Ian David
Member
Hi David
Interesting article, but I think you are mistaken in your belief that intimacy is a vital ingredient of every successful photo. The examples of someone else's family portrait and Weston's pepper are perhaps particularly good for illustrating your point, but hardly representative of the range of photographic subjects. Small prints probably do generally foster a greater feeling of intimacy, but I am not at all convinced that intimacy is a necessary or even desirable goal in every presentation of every image. I reckon it all depends on the particular image, the particular space where you are going to put it, and what feeling you are trying to achieve. A lot of really large photographs look pretentious simply because they are just not that good, or they are in the wrong place... I like small intimate presentations as much as the next man, but sometimes (more often than you suggest) a big image can be very strong and effective.
Ian
Interesting article, but I think you are mistaken in your belief that intimacy is a vital ingredient of every successful photo. The examples of someone else's family portrait and Weston's pepper are perhaps particularly good for illustrating your point, but hardly representative of the range of photographic subjects. Small prints probably do generally foster a greater feeling of intimacy, but I am not at all convinced that intimacy is a necessary or even desirable goal in every presentation of every image. I reckon it all depends on the particular image, the particular space where you are going to put it, and what feeling you are trying to achieve. A lot of really large photographs look pretentious simply because they are just not that good, or they are in the wrong place... I like small intimate presentations as much as the next man, but sometimes (more often than you suggest) a big image can be very strong and effective.
Ian