why?

back alley

back alley

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have you ever looked at your finished image and wondered why you took it in the first place?
isn't it the case that our vision is supposed to help translate our messege to others? if that is true then our prints/images should really be saying something.

i know that i sometimes look at images made by others and ask that question...why?
 
If my images makes it to a print that is matted and framed i don't ask that question. I do ask a lot of questions to the images that don't make it that far and that is 99%
I don't post a lot of images to the forums i frequent but i do see a lot of images that i ask why!
Lack of self critique is a huge problem not only on this site but also on Flickr and other sites where it is easy to upload and show anything that showed up on the sensor or on the film.

I often wonder about the various post about this and that lens being the absolute best and then seeing images that could have been taken with the bottom of a beer bottle instead of a lens.

That said, internet forums are open to all and everyone have the right to post anything that the forum accept.
Not all have the same experience and self critique but in the end we can filter and decide what we want to look at and what we want to skip.
 
If I had an image that I had no comprehension of why I took it .... no one else would ever see it for starters. I have plenty of those!

I do often look at shots I've taken and wonder why I bothered ... but then again at the time I obviously had a reason so there is some merit. If there wasn't photography would be entirely pointless.
 
I'm always asking myself why I can't get things in focus. Having one that says something is very rare for me but I keep trying. 🙂
 
Sometimes I take photos because I'm enjoying the process. Perhaps I'm out walking, and the process of taking a photograph is part of a kind of focused gaze so I'm aware even at the time that I may not ever intend to share that photograph with anyone, or even look at it again myself. It still contributes to the pleasure of the moment. That said:

I often wonder about the various post about this and that lens being the absolute best and then seeing images that could have been taken with the bottom of a beer bottle instead of a lens.
Click to expand...

Yes, definitely this. Some people get results with a multi-thousand dollar/pound lens that look like they were taken with a drugstore disposable. I also see a lot of people praising a particular film and developer combo, for example, where the results look like they've been boiled in something and then dragged across the floor. There can be a bit of a technique bubble on certain forums, where what is, frankly, not very good as matter of bare technical competence -- considered independently of composition, artistic vision, or whatever -- can be praised to high heaven. Not specifically just here, I mean in general. On Flickr, other forums, RFF, etc.

That said, my own 'hit' rate on stuff I take is woefully low, and I despair sometimes at how few photos I've taken, particularly recently that I think have any reason that anyone should ever see them again. Recently I've even found I've taken a lot of stuff where the bare technical competence isn't up to scratch, so this is not finger-pointing as such. I just wouldn't share that stuff with other people.


Matt
 
The question is far more interesting than the answer, which isn't important. Its like asking if Deckard was a Replicant, who cares what the answer is, its the question that is appealing.

Varying mileage yada yada yada 🙂
 
If you aren't getting some spectacular failures, that means you aren't taking any chances and trying something new.

So keep doing that Joe, but after the fact, edit ruthlessly.
 
back alley said:
have you ever looked at your finished image and wondered why you took it in the first place?
isn't it the case that our vision is supposed to help translate our messege to others? if that is true then our prints/images should really be saying something.

i know that i sometimes look at images made by others and ask that question...why?
Click to expand...

... I'm not sure what prompted your observation, but not so much with my own finished pictures (I expect we all have howlers on our contact sheets) but I try to be rigourous with my editing.

However I'm often at a loss with other peoples photos, and their assessment of the photos themselves for that matter.
 
Sparrow said:
... I'm not sure what prompted your observation, but not so much with my own finished pictures (I expect we all have howlers on our contact sheets) but I try to be rigourous with my editing.

However I'm often at a loss with other peoples photos, and their assessment of the photos themselves for that matter.
Click to expand...

lack of sleep, inability to sleep...i too mostly ask this about other's images but wonder if other's ask it about mine...
 
back alley said:
have you ever looked at your finished image and wondered why you took it in the first place?
isn't it the case that our vision is supposed to help translate our messege to others? if that is true then our prints/images should really be saying something.

i know that i sometimes look at images made by others and ask that question...why?
Click to expand...
I think every photographer experiences that.

The goal is to experience it less and less as time goes by. If that is the case, it is an indication that we are growing, evolving and improving as photographers.

Anyone can pick up a camera, point it at something and push the shutter button. But if a person aspires to a higher level of image making, producing quality work on a consistent basis is a difficult and arduous undertaking. It's hard work. Creating significant images is not a "hobby" - it is a journey and it is a challenging journey. Sometimes it is tiring; sometimes it is exasperating; sometimes it is just exhausting - but sometimes it is rewarding and satisfying. It is worth the effort, if you truly love photography.

This quotation from Zack Arais addresses the struggles all committed photographers must endure:
Jarvis sucked. Carsch sucked. Avedon sucked. Adams sucked. Mary Ellen Mark sucked.
Every photographer in history was a horrible photographer for some period of time. They learned. They grew. They persevered.

That is the way of the artist. Just be patient. Keep on going. Transformation takes time.
From what I have seen in my life, it really is worth [the work and] the wait.
Click to expand...
The main thing is this: Don't get discouraged and give up. When your images are less than you had hoped for, study them. Print them out and make notes on them - circle the flaws. Identify the shortcomings. This is how you learn form your mistakes. It helps imprint the pitfalls on your memory so you will avoid making them in the future.

Also: Buy and read this book - http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026 It is a must read for every serious photographer.

And then we have this nugget of insight from Calvin Coolidge:
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Click to expand...
 
Joe, if I understand your question, it is not why you took a good/bad picture, but what were you attempting to communicate via the picture? And for others' pictures, what were they trying to communicate as a message?

If a picture needs to communicate a message then I am doomed, because the very best way to explain the messages of my pictures is only, "Here's something I saw."

I have gone to elaborate lengths to set up and take still life pictures that turned out to be quite pleasant to look at. But I could not tell you what message they communicated other than, "Here is something pleasant to look at."

Am I missing something here?
 
Most of my photos are of my family and the why is usually related to why don't I get out more often and shoot in unfamiliar places. There are only so many images that you can make in the same environment.

Also, when I get out and shoot the 'why' or 'what' question comes up more when shooting digital. I try to stay disciplined when shooting digital, but I'm still far less discriminating as to when I engage the shutter. One of the things that I enjoy about film is the need to apply both discipline and technical skill. Neither are really needed when I shoot digital. I'm now debating if I should take my X100S, or a medium format film rangefinder on my vacation to Hawaii. I enjoy the one camera, one lens challenge. My wife has her NEX-6 and daughter her LX-7, so digital/zoom is covered.
 
I'm not sure I could articulate my reasons for liking an image, either mine or another photographers effort. Some just grab you.....some don't.

I have a little 3.5 X 5 inch color print of an morning scene on a Chicago 'L' platform. It was just a snapshot with, of all things, a Agfa 110 camera, shot about 1975.

I like it! But the reasons are probably more personal that aesthetic. It is a reminder of a rather golden time in my life when I met and married my first wife (now long deceased) brings back the warm fuzzies I guess.

So, connections in our brain probably have a lot to do with what we like. And, of course those connections are all different for different folks do to many factors in our lives.
 
Sometimes I wonder why but that's just admitting I made a mistake and I ask what can I learn from that.

Sometimes I look at something and wonder what it says but like it just "because" and maybe I have to figure it out later?

Sometimes I see an image and don't like it at all until I work it with PP, and sometimes that fails 🙂

Good question though...wonder why you asked it 🙂
 
sreed2006 said:
Joe, if I understand your question, it is not why you took a good/bad picture, but what were you attempting to communicate via the picture? And for others' pictures, what were they trying to communicate as a message?

If a picture needs to communicate a message then I am doomed, because the very best way to explain the messages of my pictures is only, "Here's something I saw."

I have gone to elaborate lengths to set up and take still life pictures that turned out to be quite pleasant to look at. But I could not tell you what message they communicated other than, "Here is something pleasant to look at."

Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

i believe that many think that an image should have a messege, yes.
i am unsure if this is true for me though.
 
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