Your Favorite Photograhic Genre

[bmicklea]

Right now I find street photography the most difficult and engaging - especially when it's done well. I'm struggling with it so I'm obsessing a little right now. I'm generally all over the map though.

 

[shadowfox]

I like Street, Landscape, Still-life/Products, in that order.

I like to see other people's good street photos. Those that scared me, cracked-me up, or saddened me. (mine pretty much sucked, have long ways to go).

Landscape, only a few that are original enough to impressed me nowadays. But I have learned medium format now, so the next time I get to travel, it'll be fun 🙂

Still-Life is challenging for me because it's easy to do but hard to get right at the same time.

 

[maitrestanley]

As a rangefinder forum, I'm not surprised that Street photography has most fans.

I've played with all kind of styles in the past and never really stick to one. I've done landscape, architectural, documentary, macro, abstract, portraiture, nudes, family, street, etc.

I find that lately I've been doing mostly street because I have a newfound appreciation for it. I especially love photographing people! It's such a challenge and is extremely exiting and rewarding. Also, it is practically always available because all you need to do is step outside your door.

 

[steamer]

I love it all, even pictures of flowers, macro insects, dogs and cats are OK with me,
but if pressed I'd have to say urban landscapes and well rendered everyday life are my favorites.

 

[Pherdinand]

You mean watching it or doing it?
I love most well done photography, but it should include some kind of people or traces of people to make it really appealing to me.
As to what i like to DO, well i have not succeeded yet to figure that out.
First I have to have a photo session with Milla Jovovich and then maybe i will know😀

 

[Finder]

I don't know what "street" is. What is the difference between "still life" and "macro"? Can't they be the same thing? Is a "nude" just a "portrait" of someone with no clothes? I find that these terms have no real meaning. I guess I like "good" photography.

 

[rbsinto]

Photojournalism and street photography.
However, I much prefer to use SLRs rather than a rangefinder to take my photos, because I have a better choice of SLR lenses, and can focus faster with my SLR's than with my rangefinder.

 

[Trawlerman]

I take photo's of shipping on the River Humber as my #1 genre in photography.
It's hard to classify that but perhaps Landscape would be closest although at times it's more of an industrial landscape than a nice picturesque rural one.

 

[cpborello]

What I photograph mostly -- my daughter.

What I would love to try to find the time to photograph -- industrial decay. There is plenty of it in and around NYC, and particularly in NJ (e.g., the ironbound section of Newark). I used to frequent such places, but before I got into photography. Unfortunately, the current job that pays the bills is about 70 hrs/week, leaving little time for this.

 

[sepiareverb]

Urban Landscape, but in small towns for me. Usually.
Think Friedlander (who I never see mentioned here 'bouts)

 

[SteveM(PA)]

I've seen some Friedlander talk from time to time...William's self portrait in his truck was reminding me of him.

Personally I've been obsessed with Philip-Lorca diCorcia (to go with my Antonio Carlos Jobim obsession 🙂) but I guess he's passe or maybe his trendiness has mutated into other trends, or something... I'm not sure what the genre of that is...posed banality maybe?

 

[Marc-A.]

In my case I have to differentiate between the images I like to see and those I like to make.

Ruben, I add another category: the images I would like to make.

I like to see: street photography
I like to make: portraits
I would like to make: photojournalism/documentary (on the working class, immigration and cultural toleration)

I don't know what "street" is. What is the difference between "still life" and "macro"? Can't they be the same thing? Is a "nude" just a "portrait" of someone with no clothes? I find that these terms have no real meaning. I guess I like "good" photography.

Finder, your comments are always very stimulative. You're right to point out the vagueness of such terms, but IMO you only pretend not to understand 🙄 We had so many discussions about what "street photography" is (especially during the RFF contest) that I don't want to reopen the debate.
I just want to underline the fact that even if "street photography", or "nude" or "still life" (is a portrait of a dead portrait or still photography?) ... are vague terms, they refer to representation types that have been built in the history of photography - and beyond, in the history of painting. [I can't help thinking of philosophical battles about the definition of metaphics: is it the same as philosophia generalis? is it exclusively about being (ens)? etc. Metaphysics is just a type of philosophical speech, and refers to books written by Aristotle that are supposed to follow books on physics]
We "know" what is nude photography, and we don't need define it precisely. If we had to define it precisely, of course we would face some difficulties and tricky questions: Is a "nude" just a "portrait" of someone with no clothes? But we don't have to. Besides, there is no "pure" category, hopefully, otherwise we would speak a "primitive" language composed of abstract terms: one, matter, space, time ... etc (see Leibniz). No pure concept, no pure category, no pure photographical types. We know what we're talking about, even if those termes have loose meaning.
Best,
Marc

 

[Carzee]

I voted other.

Currently - live rock n roll performance. Its a substitute - my fav work would be stills shooter on a movie set. And what sort of movie?? Well, if I ever find time to daydream, I would dream that I was the stills shooter on "The Last Picture Show" movie by Bogdanovich I think. Every other scene would make most b/w enthusiasts drool.

...and how would you label the shooter (name him please) that constructs a set piece photo on a street somewhere that meets his vision... he waters it... he decorates it... he puts the car and the blonde sitting in it, seemingly abandoned there in the middle of the intersection with the door open and a twilight sky in back of it all... and he does another set piece, a murder scene in a bedroom.

 

[Sparrow]

Anybody else find it strange that only seven people selected Nudes in the pole; considering photos of Nudes are clearly so popular when they’re posted in the gallery

 

[Marc-A.]

Anybody else find it strange that only seven people selected Nudes in the pole; considering photos of Nudes are clearly so popular when they’re posted in the gallery

I didn't vote for "nudes", but I like this kind of photography when it's not crude and vulgar like a lot of pictures you can see on deviantArt for example (so called "Artistic Nude").
But you cannot be surprised that nudes are very popular though only a few members selected this category: we mostly look at nudes for non-photographical reason, right? 🙄
Best,
Marc

 

[Sparrow]

I had my tongue, very firmly, in my cheek as I typed the comment.

I’m not surprised I’m certainly as capable of hypocrisy as anyone else is

 

[Steve B]

I voted for Portrait as that's what I enjoy looking at the most. Like many people, I think, I love looking at interesting pictures of people. I'm bored by many landscapes, especially my own, even though that's what I shoot the most. Go figure.

 

[dryice66]

Streets of Hong Kong.... with or without people.... would love to do more portrait stuff though....

 

[giellaleafapmu]

Uh, was it "the one you do better" or "the one you most enjoy to watch"?

The one I feel more confident are macro, still life and architecture (I would say anything as long as it doesn't move!) but what I really like to see are nature and sport shots...maybe because I cannot do them.

Just seeing a kestrel in the very moment he catches its prey or an athlete
at the top of the effort is for me the ultimate of "catching the moment"...even if it is done with a 10f/s camera an image stabilizer and who knows what other tech gizmo...

I can no longer find it but I had a picture of a small girl doing gimnastic at some olympic game. It was a front view of her in the moment she catched the bar. She has the legs in an almost complete split, the hands are just touching the bar, two white clouds of magnesia powder are around both hands and she has the eyes almost closed and every single muscle and nerve tense... I could watch that picture for 30' straight without getting bored. I have no idea who got it and how he did it (was it a stop from a movie/TV camera? I don't care!) but I wish I were able to take a shot like that!

That's why I votes for sport (was it possible to vote for more than one genre?).

GLF

 

[Chris101]

Other. As in photos others would not make. Kind of a combination of urban/street/portraiture/architecture with just a pinch of nekid housewives thrown in to keep 'em coming back.

I guess they call it 'experimental'.