has everything been done?

Ray Heath · Feb 21, 2006

in another thread, which i started this morning, their is some reluctance to discuss issues that some say have already been addressed

so what!

hasn't everything already been done?

why photograph a sunset? it's been done

why photograph a beautiful woman? it's been done

why discuss an issue that has already been addressed? by who? when? maybe i want up to date feedback on the issue

why endlessly discuss stuff that tries to second guess issues that highly trained people have already worked out? is that all that is done on this site?

Nige · Feb 21, 2006

if it's been done before, it doesn't concern me, I probably haven't done it, and even then I don't care if I have done it before.

arigram · Feb 21, 2006

Possibly everything has allready been done.
It doesn't matter at all.
Go out and photograph.

noseoil · Feb 21, 2006

"by who?" Not to put too fine a point on it, but it is better expressed "by whom?" the object of a preposition. This is the same conversation, only expressed in proper grammatical terms. We see here a similar theme. Since most people's sense of history begins at about the time of birth, history must be studied in order to be learned.

I will grant you that many things photographic have been done by someone already, but this does not mean there is no substance in doing it in one's own way. There will never be another Weston, Ray or Zoe but we still take pictures. Besides, there's always digital. tim

Ole · Feb 21, 2006

Ray Heath said:
in another thread, which i started this morning, their is some reluctance to discuss issues that some say have already been addressed

so what!

Some issues have been addressed, many ad nauseam. It is considered polite to search the older threads before starting a new one on an old topic.

Ray Heath said:
hasn't everything already been done?

Yes, but no. Not by me, at least

Ray Heath said:
why photograph a sunset? it's been done

Not exactly that sunset from that position at that time, it hasn't!

Ray Heath said:
why photograph a beautiful woman? it's been done

Again - not that beautiful woman on that time by that photographer. Besides I've never felt a need to "justify" photographing beautiful women. Excapt sometimes to my wife...

Ray Heath said:
why discuss an issue that has already been addressed? by who? when? maybe i want up to date feedback on the issue

Then find the old thread and add to it. It will show up in the recent posts, and the discussion will take off again.

Ray Heath said:
why endlessly discuss stuff that tries to second guess issues that highly trained people have already worked out? is that all that is done on this site?

Not all, but it seems to be an important part. Yet once in a while new knowledge comes out of it, or old knowledge that was all but forgotten is "exhumed" and reenters the common knowledge. That's valuable, IMO. And some of the "highly trained people" are frequent contributors here, too.

Ed Sukach · Feb 21, 2006

Ray Heath said:
in another thread, which i started this morning, their is some reluctance to discuss issues that some say have already been addressed
so what!
hasn't everything already been done?

No. Not even close. Art is infinite.

why photograph a sunset? it's been done

Not the one I saw last night - or will see tonight. They are all different.

why photograph a beautiful woman? it's been done

Not ALL beautiful women have been photographed - and not by me - and not in every way possible.

why discuss an issue that has already been addressed? by who? when? maybe i want up to date feedback on the issue

To learn. To 'see' through the eyes and "being" of someone else. *VERY* little of that has "been done".

why endlessly discuss stuff that tries to second guess issues that highly trained people have already worked out? is that all that is done on this site?

"Highly trained people"??? (not only that, but !!!) ... Who are they? ... and what, specifically, have they "worked out"?

This isn't a matter of "training" -- it is a matter of seeing, of life, of being ... of operating beyond the sense of reality ... Do you honestly think all of that has "been done"?

Ben Taylor · Feb 21, 2006

Traveling to work a few months ago i noticed some graffiti that for some reason grabbed my attention. Someone had scrawled in foot hight letters:
"Say Something New". (not a 'new' sentiment I'm sure!)

I'm not sure that my photography has developed to the point that it 'says' anything at all yet, but perhaps one day I'll make an image that says something new...

Joe Lipka · Feb 21, 2006

Yes, all the great photographs have been made, there will be no more. That gives us time to post comments on the internet.

sanderx1 · Feb 21, 2006

Ray Heath said:
why photograph a sunset? it's been done

The Sunset taking place tomorrow has not been photographed yet and changes are good it will be different from all the previous ones. Most of them are.

df cardwell · Feb 21, 2006

If we assume a question is being asked to gain some information in an efficacious manner, it is only polite to refer to the Search function.

As for the other stuff,
as boring as it is,
it's all been done.

Now, we're just sitting here, online.

Yawn.

Waiting.

.

.

Ed Sukach · Feb 21, 2006

Ben Taylor said:
Traveling to work a few months ago i noticed some graffiti that for some reason grabbed my attention. Someone had scrawled in foot hight letters:
"Say Something New". (not a 'new' sentiment I'm sure!)

I'm not sure that my photography has developed to the point that it 'says' anything at all yet, but perhaps one day I'll make an image that says something new...

Your photography DOES "talk" - and says "something new" with each exposure. We listen to it subconsciously. To realize what is happening CONSCIOUSLY is difficult, if not impossible. (Note 1)

Your photography "speaks" - everyone's photography does ... it is only a matter of listening to a language we do not have to (cannot?) learn.

Note 1: I'm not at all sure there is any difference with the spoken language. We interpret it automatically ... without the burden of having to stop and figure out the meaning of each word and syntax.

bill schwab · Feb 21, 2006

Ray Heath said:
hasn't everything already been done?

It sure has.

Now go back and turn-up the television.

MurrayMinchin · Feb 21, 2006

Ray Heath said:
hasn't everything already been done?

Hmmm, good point! I mean, let's look at other human endeavors, like;

Science - yup, nothing new to find there.

Athletics - hoo boy, no sense sweating that much for nothing.

Love - has been done to death over the ages...dump yer wife.

Photography - holy crap is that still around? Of course in only 150-ish years photographers have exhausted every possible way to percieve the world...what a bunch of wheel running gerbals.

Murray

firecracker · Feb 21, 2006

I don't know what's been done before because I was probably not part of any of it, and that's a good enough reason for me to go out and take pictures and print them.

Marv · Feb 21, 2006

Yes it's all been done.

Sell your equipment and in disgust send me the money (you wouldn't want to keep money that was repulsive and came from PHOTOAPHIC EQUIPMENT) I'll see to it the money is well spent.

gr82bart · Feb 21, 2006

This thread been done before too. It's an out of control spiral we're in now....

Art.

removed account4 · Feb 21, 2006

as said in Dead Link Removed

it was true then, as much as it is true now ...

but that doesn't mean people can't just enjoy themselves, does it ?

wilhelm · Feb 21, 2006

gr82bart said:
This thread been done before too. It's an out of control spiral we're in now....

I wouldn't say "out of control" necessarily. More like "a bunch of people making fun of the OP for being a little too obvious". Or something like that. Brought a smile to my face this morning, at any rate.

Will

mark · Feb 21, 2006

Are you getting nasty PMs or somthing? You seem to have a serious chip on your shoulder. Art was being flipant for god sake.

Struan Gray · Feb 21, 2006

"The worst monotonous drone coming from a lectern or the most eye-splitting
textbook written in turgid English is nothing in comparison to the
psychological Sahara that starts right in your bedroom and spurns the horizon."

* * * * -Joseph Brodsky, from "In praise of Boredom"

blansky · Feb 21, 2006

Billions of people have had sex before. Hundreds of billions I guess.

I've had sex before.

So it's been done before. A lot.

But I plan on doing it again and again and again and again.........

Although maybe not all on the same day.

Michael

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Feb 21, 2006

visualdata said:
These comments "it's been done before" are elitist and meant to stifle any "newbie" from commenting. You should reconsider your views that anyone "NEW" coming on to APUG should have to spend endless amounts of time going over OLD posts just so they don't repeat what some think is the final say on these matters.

Believe me or not, but being still a newbie myself I have actually spent a lot of time so far reading old threads because I was looking for a specific information. I do it a little less now because I managed to find what I was looking for, but you've got to realise that some questions surfaced more than other. That's why people write FAQs. Frequently. Asked. Questions. It's a common issue of most internet forums, and all forums tend to react in similar ways.

FAQs can't resolve open-ended issues like "is it art," but frankly you don't need a FAQ to infer that on any given website dedicated to photo somebody has already thought about asking "Is it art." Heck, it's almost the first thing people ask themselves when they start taking pictures.

Granted, we should probably bury this thread, but you really over-reacted.

avandesande · Feb 21, 2006

Your mom probably told you that you are 'one in a million'

That means there are 6,000 people just like you. Get over it.

Ray Heath · Feb 21, 2006

thanx guys
great responses, lots to reflect on
but why so many words telling me there are already many words on the subject, and that it's not worth more words, if i were a cynic i may think ya'all like ta hear ya selves typein, oh looki i need a nuther inglish lesson

Magnus · Feb 23, 2006

Everything might be photographed, but not by everyone yet ....

has everything been done?

Ray Heath

Nige

arigram

noseoil

Ole

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Ed Sukach

Ben Taylor

Joe Lipka

sanderx1

df cardwell

Ed Sukach

bill schwab

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MurrayMinchin

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firecracker

Marv

gr82bart

removed account4

wilhelm

mark

Struan Gray

blansky

Michel Hardy-Vallée

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avandesande

Ray Heath

Magnus

has everything been done?

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