Has everything been done in photography?

[Ko.Fe.]

I use photography to frame reality, sometimes in metaphorical form.
Reality is changing. It can’t be take just once and for all times.
One country I was living is gone. Another is keep on changing drastically.
I’m standing on my two legs for it.
Americans, Canadians, Russians are not the same at the time of Winogrand, HCB, Arbus and so on.

 

[Arklatexian]

Just because a photograph has been made of a subject does not mean that it can't, or shouldn't be done again, better or different. In my mind, that is why some people consider photography one of the "arts". The portrait of one person can be shot almost an infinite number of ways. To say that the "best" photograph of "any" subject has been made, possibly shows a serious lack of "enthusiasm" for what photography can do. There are times when we should "set-aside" the cynicism and let the "juices" flow.............Regards!

 

[removed account4]

I use photography to frame reality,

im glad you didn't say to remind you of something, or that a photograph is reality because photography has nothing to do with reality and photographs aren't memories they are something else/

 

[awty]

I dont stand on anyone's shoulders, too tall as it is, have to constantly remind myself to bend my knees.
You cant offer anything new or different if you try and limit yourself to someone else's narrow view of photography.

 

[Cholentpot]

I dont stand on anyone's shoulders, too tall as it is, have to constantly remind myself to bend my knees.
You cant offer anything new or different if you try and limit yourself to someone else's narrow view of photography.

The next master has yet to be born.

I don't try to mimic or copy anyone's style or aesthetic. I genuinely shoot what catches my eye. Sometimes I win, most times I lose. But I learn not to make the same mistake more than a dozen times...

 

[Sirius Glass]

I’ve heard through out the years doing photography that “Everything has been done”. I’m sure most of you have heard it. Do any of you don’t believe it and try to make work that was never created. Or what I believe is that we stand on the shoulders of giants? Who’s shoulders you stand on?

You should live so long.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

You should live so long.

Let’s hope all of us live long enough to do the images we want to create. Since we’re all mortal, let’s get cracking!

 

[MattKing]

Sometimes it is fun to try to re-create something that someone else has done.
Sometimes taking your own route ends up in creating something that someone else has done.
I generally don't care if what I'm doing is new.
I just want to do something good. Originality will either happen, or it won't. Either way, it only matters if that is what I am trying for, rather than "good".

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Shoot what inspires you. The best growth often comes after you are bored wit what you've previously created and no longer want to emulate anyone else. Remember, there is no limit to originality.

MFL

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I generally don't care if what I'm doing is new.
I just want to do something good. Originality will either happen, or it won't. Either way, it only matters if that is what I am trying for, rather than "good".

Photography is like life. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. We live lives seemingly that was lived by millions of others. In the end, it’s our own story. Hopefully, we made some people happy along the way.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

im glad you didn't say to remind you of something, or that a photograph is reality because photography has nothing to do with reality and photographs aren't memories they are something else/

Sometimes my photography is transcription of reality, often it is photo of changing world around me.
I see nothing wrong about using photo archives to find out how much it has changed.

 

[removed account4]

Sometimes my photography is transcription of reality, often it is photo of changing world around me.
I see nothing wrong about using photo archives to find out how much it has changed.

sounds like what i use it for too i like how you said transcription .. someone painting changed things
and while a camera doesn't add "artistic license" there is something about a photograph that is different than reality,
sometimes its like the stenographer took notes on everything that was said and done infront of the all seeing eye, and other times
its like something else was going on.

 

[NB23]

It’s all been done before. All.
Wether you care or not. Wether you think you’re doing it in your own special way, it’s already been done. and it boils down to some subjective shit, in the end.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It’s all been done before. All.
Wether you care or not. Wether you think you’re doing it in your own special way, it’s already been done. and it boils down to some subjective shit, in the end.

Subjective indeed.

 

[Arthurwg]

I went to an opening of a juried show at the New York Camera Club some years ago and was rather shocked. The show was , judged by Sebastian Salgado, of all people, and the wining pictures were made by a beautiful redheaded woman of her anus, in several different poses. I guess they were good pictures.

 

[Bikerider]

Answering the original question - Absolutely not - It continues to evolve whatever medium you use to record the image.

 

[TheRook]

A truly creative photographer will always find something that has never been done before. Or at least not quite the same way.

 

[MattKing]

Even if you think everything has been done, someone will have a really clever idea.
This one involves "sculpture":
https://twitter.com/i/status/1210634172848623618

 

[scheimfluger_77]

Even if you think everything has been done, someone will have a really clever idea.
This one involves "sculpture":
https://twitter.com/i/status/1210634172848623618

That is awesome!

 

[Bill Burk]

We haven’t done “Pale Blue Dot” on film yet. Think we can interest Elon Musk in the project?

 

[Ces1um]

I'm not so sure that everything has been done. I've been going to the same park for 8 years now, taking photos at least weekly. I'm still getting new and exciting photos every time I go.
Now for arguments sake let's say everything has been done. That doesn't mean that everything has been done by you. You can still discover it all for yourself as long as you don't cheat and sneak a peak at what other people have done and purposely go out to copy it.
There's too much changing in the world for things to ever get boring and stale.

 

[eli griggs]

I’ve heard through out the years doing photography that “Everything has been done”. I’m sure most of you have heard it. Do any of you don’t believe it and try to make work that was never created. Or what I believe is that we stand on the shoulders of giants? Who’s shoulders you stand on?

No, we still have to explore 3-D imaging, for example, cameras that act like 'Mother', sending out small drones to capture in still life the focus of your image, in near spherical aspect, with depth of field far beyond merely what you can see in camera and, possibly, including you and surrounding out side the image area, for a greater depth look, in 3-D, of the image maker in relationship to the subject.

This is, of course, no analog and all shots would require 'per-focus' per-positioning by the camera's drones, before the shutter(s) are opened. but I think inside five generations, should we continue to evolve our Tech world
we will be there.

IMO.

 

[VinceInMT]

My answer is "no" but one way to look at it is that even if everything has already been said, the challenge is finding a new way of saying it.

 

[Vaughn]

Buy a drone before all the drone images are made...whoops, too late for that...

I don't worry about it -- I am making my images. I am influenced by everything I see...images from the giants, the image given to me by a 16 year old student in a summer class I was teaching, images I see as I move through space and time.

I am glad I did not see AA's images before I found my own way of seeing the light coming through the redwoods. It made being introduced once by my teacher/mentor as "The Ansel Adams of Humboldt County" just a little less painful.

 

[jtk]

Images are images. An artist can convey them with dance or haiku. Photography is no different.