Cannon: A Story of Homelessness in Washington, D.C.

[Rags]

Whoa... this thread is argumentative.. Can we chill?

I'm new here and I don't feel comfortable criticizing someone else's work or taking criticizing from people who may not be competent.

It may be helpful to post a link (without hijacking) to give a graphic image for example





Rags

 

[robbins.photo]

Nope, I stand firmly by my understanding of what good photojournalism is. Good day.

Well, not certain why but feel compelled to give this one last shot, take it for what you will. When you originally came in here apparently you really didn't want C&C, which is fine - next time just say so at the outset and you won't get any. But in truth I think you came in here hoping to post this and have everyone be awestruck by it, and when we weren't it hurt. I get that. Not like I really like being the guy that has to bust someone else's bubble. Not sure if you know who Lew is, he posts under the alias "The Traveler". Lew and I have had our disagreements in the past and I fully expect we'll have some more in the future. He's an ornery, bullheaded SOB - and I'm twice as bad, so were bound to butt heads on several more occasions at a minimum.

But I strongly suggest you go and take a look at some of the stuff he's posted. You want powerful imagery and street photography par excellance? That's the standard you should go by, right there. Now Lew has probably forgotten more about photography than I've ever known, his technical skills are probably in an arena where there are few equals. And you know what? That is not what makes his imagery what it is - not at all. I remember not too long ago he posted an image of a lady on what I think was a subway platform - the image wasn't composed well and had some horizon issues - etc. Normally the sort of thing that would set my OCD ablaze - but the image still struck me. It struck me because I could tell it struck Lew. I could tell he was overwhelmed by the grace of the woman, to be able to strike a pose like that. You could feel it in the photograph because when I looked it I could tell Lew felt it too.

For all of Lew's crazy curmudgeon act you can see the emotion in his photographs - you can feel the emotional connection he makes with every subject. That is what makes Lew's images more than just a bunch of well exposed pixels - he conveys the emotion of the scene because he feels it, and it comes through loud and clear in the images he presents. I'm sorry, but your notion of holding yourself aloof to all of that is a serious impediment to the images your trying to create. You may not see it or understand why I gave the critique that I did, but it wasn't to burst your bubble or to attack you personally or anything along those lines. It truly was in the hope that I could convey some of that too you. A big reason why one of the others mentioned that your photo's looked staged is because the really lacked the emotion I'm speaking of - that connection is simply missing.

I really hope you read through this and at some point consider what's been said and begin to re-examine. I think once you do you really will be capable of capturing the kinds of images you really want.

 

[tirediron]

OP: For your future reference, in the forum heading: "Forum: Photojournalism & Sports Gallery A place to tell us stories of events with pictures. This is your place to not only show us your photojournalistic style, but your action and sports shots, too. Post for discussion and feedback, including general critique." If you do not want critique, it is generally best to include a phrase such as, "No C&C wanted" so that others will be aware of your wishes from the start.

Since you have indicated that you do not want critique on your work, albeit rather late in the thread, I trust that no else will offer any form of feedback on the OPs images.

 

[R3d]

But in truth I think you came in here hoping to post this and have everyone be awestruck by it, and when we weren't it hurt.

No, I just didn't appreciate the petty arguing when I didn't agree with an opinion. I don't mind when people don't like the work, that doesn't bother me, but when you try so hard to hammer your opinion into me after I disagree with it, that I don't like. Move on.

 

[snowbear]

What is Cannon?

What is Cannon?

An outdated artilerry piece that uses gunpowder to propel a large projectile at very high speeds towards people you don't like very much. It's also an old TV Show - lol

It's also a bath towel company.

 

[SCraig]

What is Cannon?

What is Cannon?

An outdated artilerry piece that uses gunpowder to propel a large projectile at very high speeds towards people you don't like very much. It's also an old TV Show - lol

It's also a bath towel company.

Don't they make cameras or lenses or film or something?

 

[rexbobcat]

I think that my issue with some of these photos is that a few of them really next written context. I don't really know what is going on or why I should care about this particular scene. Like the third scene for example. He's in a movie theater, but thousands of people go to a movie theater every day. Is this photo important, because it has taken him 3 weeks to save up the money to go to the movies? I think that would make it much more compelling. I can attest to this personally. I did a photo essay last summer about an individual here, and although I think I had some very self-explanatory, strong images, I also had some that were pretty weak that are there to give context to the story. I think photo essays where every photo tells a story within themselves without text are very rare.

I'm not saying that every photo needs to show pain and homelessness, but I think some text about the photo would help to give the viewer a reason to care. You might already have cutlines/captions written and just didn't post them, and in that case great. If not, I think they would really make the story stronger.

I do think that the last image is the strongest image out of this set. Although it does need some explanation when viewed on its own, as part of the story I think it really helps to tie it together.

 

[rexbobcat]

What is Cannon?

What is Cannon?

An outdated artilerry piece that uses gunpowder to propel a large projectile at very high speeds towards people you don't like very much. It's also an old TV Show - lol

It's also a bath towel company.

And it's my middle name. I demand compensation.

 

[Rags]

OP: For your future reference, in the forum heading: "Forum: Photojournalism & Sports Gallery A place to tell us stories of events with pictures. This is your place to not only show us your photojournalistic style, but your action and sports shots, too. Post for discussion and feedback, including general critique." If you do not want critique, it is generally best to include a phrase such as, "No C&C wanted" so that others will be aware of your wishes from the start.

Since you have indicated that you do not want critique on your work, albeit rather late in the thread, I trust that no else will offer any form of feedback on the OPs images.

Well now since you're here, I'd like to say something...

Sports and photo journalism are not compatible. They require different disciplines.

Sports generally requires a skill to shoot motion, many with long fast glass for sharp images.

Photojournalism usually is shot with wide angle glass and technical excellence is second to the capture

Both of these are core photography disciplines along with portraiture and landscapes.

They should be separated. No room? look at the three non core photography sections like dark side (where I saw red blood stained images without any redeeming characteristics)), themes and the other...

What are you guys thinking? Now this is an unsolicited critique

Rags

 

[rexbobcat]

Well now since you're here, I'd like to say something... Sports and photo journalism are not compatible. They require different disciplines. Sports generally requires a skill to shoot motion, many with long fast glass for sharp images. Photojournalism usually is shot with wide angle glass and technical excellence is second to the capture Both of these are core photography disciplines along with portraiture and landscapes. They should be separated. No room? look at the three non core photography sections like dark side (where I saw red blood stained images without any redeeming characteristics)), themes and the other... What are you guys thinking? Now this is an unsolicited critique Rags

I really wish I would have known sports photography and photojournalism were incompatible before I began working at my university newspaper taking sports photos and writing sports captions. Damn, I guess I need to have a talk with the editor.

Photo-journalism encompasses more than wide-angle shots of military protests and people in third world countries suffering (*please insert other PJ stereotypes/misconceptions here*)

 

[Overread]

Sports and photo journalism are not compatible. They require different disciplines.

They should be separated. No room? look at the three non core photography sections like dark side (where I saw red blood stained images without any redeeming characteristics)), themes and the other...

What are you guys thinking? Now this is an unsolicited critique

Rags

WE do have a feedback and comments section down the bottom
And we -- honestly don't recall why Sports and Journalism are in the same block; its just something that's been that way for years and probably long since the site was formed very early on (and had more combined sections because of significantly lower traffic). We are discussing splitting the subjects since Journalism is something we've not had an abundance of until more recently. We try and only open new sections when there is a clear abundance of content to justify a section being made.

We don't really have any list of "core themes with photography" because that concept would shift and change from photographer to photographer.

 

[sashbar]

I wish there was a separate street photography section. Currently it is supposed to be a part of People section where it is being drowned amongst pictures of newborn, family members and seniors. Part of it goes to General, another part to Black and White. Some urban photography goes to Landscapes and cityscapes, even though it is not quite the same. I believe street photography merits a separate section, it is a very specific genre.

 

[Overread]

To prevent further derailing http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/feedback-suggestions/346480-proposed-new-galleries.html

 

[The_Traveler]

As far as photojournalism is concerned, how can you properly educate anybody about a certain situation (like poverty anywhere else, or war) without it? You don't have to "be able to watch people suffer to be a good photographer." You need to convey their pain and emotion to make somebody do something about it. Does letting the world know about the suffering of others make you a lousy person? Or should we just ignore it entirely? I'm glad you get it at least, Sash.

Actually this is total BS rationalization so that you can exploit people and use their suffering to get clicks.
If you were saying something new or novel, then maybe. But there have been thousands of ''stories" like this.
AFAIC, to take pictures of the homeless, without a new, real purpose, is exploitation.
The fact that you can get a decent picture is irrelevant.
You're not showing anything that we haven't seen before.

Work harder and don't use other peoples' suffering as a boost.

 

[sashbar]

As far as photojournalism is concerned, how can you properly educate anybody about a certain situation (like poverty anywhere else, or war) without it? You don't have to "be able to watch people suffer to be a good photographer." You need to convey their pain and emotion to make somebody do something about it. Does letting the world know about the suffering of others make you a lousy person? Or should we just ignore it entirely? I'm glad you get it at least, Sash.

Actuality this is total BS rationalization so that you can exploit people and use their suffering to get clicks.
If you were saying something new or novel, then maybe. But there have been thousands of ''stories" like this.
AFAIC, to take pictures of the homeless, without a new, real purpose, is exploitation.
The fact that you can get a decent picture is irrelevant.
You're not showing anything that we haven't seen before.

Work harder and don't use other peoples' suffering as a boost.

Lew, I absolutely agree with you about the exploitation of homeless, more than that, I often use your term "street porn" in this regard. But still, I think we should be a bit more flexible here, otherwise it will look like a tabu. In fact we often do not know if a homeless person is unhappy about being photographed. I believe if a homeless guy agrees for his life to be documented by a camera for several hour at least, he must feel positive about it. He might even feel being a part of a mission. Yes there are thousands of pictures of homeless people. Yes it is nearly impossible to show anything new. Apart from showing new people still suffering the same way. But does that mean we have to stop taking new pictures, stop reminding the world, or at least ourselves and our friends that there is a huge social problem? To say "work harder" to a photographer who spent a day with a homeless guy would be OK if we were a media, not a forum where most members do not venture beyond shooting their own kids, cats and cars.
I have a lot to criticise about this essay, but I do not want to, exactly because the guy has put a lot of effort. Yes, the result is a bit mediocre, especially by your standard, just give the guy some slack. By looking at his photos I believe his intentions are good.