How do you find your groove?

cliveh

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
7,588
Format
35mm RF
Instead of thinking imperfection, think mark of the maker.
 

peter k.

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
1,404
Location
Sedona Az.
Format
Multi Format
Instead of thinking imperfection, think mark of the maker.
Click to expand...

hmmm .. wow.. really like that... for all of its interpretations .. for going beyond.

just getting the essentials down here.. getting more comfortable with the twists, and accepting them.. to see them.. the process seems to be the groove.. of course, just being a beginner.. ha.. ;-)
but then...
if we accept ... allow ... then we are always beginning... unfolding like a seed springing from the earth, and the flower opening and tracing the sun, casting shade and brilliance reflected!
Many dimensional, and remembered as a form, shown as an image, separated but contained, and held as One!
All taken together within that groove of sharing, bearing and being.
 
OP
OP

markbarendt

Member
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
9,422
Location
Beaverton, OR
Format
Multi Format
peter k. said:
.. the process seems to be the groove..
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be talking about the syntax of photography. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/505 That is a link to a thesis that talks a lot about this. Also the history of changes to materials and equipment is really interesting. There are real constraints and challenges we face when we choose photography.

There is distinct truth to that thought but I think we mortals tend to narrow the definition of process too far, to say tangibles like film choice, exposure, developing, printing. We need to consider the whole process, not just what's tangible. In the thesis it talks about soft focus lens focusing being a bit of an art, pleasing or not, whereas focus today is thought more of in terms of, is or isn't.

One question for me is: would the styles of Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Salgado, Karsh, Hurrell, Steve McCurry or me, be recognizable if they used a different brand of film or camera? I'd say yes for the famous guys, as for me, probably not yet.

Take McCurry for example, I've known several people that have gone shooting with him and one of the things they say he does is to "grab" a subject person off the street that is appropriate for the shot he's after and take them to the setting he wants them in for the photo. The places are genuine, the people are genuine, there may even be the look of candidness, but many of the shots are staged and the subject may not frequent that place otherwise. It's not street shooting as HCB did. McCurry's process is way more complex than film choice, exposure, developing, printing. His subject placement, lighting preferences, and composition are recognizable.
 

Bill Burk

Subscriber
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
9,381
Format
4x5 Format
I just went to a bookstore with the family today... It was our Saturday thing to do...

Of course I went to the photo mags and there was one of black and white photography with maybe a hundred names in the issue... Each photographer had a few pages... It was a beautiful sight to see, and the work was consistently excellent...

But I felt so bad that I didn't recognize a name among them.

Is it because many APUG'ers use pseudonyms here? Are many of us represented? Or is the field of photography really more crowded than I care to admit. I felt we were an exclusive club...

Anyway my impression is that there are many photographers out there with dedication to light! I was happy to see it.

My "groove" if I find it, will be a week at Little Sur coming up... my third visit to the area. Twice I shot it on 35mm Panatomic-X. I could do that again, or I might try TMAX 100 or 4x5 TMY2... Don't know but I am going to do one of those.
 

peter k.

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
1,404
Location
Sedona Az.
Format
Multi Format
Originally Posted by markbarendt
Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be talking about the syntax of photography.
Click to expand...
No, not really. the groove starts with the
... real constraints and challenges we face when we choose photography.
Click to expand...
but we transmute that into a creativity, where we learn the rules, and then learn how to break them in trying to reach beyond the tangibles! Reaching for an expression.. and insight to be conveyed.
I went through a phase, where I tried to create an have an image, relate to a quote I liked, which I put on the image. Sometimes it worked... but found, that what you see is not what others see. Some could not relate to the quote, felt it was a distraction. They related to the same image differently, because of the 'groove' that they had within themselves. Of their looking, and response to the image. Perhaps creating a whole different relationship and understanding and connection to it, that we, the 'maker' never even perceived!

It seems to me that most commercially successful photographers have done their level best to find a groove or rut to follow.
Click to expand...
Beyond my experience... but think, that they weren't expressly trying to find a rut to follow, as in so much, dug themselves there.. and liked the space.. and found it comfortable and stayed there.
And how do we keep those grooves fun and productive?
Click to expand...
By being open to change.. to become beginners again. Accepting that suddenly, with a different twist, we are using what we have learned and perhaps willing to step off the abyss, and fail.
How we photograph, becomes our personal groove that will most likely change. But it all starts with that seed, of film, aperture, focus, light and composition. Using the limitation and expansion of B&W, or color, as the vehicle.

~~~~~~~
BTW.. showing what a newbie I am.. how do you guys get that view post quote ding = "originally posted by xxx "
heading?
 

Bill Burk

Subscriber
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
9,381
Format
4x5 Format

I get your thought... I enjoy when a photograph of mine has a "backstory". I enjoy telling the story when showing the print to others. But for those storytelling shots, where the viewer knows the story - it might ruin the chance for them to relate to it from within themselves.

Oh, I guess to get the originally posted by, you would click Reply with Quote button and don't wipe out the QUOTE= text in brackets.
 
OP
OP

markbarendt

Member
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
9,422
Location
Beaverton, OR
Format
Multi Format
peter k. said:
Beyond my experience... but think, that they weren't expressly trying to find a rut to follow, as in so much, dug themselves there.. and liked the space.. and found it comfortable and stayed there.
Click to expand...

Dug themselves in is a reasonable description, going beyond rut into a trench.

The commercial world loves ruts, it is in most cases the essence of doing business. When you come up with an idea or style that somebody likes and they tell their buddies then the question becomes "can you do that again?", "and again?", "and again?", "and again?" ...

This is something galleries look for and the f64 Manifesto is a real example of artists catering to this; to be an f64 member one had to pigeon hole one's self and the intent was to get more gallery time for the group. They were essentially trying to monopolize as much gallery time as possible.

The pay was probably good.
 

removed account4

Subscriber
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
29,832
Format
Hybrid
hi mark

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/groove

according to the dictionary
a groove / finding one's groove
has to do with finding one's niche, doing something repeatedly,
doing something perfectly through repeated practice, enjoying oneself intensely,
top form, and enjoyable or exciting experience, a dull routine that does not change
and other things ...

i suppose one person's groove is another person's rut
 

David Brown

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
4,056
Location
Earth
Format
Multi Format

One of the reasons that I am less worried about analog photography than some, is that I know there are more photographers out there using film than it often seems.

I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I know for a fact that APUG is not a representative sample of the film shooters in this area. I periodically meet with a local group. Most recently, there were six of us at lunch, and I was the only one active on apug. The mailing list for this group has 40-50 names. There is a meetup.org film "club" that has 65 members. There is a local film Flickr page with many more. There is only a little overlap between those three groups!

Two local camera stores stock darkroom supplies. I and everyone I know personally gets the majority of their supplies online, but someone is buying from these stores.

Just last week, I discovered that the staff photographer/videographer for a local art museum uses film for his personal work, and has a regular podcast about photography, and has Youtube videos on how to process and print film. I've never met the guy.

We're everywhere, just not on apug.

(Sorry - off topic for the thread)
 
OP
OP

markbarendt

Member
Joined
May 18, 2008
Messages
9,422
Location
Beaverton, OR
Format
Multi Format
jnanian said:
i suppose one person's groove is another person's rut
Click to expand...

Yes, I may do something in my groove for free, but one must pay me to be in a rut.
 

peter k.

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
1,404
Location
Sedona Az.
Format
Multi Format
markbarendt said:
Yes, I may do something in my groove for free, but one must pay me to be in a rut.
Click to expand...

Once one becomes an old 'art, and .. retarded, then one only needs to groove, as the rut has been gone through. :munch:


~~~~
and learns new how to do the do's, .. as in replying with a quote, with no image necessary to enlighten.
 

dorff

Member
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
443
Location
South Africa
Format
Multi Format

Was it a mag dedicated to analogue? It seems most if not all black and white magazines have embraced digital as well as film. That could partly explain it.

I don't think Apuggers are more than a tiny fraction of black and white photographers. We do not even represent a significant fraction of film shooters. There are many photographers who shoot film that are completely disinterested in technical discussions, or at least happy enough with available resources that they don't feel the need to participate in forums. I do think there are many lurkers who never post, too.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
53,661
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format

cliveh

Subscriber
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
7,588
Format
35mm RF
Alan Klein said:
When you're in a groove you've slipped past ego, thought, and deliberate action. You're on a spiritual plane where mind and matter combine seamlessly. You are directed by nothing externally and answer to God only.
Click to expand...

How true.
 

blockend

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Messages
5,049
Location
northern eng
Format
35mm
I used to hang out with a guy who was big in advertising and won numerous awards. He said when he wanted to know if something worked he didn't use focus groups, or professional experts, he asked his aged mother. If she gave something the nod, it was okay. Most stuff she failed. We all need such a critic.
 

PKM-25

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2004
Messages
1,980
Location
Enroute
Format
Multi Format
Chance favors the prepared...

For me that applies to being in my groove too. When I am rested, well nourished, not drinking or spending too much time on the web, I just see like a maniac and produce like crazy, in my groove.

I got into a really good niche and groove about 15 years ago, it's been getting better ever since and thankfully, so have the paychecks....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…