a picture I didn't comment on.

[The_Traveler]

I looked at a posting made this morning and didn't comment on it because I didn't have anything useful to say (and the picture was really too small asposted for its complexity) but I was thinking about it as I nuked lunch and after. I came to realize that that picture exemplified exactly the kind of photography that I love to see.

The photographer recognized that the camera is a tool to be used as part of the creation of his/her artistic vision. He/she also realized that the actual execution of this vision meant something important, and just having a 'cool' idea wasn't nearly enough.

He/she didn't depend on whether we liked or disliked the subject or even knew about it. He/she didn't pick something beautiful of itself to make the job easier; he/she attempted to create something from the pieces that photography gives us.

Whether or not the photo succeeded, I loved the effort and hope that the photographer keeps it up.

If anyone cares, this is a link to the photo.http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81727

 

[mysteryscribe]

I saw it and didn't comment either. I, unlike you, didnt like it much but I had no problem with it as an image. I didn't feel the poster was looking for any advice and if he were I didn't have any, so as I often do, believe it or not, I kept quiet.

 

[The_Traveler]

My point, which I didn't get across, was not about that specific picture but that the photographer wsa actually trying to create, rather than reproduce. He/she actually was trying to excerpt a tiny bit of the world and show it to us in a way that we hadn't seen or realized before.

That's worlds different from snapping a zillion pix and looking for one that happens to look 'cool.' My hope every time I take a picture is that whatever I see in my mind's eye can be captured and shown in a way that viewers will get it.

Anyone can take a picture of things that we know are beautiful or impressive or interesting and, because most of the audience already knows, then the picture has a decent chance of being successful. (Ever seen a picture of Hallie Berry where you say, "Man, she is ugly." No, we know the subject and so the work of the photographer is 2/3ds done. That's why every baby picture ever taken and posted gets a few 'what a cute kid.' remarks)

And, best of all, he/she actually tried to use the camera and post-processing well, he/she respected his tools and understood that 'actions talk, BS walks.'

 

[mmphoto]

wow... thanks! having not gone to a regular art school and having only taken technial and theoretical online classes i never had to do any homework or projects. now that i'm at the end of this certificate program via the internet i feel like i've missed out on so much because i don't have the money for art school. teachers, mentors, inspiriation, OTHER PHOTOGS! not to say i didn't learn worlds from the books i had to read but still. all my darkroom knowledge is from a book! i haven't been inside one since... 1991? lol and i was 13
so i took it upon myself to create a project simply about composition while i was bored last night. but i also love to try and recreate the atmosphere of lighting. my favorite thing actually, especially when its darker and moodier. i really want to somehow share that ambiance with others. make them see how i see it. lol i think i do that in more areas of life than just photo wow. self-realization! hahhahaha crazy.
but i saw the poles intersecting in front of me and thought "cool". and the lighting was dark and warm and summery even but with a "laundomat" feel to it because of the bulbs and wanted to capture that too.

Boblybil~ you're right about the lines not being perfect and i spent about an hour squeezing the hell out of my tripod to adjust the angles one degree at a time! hah that was an practice in patience! plus the curve of the lens kept throwing it off. any suggestions for what mm to photograph something at 20 feet and not get that distortion? i was at 50mm, and that was as far as i could go.
i also think the blocking effect might have thrown the lines a bit off balance on the one side and/or that frame effect.

lol and as for the he/she ambiguity~ hehe maybe i'll change my avatar.

 

[mysteryscribe]

Thats why i said even though I didn't personally like it I had not problem with it as an image. Most things are in the eyes of the beholder this is to I think. Since I don't pretend to understand it I opted not to comment.