Circle

[Evertking]

Thought it was neat how these stones made a circle, almost... The colors were ugly so I tried BW.
I will check out the work of photographers that I like and get inspired and full of ideas but when I get out there.... Well... I come back with.... This...
I have been putting in the work, I shoot almost everyday. Photography is hard, not the technical but the "seeing" side of it. I'm not sure it can be taught or maybe a numbers game?

 

[charlie76]

I dont know if I would call this landscape but I see what you were going for. Nice shot

 

[charlie76]

I have been putting in the work, I shoot almost everyday. Photography is hard, not the technical but the "seeing" side of it. I'm not sure it can be taught or maybe a numbers game?

Id say to this...to hell with looking at other photographers. All they are doing is applying some basic principals of art. If you’re trying to learn how to see, study art. Composition, especially. Balance.. is absolutely the key to artistic photography. Flow...how the eye moves around a composition of various objects. Look at art..basics, find what is appealing to you and see why your eye likes to look at it. Photography is not about photographing interesting subjects. Artistic photography is about composing anything in an artistic way to make it interesting and appealing, and to cause the viewer to have an emotion. I think I’ve heard you say a few times on FPF that you thought the colors sucked so you did BW. But really, you have it backward (not that it’s proper to speak in absolutes when discussing art theory, but bear with me), you can use color when you have a weak composition! Color is often just a distraction from uninteresting artistic composition. If you’re trying to learn ART photography, and it seems you are, I recommend abandoning color altogether (as a primary) and stick with BW. Focus on form and composition. Figure out how to make a boring subject into an interesting composition. I swear I could go around me house and take photos of the walls, find interesting ways to compose them, make sure there is balance, make sure your eye doesn’t shoot off the page even you look at it. Tell a story with minimal elements. Generate feeling with perspective, angle, DOF, etc.

And most importantly ... don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. Don’t freaking imitate someone else’s style. Pay close attention to what photos appeal to you, and go with it. Enjoy!

 

[smoke665]

Photography is hard, not the technical but the "seeing" side of it. I'm not sure it can be taught or maybe a numbers game?

This was made glaringly apparent to me recently when my niece posted some images on social media that were taken by her 17 yr old son with a cell phone. No formal training, just raw talent that was producing images that I'd be lucky to get after years of practice. I think we all tend to forget that any artistic media requires a certain amount of inherent abilities. We can be taught to paint, sculpt, carve, sing, play a musical instrument, take a photograph, etc., to the point that we can consistently produce acceptable work, but I believe there's a point at which a gifted artist will rise above the rest.

The other thing I've found is that we can get so caught up in the process, (technical side) that it blinds us to opportunities in front of us. Like the 17yr old, he knows little of the technical side, he's unaware of what other photographers do, only that what he saw appealed to him.

 

[bulldurham]

I am going to disagree with you on your comment about the technical side not being so hard because in the image, "Cascades," you blew the whites right out into space...thus the technical side should have driven the artistic side. If you really understand the technical side it will lead you to better compositions. You will know, for instance how to meter correctly for a scene and in many cases that leads to making better compositional choices. I agree with smoke that there are some who will "naturally" rise above the rest but I also know that working at your craft day in and day out, experimenting, keeping notes, and observing the successes of others will make one a far better artist. I taught art at many levels for a very long time, and I only can remember three absolute "naturals," but can remember a large number of highly successful artists who got there through sheer diligence to their craft.

 

[K9Kirk]

It may not be perfect but I still like it.

 

[otherprof]

Thought it was neat how these stones made a circle, almost... The colors were ugly so I tried BW.
I will check out the work of photographers that I like and get inspired and full of ideas but when I get out there.... Well... I come back with.... This...
I have been putting in the work, I shoot almost everyday. Photography is hard, not the technical but the "seeing" side of it. I'm not sure it can be taught or maybe a numbers game?
View attachment 193249

Lovely image.

 

[Evertking]

I have been putting in the work, I shoot almost everyday. Photography is hard, not the technical but the "seeing" side of it. I'm not sure it can be taught or maybe a numbers game?

Id say to this...to hell with looking at other photographers. All they are doing is applying some basic principals of art. If you’re trying to learn how to see, study art. Composition, especially. Balance.. is absolutely the key to artistic photography. Flow...how the eye moves around a composition of various objects. Look at art..basics, find what is appealing to you and see why your eye likes to look at it. Photography is not about photographing interesting subjects. Artistic photography is about composing anything in an artistic way to make it interesting and appealing, and to cause the viewer to have an emotion. I think I’ve heard you say a few times on FPF that you thought the colors sucked so you did BW. But really, you have it backward (not that it’s proper to speak in absolutes when discussing art theory, but bear with me), you can use color when you have a weak composition! Color is often just a distraction from uninteresting artistic composition. If you’re trying to learn ART photography, and it seems you are, I recommend abandoning color altogether (as a primary) and stick with BW. Focus on form and composition. Figure out how to make a boring subject into an interesting composition. I swear I could go around me house and take photos of the walls, find interesting ways to compose them, make sure there is balance, make sure your eye doesn’t shoot off the page even you look at it. Tell a story with minimal elements. Generate feeling with perspective, angle, DOF, etc.

And most importantly ... don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. Don’t freaking imitate someone else’s style. Pay close attention to what photos appeal to you, and go with it. Enjoy!

Thanks..

I am going to disagree with you on your comment about the technical side not being so hard because in the image, "Cascades," you blew the whites right out into space...thus the technical side should have driven the artistic side. If you really understand the technical side it will lead you to better compositions. You will know, for instance how to meter correctly for a scene and in many cases that leads to making better compositional choices. I agree with smoke that there are some who will "naturally" rise above the rest but I also know that working at your craft day in and day out, experimenting, keeping notes, and observing the successes of others will make one a far better artist. I taught art at many levels for a very long time, and I only can remember three absolute "naturals," but can remember a large number of highly successful artists who got there through sheer diligence to their craft.

Lol.. I did let em go a bit, didn't I?