 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| PhotoKB HomeDiscussion Groups Digital Photography Digital PhotoDSLR CamerasZLR CamerasPoint & Shoot CamerasFilm Photography 35 mmLarge FormatMedium formatDarkroomFilm and LabsOther EquipmentPhoto Technique Nature PhotographyPeople PhotographyTechnique GeneralGeneral Photo Topics General TopicsAustralian PhotographyUK PhotographyDirectoryPhoto Clubs |
Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / December 2005Photo confessions
I've been exposing film, on and off, for 35 years. Some times I am excited, sometimes I'm disgusted and leave it alone. I have a BFA in photography but never pursued it professionally. I'm competent exposing, developing and printing B&W, color and transparencies, I understand the physics and chemistry. Needless to say. I've shot thousands and thousands of rolls and sheets in lots of formats. For all this, I have exactly three images that mean something to me...and I think two of them were accidents. I've had people like some of my images that I thought were crap and I've had people think some of my favorites were ho-hum. I feel that I just don't have the capability to create an image that is provoking, communicates something worthwhile, or commands attention, either to me or a viewer. Nothing I have done has created any passion for any length of time. I also think that 95% of all other people's images are crap! I've noticed my tastes change and flip-flop over the years. I'm sure I wish I had some of the images that I have burned in disgust and wish I burned other keepers. Sometimes I think simplistically about the whole process other times I feel overwhelmed with infinite variables. Art training was easy and I graded well. I just figured out where the prof's head was and skirted that! For one class, I remember my "Blood-spattered flowers" did the trick, for another it was nekid wimen, for another color transposing...and so-on. Anyway, I've got the itch again and bought a few hundred feet of 35mm b&w and a bunch of 120. Now what do I do? In the past, I've explored zones and technical tests, I gave myself assignments like: Cemeteries, Golf Courses, skyscrapers, birds, bugs, zoos, flowers & plants, homeless people, ethnic people, babies, old people, rocks & stones, water, shadows, etc... I'm not an equipment freak and own just serviceable, rugged old stuff. A camera is a decent lens attached to a film holder with predictable light controls. The more complicated, the more it's going to fail. Although, I think some of my cameras might have meters in them. I never liked being observed photographing and felt very distracted and self-conscious. I always got a giggle from people that buy equipment like jewelry or "My new Finkelblad will take better pictures!" So, owning equipment in itself isn't very satisfying. Is there a secret that I don't know about that will increase my level of satisfaction? I can remember the absolute WONDER of seeing negatives coming out of the wash. How can I recapture that? Just photograph whatever captures your fancy. Themes that you described are worthless, because they have no connectedness. " Cemeteries, Golf Courses, skyscrapers, birds, bugs, zoos, flowers & plants, homeless people, ethnic people, babies, old people, rocks & stones, water, shadows, etc..." Try making photographs that will be valuable 100 or 200 years from now. It will amaze you how you will begin to see things in a way you never saw before. Take a look at some old photos of your community for inspiration. Try to put yourself in the position of someone 100 years in the future. What would HE want to see? Try this assignment: 'Things that will be long gone 100 years from now'. > I've been exposing film, on and off, for 35 years. Some times I am excited, > sometimes I'm disgusted and leave it alone. I have a BFA in photography but [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > satisfaction? I can remember the absolute WONDER of seeing negatives coming > out of the wash. How can I recapture that? > Just photograph whatever captures your fancy. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > 'Things that will be long gone 100 years from now'. It is hard to believe but every so once and an while UC comes up with something that is spot on. I could not agree more, the photos that are worth the most as time goes by capture something that is either gone or changed drastically. Of late I have been taking very high-resolution photos of and around out town, it is amazing how fast things change. Scott > > Just photograph whatever captures your fancy. > > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > worth the most as time goes by capture something that is either gone or > changed drastically. Why is it hard to believe? Most photo instructors who hand out 'assignments' make the mentally retarded look like Einstein. The most valuable aspect of a photograph is that it captures 'now', and if you don't try to get too 'creative' it will actually be useful to someone, someday. Those who want to do cross-processing or other crap need not apply... > Of late I have been taking very high-resolution photos of and around > out town, it is amazing how fast things change. > > Scott >> > Just photograph whatever captures your fancy. >> > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > someone, someday. Those who want to do cross-processing or other crap > need not apply... I'm from a different camp that says if you want to stay interested in what you do, then you pursue what interests you, whatever that may be. Who cares what someone 100 years from now wants? I won't be here. (Previous statement does not apply to ecology.)  SignatureRegards, Matt Clara www.mattclara.com > >> > Just photograph whatever captures your fancy. > >> > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > you do, then you pursue what interests you, whatever that may be. Who cares > what someone 100 years from now wants? I won't be here. Your photographs will be. That's the point. > I'm from a different camp that says if you want to stay interested in what > you do, then you pursue what interests you, whatever that may be. Who cares > what someone 100 years from now wants? I won't be here. (Previous > statement does not apply to ecology.) At the rate things change it does not take 100 years for photo to grow in value. I am now 52 years of age, when I look at photos from the 40 years ago the ones that have any real value to me are the ones that somehow captured something about the time and place. Sadly few photographs from this time tried to do this. A really good photo of the old movie house we use to go to when we were kids would be of much more value then an artistic shot of a rose. My father took a lot of photos when we were kids, he had a darkroom in the basement. But he was not good about taking photos that captured much more then people. Photos of people are great but we tend to have LOTS of them. One good photo of the old dodge rambler that we had would be worth so much more. On a larger scale, photos that many people would find value in, are photos of how towns change. There is nothing wrong with trying to take photos for the beauty of the photograph, but I have known people who only take this kind of photo and in the end no one cares. A case in point is my Grandmother's collection of slides. She was an avid photographer and at one time considered the good photographer in the family. She past away something like 25 years ago and my parents had her slide collection. About 4 years ago they were talking about throwing out the slides, I had them mail them to me instead. When I looked at the slides I found that they were worthless. She only took landscape photos and was careful not to get anything of real interest in the photos. These are photos mostly from the 50s and 60s and yet they might have been taken yesterday. They are timeless and because of this worthless. Scott Precisely. Those rabid 'nature' photographers who babble about how 'passinate' they are make me ill. What would you give for a photo of Cleopatra or Caesar, or how Rome looked in 350 BC? The value of photography (provided you don't get too 'creative' and screw it up) is that it captures something real, in a way that nothing else can. Sure, there's no reason to make 'boring' photos of what is around you, but just think of how highly prized are the photos we have of all sorts of things and historical figures that are gone now: Penn Station (demolished in 1960's), Hitler, Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, et al. http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/VD%20-%20Penn%20Station%202.htm http://library.flawlesslogic.com/rubble.htm http://www.sgvcoburg.de/Todestag.htm What a great shot by Alfred Eisenstadt of Goebbels: http://www.drpribut.com/mt/archives/000095.html > > I'm from a different camp that says if you want to stay interested in what > > you do, then you pursue what interests you, whatever that may be. Who cares [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Scott Maybe. Chances are if your relation wasn't impassioned by such photos, her collection of such would be just as worthless as her landscapes. SignatureRegards, Matt Clara www.mattclara.com > Precisely. > [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] >> >> Scott > > 'Things that will be long gone 100 years from now'. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Scott In my part of the world the East coast snuggled between Baltimore and Washington one only needs to address what will be gone tomorrow. Plenty of material to photograph. Signature"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918 www.gregblankphoto(dot)com UC wrote (in part): > Try this assignment: > > 'Things that will be long gone 100 years from now'. You might wish to try the following assignment that was used in a class at ICoP(?) called "Daily Exposure": each day, shoot an entire roll of 35mm 36 exposure film. (Original assignment was for B&W negative film, IIRC.) The first few days will seem pretty easy and the images will probably be quite banal as you shoot all the obvious stuff and make the stereotyped images all beginners make. After that you will either give up, or you will really be forced to think about just what you are doing. That can help your vision quite a bit. Signature.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642. /V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939. /( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org ^^-^^ 22:50:00 up 11 days, 9:20, 6 users, load average: 4.21, 4.16, 4.16 I keep a list of quotations that I review from time to time and some of them came to mind when I read your post: Photograph something for what it is; and for what else it is. In a photograph, don't show us what you saw, show us what you felt. The great artist is the simplifier. Each thing we see hides something else we want to see. You can observe a lot just by looking (Yogi Berra). Art >UC wrote (in part): > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > According to Roland Barthes, french philosopher, in his booklet "la chambre claire", one of the properties that make photography unique among all other arts is that it captures something "that was there" (*). This might be the idea behind the interest in pictures that will remain interesting in future. Another quality concerning content is that most photographs that capture Barthes' interest seem to have a "studium" and a "punctum", the first being the obvious subject (this can be a person, a group of persons, any object, the photographer's interpretation of an atmosphere), the latter being a 'little something' that at first glance seems to have nothing to do with the rest. I think this makes pictures interesting, sometimes and the idea is in my head when I'm shooting, it helped me to like my own work ;-) BTW, I truly wonder if there's one among us that never experienced what Tom Garner is experiencing now. Keep shooting I'd say! Jan * please note that the book was published 20 years ago, before digital and image manipulation became common (and to me - very OT, I know - this is why some kinds of digital should look for another name for their art, as it doesn't stand firm to this criterium for photography) People, too, won't be around 100 years from now. > UC wrote (in part): > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > /( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org > ^^-^^ 22:50:00 up 11 days, 9:20, 6 users, load average: 4.21, 4.16, 4.16 I recall reading the Ansel Adams was perfectly content to get one really great image per month and he'd been shooting full time for a long time when he made that statement. I've been shooting 30+ years and am falling further behind all the time!! At least I don't shoot for other people anymore, I'm my own worst critic but at least know what the client (me!) likes. Signaturedarkroommike > I've been exposing film, on and off, for 35 years. Some times I am excited, > sometimes I'm disgusted and leave it alone. I have a BFA in photography but [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > satisfaction? I can remember the absolute WONDER of seeing negatives coming > out of the wash. How can I recapture that? >I recall reading the Ansel Adams was perfectly content to get one really > great image per month and he'd been shooting full time for a long time [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I'm > my own worst critic but at least know what the client (me!) likes. So, just what does your client like? Does he like the same thing today that he liked yesterday? Is he influenced by what other people like? Is what he likes created in the camera or in the darkroom or both? It's worse that you think: I support camera systems from Nikon, Canon, Mamiya (2), Hasselblad, I also have 4x5 and 5x7. And I'm leaning deeper into the digital side all the time (Mostly for quick prints for friends). Some givens (for me): Most of my work is black and white (that's the way I previsualize). I prefer 120 to 35mm and 6x6 to 645 or 6x7. Most of my 6x6 stuff gets cropped to a rectangle, I just prefer shooting square. Subject matter splits between the super mundane and fine art nudes (almost 50-50). I also (as the mood moves me) shoot macro, nightscapes and will do the occasional architectural shot (hampered by my lack of a really good wide angle to cover my 4x5. And no, I'm lucky in that for me the good photo I did today I'll still like next year. I have "keepers" that I shot 30 years ago. And yes I am constantly reinventing my "style" and will often (ahem) "borrow" techniques, posing, etc. if I see something I like. And as far as when it "clicks" it most often clicks for me in camera, I know I've got it before I ever process the film. Like a sculptor my job in the darkroom is to just chip away all the stuff that doesn't look like a statue. Signaturedarkroommike > > >I recall reading the Ansel Adams was perfectly content to get one really [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > he liked yesterday? Is he influenced by what other people like? Is what he > likes created in the camera or in the darkroom or both? One more quick question: Do the limits of the medium often get in the way of the final product or does your previsualization incorporate and work within the boundaries?...kind'a like "thinking" in a foreign language. I find myself "translating" and losing a generation of resolution. > It's worse that you think: I support camera systems from Nikon, Canon, > Mamiya (2), Hasselblad, I also have 4x5 and 5x7. And I'm leaning deeper [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > he >> likes created in the camera or in the darkroom or both? > One more quick question: Do the limits of the medium often get in the way > of the final product or does your previsualization incorporate and work > within the boundaries?...kind'a like "thinking" in a foreign language. I > find myself "translating" and losing a generation of resolution. To one attuned to a format or medium (film type) those limits are explored and exploited once one has it down pat one can choose to rest easy or move to another challenge-but things always change and resting makes the likely hood of having to eventually scramble or loose interest at some point a true concern . It all depends on what one wants to accomplish with ones work, from a professional level one can never rest truly on laurels but when one is a hobbyist one can convince oneself with nominal pain that one's work is relevant even if it is truly not. It take balls to say something with your imagery even if its only on an occasion and most lack having what is required to state something timely and important all the time. Because we all fail sometimes, even those who are able to say something important from time to time. Signature"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918 www.gregblankphoto(dot)com Before I went (back) to 6x6 I shot a lot of my nudes with 35mm but was never satisfied with the tonality. I own a 35mm scanner so I thought I would also have a direct transition to web content if and when I choose to post something but my first two(!) film scanners just didn't have what I needed (My stuff tends to be rather overexposed and overdeveloped, prints nice but scans terribly) so I went to 6x6. I also switched from Tmax in 35mm to TXP in 6x6. Now I get what I need for the enlarger but am back to scanning prints for the electronic contents I occasionally need. I suppose I'll next need either a medium format scanner or a newer flatbed with a transparency adapter. Signaturedarkroommike > One more quick question: Do the limits of the medium often get in the way > of the final product or does your previsualization incorporate and work [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > he > >> likes created in the camera or in the darkroom or both? > Before I went (back) to 6x6 I shot a lot of my nudes with 35mm but was never > satisfied with the tonality. I own a 35mm scanner so I thought I would also [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > need either a medium format scanner or a newer flatbed with a transparency > adapter. I would really love to have a medium format scanner, I have a number old negatives that are 645, 6x6 and 6x7, not enough to justify the cost of a new scanner but it would be nice. My flat bed can scan the 645 but crops the other sizes, no huge loss since its resolution is not great. I find it interesting that you have problem with over exposed film, I assume negatives, I have the best luck with over (well) exposed negatives and have poor luck with under exposed negatives. I can mostly always get the highlights back but when the shadows are gone they are really gone, at least for me. Scott Hey all, I really don't agree that photopraphy should be be a testimony of our times. Sure, it CAN be a testimony. There are great photographs that tell us something about the time we live in, or the times that people lived in, by the past. But other great photographs are just TIMELESS. And that is great too. Maybe we have to aks ourselves what photography CAN be, not wat it MUST be. That's my opninion. One advice: make photographs of the things that you're interested in. If you do it with passion, it will work. Nicolas Some of the best photographs have interest now, but are also of value in the future. Even the most mundane photos of the past hold some value, because they allow us to travel back in time, in a way. > Hey all, > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Nicolas > Some of the best photographs have interest now, but are also of value > in the future. Even the most mundane photos of the past hold some > value, because they allow us to travel back in time, in a way. Photography is magic. It's as close as we'll ever get to time travel (backwards or forewards). My mother died last year. All I have to remember her by are photographs. Natural Light Black and White Photography http://mysite.verizon.net/vze76ane/ -George- > Hey all, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Maybe we have to aks ourselves what photography CAN be, not wat it MUST > be. That's my opninion. Its a good opinion, worthy of exploring, don't you think though given enough introspection one can find a sense of time within the timeless of those timeless images :-) The reason i state this is every image contains some clue as to when it was made, be it the media itself or the subject-etc. > One advice: make photographs of the things that you're interested in. > If you do it with passion, it will work. > > Nicolas Quite true, passion is the most important- in the words of Helen Keller "All that we love deeply becomes part of us." Signature"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918 www.gregblankphoto(dot)com > Hey all, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Maybe we have to aks ourselves what photography CAN be, not wat it MUST > be. That's my opninion. I would fully agree with this, there is no one thing that photograph must be. But I do see some photographers sadly getting so caught up in trying to be ever more creative that they miss opportunities to record what is around them. I find it really help me to decide what I want to photograph today based on what photographs I took 25 years ago that have the most value to me. Or which of my parents and grandparents photos have the most value for me. Scott > > Hey all, > > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > have the most value to me. Or which of my parents and grandparents > photos have the most value for me. My mother dies two years ago. I went through some old photos and found some of her. > Scott My father was in the irrigation business. He's been gone 35 years but I drive by his work everyday. I drive by bridges that were built in the '20's and '30's and they are a monument to good craftsmanship. I guess one of the things I like about photography is that (when done well) it is a very long lasting testament to the vision and craft of the maker. Something I don't get in my customer service day job. Signaturedarkroommike > Hey all, > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Nicolas |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.