how do you make boring stuff look, like ... interesting ?

[Ray Morgenweck]

You either have “the photographers eye”, or you don’t. I admit it.....I don’t. My Daughter does. I don’t. That’s why I’m a Collector mostly.....I can Imagine what these things can do....if Only I had that damn photographers eye!

 

[eddie]

If it catches your eye enough to consider making a photograph, it isn't really boring, is it?

 

[Vaughn]

I photograph light and it does not care if anyone thinks it is boring...

 

[wiltw]

I photograph light and it does not care if anyone thinks it is boring...

...to write with light, the fundamental principle. You can accomplish that with a riveting subject, or a blah subject seen in an interesting manner (contrast, tones, textures, leading the eye with lines thru the shot, etc.) but all are simply writing with light.
An interesting subject itself can be fleetingly interesting...a pile of garbage can be something quickly dismissed, or it can be explored in an artistic manner -- the same pile of garbage.
I hate to admit it, but shots of Yosemite are mostly all boring to me, even Ansel's famous shots...I might appreciate it from the artistry behind its capture and creation in the darkroom, but be bored with the subject itself, simply because I have seen it so much in photos and in person.
The coastal mountains by me are mostly boring, but only come alive when certain fleeting lighting serendipitously occur...usually while I have no camera but my smartphone (and the shot is usually disappointing when I see it!)

 

[NB23]

Add a nice looking nude person.

Too ambiguous. Woman, please.

 

[wiltw]

Too ambiguous. Woman, please.

I think spijker is male, and the punctuation needs some work. So your statement should have read, "Too ambiguous, man. Please!"

 

[Pieter12]

A boring subject is subjective...what bores you might interest me. I don't think its is a universal concept.

 

[jim10219]

You either have “the photographers eye”, or you don’t. I admit it.....I don’t. My Daughter does. I don’t. That’s why I’m a Collector mostly.....I can Imagine what these things can do....if Only I had that damn photographers eye!

I know you didn't mean anything negative from this. And I'm not trying to denigrate you this. I understand where you're coming from. But this is one of the most infuriating things I have to deal with, time and time again. It truly is insulting.

Creativity, and the sensitivity to recognize and compose great art isn't something you're born with. It's something you earn. I mean sure, some people will be naturally better at it than others. Just like some people are taller, stronger, and more coordinated than others. And that may play a role in how far you can go as an artist, or athlete, should you ever push yourself to your own limitations. But no amount of natural skill will either make you, or prevent you, from being good at anything.

 

[Vaughn]

...to write with light, the fundamental principle. You can accomplish that with a riveting subject, or a blah subject seen in an interesting manner (contrast, tones, textures, leading the eye with lines thru the shot, etc.) but all are simply writing with light.
...
The coastal mountains by me are mostly boring, but only come alive when certain fleeting lighting serendipitously occur...usually while I have no camera but my smartphone (and the shot is usually disappointing when I see it!)

I understand where you are coming from, but my subject tends to be the light...but it is my subject and I realize others are more object orientated and may not appreciate my images in the same way...just as some people are more subject-orientated looking at sculptures, rather than placing equal or more importance on the space it occupies.

I was a wilderness ranger in the coastal mountains of Northern CA for a decade (80s) -- there is always light and it is always wonderful. My son and I on Solomon Peak -- Shasta in the far distance. June 2018

 

[NB23]

I think spijker is male, and the punctuation needs some work. So your statement should have read, "Too ambiguous, man. Please!"

Hehehe!

 

[Peter Schrager]

Turn the picture upside down
Should work
If not toss in circular file

 

[jtk]

its an age old question i think.
person has camera,
person makes a photograph of something .. but
that something is super boring, i mean a telephone pole, a water plug, a used car lot, street scene a >fill in the blank<

but how do we photograph it to make it well, not so boring? or is the mundane, boring-ness so mundane that it overcomes
the boring-epitude, and makes it interesting ?

i mean we all have seen photographs or mundane streetscapes or scenes from "whenever" and even though
they are of a scene that probably was as interesting as watching paint dry, now, 5, 19 or 80 years later, they are interesting.
is that the point ? hope that in 80 years someone will find our boring photographs and be enthralled? or ... do we make them interesting now ..

Better question: How does jnantz do it?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Better question: How does jnantz do it?

Simple. With his "Window Filter".

 

[removed account4]

Simple. With his "Window Filter".

yup schmutz is the majik mojo

 

[jvo]

light...

 

[Vaughn]

light...

+1!

 

[foc]

light...

+1
Photography from the Greek words, phōtos and graphé, together meaning drawing with light.

 

[Cloudy]

I don't know why try so hard to make something boring interesting when there are loads of interesting things and people in the world....probably I just like it easy

 

[Sirius Glass]

I don't know why try so hard to make something boring interesting when there a loads of interesting things and people in the world....probably I just like it easy

Many photographs can be made more interesting by moving in. Also changing the view point. Moving up or down. All of that can be done without waiting for the lighting to change.

 

[Cloudy]

Many photographs can be made more interesting by moving in. Also changing the view point. Moving up or down. All of that can be done without waiting for the lighting to change.

I never said that you have to wait for the lighting to change, I said that I don't understand why one should struggle in any way to make a boring subject more interesting when there are already many many subjects which are interesting in their own right.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I never said that you have to wait for the lighting to change, I said that I don't understand why one should struggle in any way to make a boring subject more interesting when there are already many many subjects which are interesting in their own right.

Whether it is a choice of my subjects or yours, changing point of view, lighting, ... all useful tools.

 

[cliveh]

With Zen photography the best images are captured without thought.

 

[Cloudy]

Whether it is a choice of my subjects or yours, changing point of view, lighting, ... all useful tools.

err, ok, no point in quoting me then

 

[Cloudy]

With Zen photography the best images are captured without thought.

how's that possible? do you have examples?

 

[eddie]

Celebrate the mundane!