example...
Not much different to all our pictures of some new camera but we've not had centuries of criticism about images in RFF, yet. There's a PhD for someone who mines/explores that theme.
Regards, David
* Try here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hmb2q
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Exactly, but I take pictures for myself and wife these days.
Same applies if I was taking them for a book as a good picture save me lot of typing and scribble. But then, years ago, I used to do a dummy of the book and get someone to go through it, called proof reading in those days; so I guess that's taking criticism and profiting from it...
Regards, David
robert blu
quiet photographer
Ste_S
Well-known
Sorry, disagree with your original premise. Instagram has more posting of photos (and comments on those photos) than posts on RFF, APUG, DPReview etc put together.
Michael Markey
Veteran
Yes, but we have now seven! Not much but improving
robert
You turn your back for a second and the place goes mad ......
mpaniagua
Newby photographer
Just got a thought: Funny that a rangefinder forum has only one rangefinder related post on the homepage atm
Have a happy Valentine day
Edit.- Sorry there are two of them Missed Hologon post.
Marcelo
Have a happy Valentine day
Edit.- Sorry there are two of them
Missed Hologon post.Marcelo
robert blu
quiet photographer
You turn your back for a second and the place goes mad ......
Yes, we are in a special world
robert
nukecoke
⚛Yashica
I used to take hundreds of photos of small creatures under microscope. It's hard to take them efficiently and beautifully at the same time, yes. However I did try to make some of them art-y afterwards.
PS: Maybe GIFs are for nuts here, but on a huge corner of the Internet they are very popular.
PKR
Veteran
Hi Nukecoke.. The instrument (camera) doesn't matter, it's a tool, a vehicle .. the image matters! I know the idea is foreign to most on this forum.
The link may help some with the concept:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4wjpnG91LQ
I like the images, I encourage you to make more.
pkr
From an interview with Dan Winters:
"Rob: What’s the bee book?
Dan: I did these bee photographs with a scanning electron microscope, that are totally bad-assed. They’re the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I spent two and a half months on it last year.
Rob: You shoot with a scanning electron microscope? How is it that you have so much range?
Dan: Really just a wide-eyed genuine curiosity and also getting something in my head and wanting to make it happen, figuring out how to do it. I got an assignment from Amayah to do a story on medflies, for Discovery in the early ’90s. And I said, “Well, hell, med-flies are really small.” So I started researching it and I found out that UC Riverside has a microscopy department. I called them up, and I said, “Listen, this is my deal. I don’t know anything about it, but I want to learn it. Can I come down, and can you teach this to me?”
So, I went down several times, and they started to show me how the thing worked and how to prep the specimens. They were real cool. Then I just started to book time on it. I’d prep my specimens, and I’d book time on it and pay by the hour. I’d just sit there and work with it and shoot. It was awesome.
So, I did this whole med-fly thing on the SCM for “Discover.” Several times, things have come up like that since then, and I’ve done them on the SCM.
I wrote a story for “Texas Monthly” on bees because there’s this colony collapse disorder that’s happening now, where these huge apiaries are losing 75 percent of their bees, and they don’t know why. There’s a lot of mitigating factors that I think have been fleshed out, but really it’s been a mystery up until very recently. So, I thought, “Man, this is really important,” and I started researching it, and Texas has really been hit hard by it.
So, I called T. J. at the magazine because I have a very good relationship with him and I said, “Hey, I want to do this project on honeybees, and this is how I want to do it.” I showed him a couple of my med-fly photos, and he’s like, “Oh, that’s awesome. Do it.”
So, I spent three and a half months working on it when I could, at UT Austin, with the microscopy department there. And I got all these bees; I bought a bunch of queen bees from an apiary back in South Carolina. Unfortunately, I had to kill them all because the specimens all have to be dead and mounted and covered with iridium, and it’s a whole process. It’s a nightmare to do.
Rob: I’m dumbfounded that you taught yourself how to shoot with an electron microscope.
Dan: I know, it’s pretty cool."
http://aphotoeditor.com/2011/04/15/dan-winters-interview-part-3/
https://www.danwintersphoto.com/
x
The link may help some with the concept:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4wjpnG91LQ
I like the images, I encourage you to make more.
pkr
From an interview with Dan Winters:
"Rob: What’s the bee book?
Dan: I did these bee photographs with a scanning electron microscope, that are totally bad-assed. They’re the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I spent two and a half months on it last year.
Rob: You shoot with a scanning electron microscope? How is it that you have so much range?
Dan: Really just a wide-eyed genuine curiosity and also getting something in my head and wanting to make it happen, figuring out how to do it. I got an assignment from Amayah to do a story on medflies, for Discovery in the early ’90s. And I said, “Well, hell, med-flies are really small.” So I started researching it and I found out that UC Riverside has a microscopy department. I called them up, and I said, “Listen, this is my deal. I don’t know anything about it, but I want to learn it. Can I come down, and can you teach this to me?”
So, I went down several times, and they started to show me how the thing worked and how to prep the specimens. They were real cool. Then I just started to book time on it. I’d prep my specimens, and I’d book time on it and pay by the hour. I’d just sit there and work with it and shoot. It was awesome.
So, I did this whole med-fly thing on the SCM for “Discover.” Several times, things have come up like that since then, and I’ve done them on the SCM.
I wrote a story for “Texas Monthly” on bees because there’s this colony collapse disorder that’s happening now, where these huge apiaries are losing 75 percent of their bees, and they don’t know why. There’s a lot of mitigating factors that I think have been fleshed out, but really it’s been a mystery up until very recently. So, I thought, “Man, this is really important,” and I started researching it, and Texas has really been hit hard by it.
So, I called T. J. at the magazine because I have a very good relationship with him and I said, “Hey, I want to do this project on honeybees, and this is how I want to do it.” I showed him a couple of my med-fly photos, and he’s like, “Oh, that’s awesome. Do it.”
So, I spent three and a half months working on it when I could, at UT Austin, with the microscopy department there. And I got all these bees; I bought a bunch of queen bees from an apiary back in South Carolina. Unfortunately, I had to kill them all because the specimens all have to be dead and mounted and covered with iridium, and it’s a whole process. It’s a nightmare to do.
Rob: I’m dumbfounded that you taught yourself how to shoot with an electron microscope.
Dan: I know, it’s pretty cool."
http://aphotoeditor.com/2011/04/15/dan-winters-interview-part-3/
https://www.danwintersphoto.com/
x