Fruit & Vegetable Stand

[smoke665]

@otherprof

When I first saw the fruit & vegetable stand, my only thought was "wow," and I didn't see an image in my mind,

I suspect that this happens to all of us, I know it does to me. I'd like to say it's the subconscious doing what the conscious isn't, but when I open those images on my computer, I realize neither one was at work. In some cases I've ended up making a completely different image in post trying to salvage something. While I like to be creative in LR and PS I've found it's not nearly as entertaining as being behind the camera. My resolution for 2017 is to be more proactive in getting it right in camera.

How did you know when the picture in your head is finished?"

Of course you're questioning, because you didn't have a clue when you snapped the shutter. A professional photographer doing a paid shoot, takes the elements of the shot, and the wishes of the client and rolls it into a preconceived vision. They don't just go out shooting willy, nilly hoping they can piece something together later in PS. Even though you might be doing it strictly for yourself, when you look at a scene you should be forming a mental image on the intended outcome before you snap the shutter. Granted there are those "once in a lifetime shots", or the action/circumstances prevent you from taking time to think, but this wasn't one of them.

The second imposes order on the arrangement, while the first catches the order in the chaos, if that makes sense. Of course I only thought this out now, not at the time I created them

It makes perfect sense, but the thing you're missing is that "experience" makes it possible for the photographer/artist to recognize order in the chaos, and how best to portray that it.

But I still wonder if that is necessary, when it is possible, to appreciate or critique the artwork.

There will be some, that the subject matter is such that there's no question as to the intent of the photographer/artist. Your 1st photograph of the fruit stand is a good example of how the viewer can struggle to understand where the photographer/artist is going. Read back through some of the comments, and you'll see there was a lot of confusion. Some didn't get it, some didn't like the composition, some didn't like the colors, and for others, it evoked strong emotions of times past. Critique and appreciation are two different things. You can appreciate something without passing judgment, but to give valid critique, you need to have an understanding of what the photographer/artist was intended.

 

[Derrel]

I like both images, but they are very different, as you point out. The second imposes order on the arrangement, while the first catches the order in the chaos, if that makes sense. Of course I only thought this out now, not at the time I created them. I think that is true of most explanations of the functions of elements of artworks. They may serve a function, but that was not clearly in the artist's mind at the time of creation.

Brilliantly stated!