sorry to be blunt but no one really cares

[jtk]

Successful people often advise, "Stop stinkin' thinkin'. I'd add, "Stop blaming the other guy."

The other guy doesn't exist IMO.

 

[Chan Tran]

the time may have come to admit that a beautiful thing has ended. this year is the first time Iwon't attend Photokina. there is nothing analog there anymore.

But I thought you have switched to digital or at least hybrid?

 

[paladin1420]

I answered that I don’t care. I’m old enough and cranky enough that I’m happy to do “our” thing as long as cameras, film and chemicals are around regardless of what the cool kids say. But I answered too fast; I should have gone with the cheeseburger.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

My wife is a vegetarian. I don't eat meat EXCEPT for the occasional high quality cheeseburger, so your poll really hit home!

 

[removed account4]

My wife is a vegetarian. I don't eat meat EXCEPT for the occasional high quality cheeseburger, so your poll really hit home!

thanks shawn !

 

[winger]

Yay - I'm part of the 99% -Wooo!

So, there are two types of photographers who interest me. The first type, some well known ones, as well as some on this site, inspire me - their photos have provided me with a new way of seeing something and I'm energized and want to rush out and make photos. Other photographers, who are a minority but are famous and contemporary, their work makes me fall back in my chair and I have a feeling of "That's it - it's done; it can't be better than that. Compared to this I don't know how to make a photograph, so I should just give up and sell all my cameras."

Yet, what really matters is whether I'm happy with my work. The answer to that is yes.

This is how I feel.

And I keep shooting because of me, not because of what anyone else thinks. And those times when my muse/guardian angel has coffee with John's are lots of fun - never know what'll happen.

I wish I'd had a cheeseburger for dinner, what I had was meh.

 

[BradS]

I too am vegetarian but I still enjoy the smell of a burger cooking on the grill....a cheese burger paradox in...hmm, not paradise.

 

[removed account4]

vegetarians if you need to change the cheeseburger to something like a portabello mushroom or TVP im ok with that or whatever your favorite grilled snack might be

 

[BrianShaw]

I just had a grilled “black and blue” burger... blue cheese in a burger... for supper. But a grilled portobello sandwich would have been yummy too. I’m culinarily ambidextrous.

 

[Wallendo]

To quote Jimmy Buffett:
"I said I know that this may sound funny
But money don't mean nothin' to me
I won't make my music for money, no
I'm gonna make my music for me"

On the other hand, he has developed quite a lucrative business model.

 

[MattKing]

John:
"No one" isn't accurate.
"Very few" is accurate.
And the difference is profound.
I care.
And at least a few others care.
So I am happy.

 

[removed account4]

John:
"No one" isn't accurate.
"Very few" is accurate.
And the difference is profound.
I care.
And at least a few others care.
So I am happy.

yeah maybe i should rephrase what i said ...
but in the end 5,10, 15 people out of thousands or millions
is pretty much no one ...

im currently looking for a troll farm to work with

 

[slackercrurster]

Now, it is not exactly true that no one cares when it comes to your photos. It just depends on what the photos are of. If they are of the boring, generic, common as dirt photos, then sure they may end up in the dumpster.

If you don't make prints, then sure your digital output may end up vaporized. But humans have a tendency to collect stuff. Found photography is a big collection area on eBay.

Do good work, make prints of interesting subjects, sign your prints on the backs and you may have an afterlife with your work!

 

[Ces1um]

Photography for me is more an excuse to go outdoors for a hike, or to visit a new area. Having a camera encourages me to stay active. I don't need others to love my photo. That being said, it is NICE when people appreciate your photo but at best all I've ever gotten is, "Gee, that's a nice photo", or my wife will tell me her friends on facebook liked the photo I took of her/them/place that she subsequently posted on facebook.

 

[jvo]

i responded i don't really care - i guess it's true!

if i made really great photograph's, consistently did good work, and worked at it harder than i do, i would probably care more and want the recognition.

as is i create good photographs, once-in-a-while a great one. I enjoy what i do and photography/wet darkroom as a pleasant and productive pastime.

In my next life I wiil be a really great photographer, driven, productive, lauded around the world!!!

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Only your mother really cares about your photography.

 

[jtk]

I care and various others do... not caring about one's life and what one does indicates end-of-road.

Photography isn't a higher calling than anything else to which we commit. A cook or hunter or chaser of women, that also commits to photography, can still make many more fine commitments.

 

[winger]

Only your mother really cares about your photography.

My mother has been the one most likely to NOT like my photography.

 

[Arklatexian]

Jnanian, you are one of the only photographers I respect on this site. 99% of the photographers out there (all over the internet) are worthless. That’s what’s killing photography. You are the 1% that can make a photograph that is worth a damn. Every time I go online, all I see are copies of copies of copies. Wether it’s people chasing the latest fad on Instagram or (even worse), people making poor attempts to copy past masters. Ansel Adams’ photos were great. But trying to make photos that looked just like his doesn’t make you great. It makes you irrelevant. Your photos are unique and compelling. You have inspired me many times.

Every time I come to this site, Instagram, or so many other photography relates pages on the net and look at the photos other people post, I think “wow! I’m actually a really good photographer!” Then I look at the photos on largeformatphotograph.info or go to a museum or nice gallery and think “nope. I’ve still got a long way to go.” The saddest thing is that most of the people on these photography sites have no idea how bad of a photographer they even are or what a good photograph even looks like. They complain about guys like Alec Soth and Andreas Gursky because they don’t copy Edward Weston. All they know is the technical side. All they care about is the gear and the settings. Sharpness is their church and the zone system is their religion. They are oblivious to context and meaning. Uniqueness is repulsive to them.

You might consider a change of scenery. Find a place with a thriving artistic community. Find others who can push, encourage, and inspire you. Find a crowd that appreciates your unique vision. Find a place where people get you and your work. You’re really talented. You can’t give up now! You just need a better support system.

In the past, I found the thriving artistic community, I found others who could push, encourage and inspire me but I am now 87 and most of them have died and the rest took up digital photography and I must either change (I only like B&W) or die. But when I go, I will be owning only the cameras that I like as well as the darkroom equipment that I enjoy using (providing I can get into the darkroom again). Hmmmmmm! Well maybe if I were a young person again like maybe 70, I might would try to get a Super Technika, sigh!........Regards!

 

[Arklatexian]

You are hardly a slug.

You are right Sirius. Slugs leave a slime trail behind them. Gonna have someone look behind me one of these days.........Regards!

 

[NB23]

To me, all the anwers are the same LOL

About my photography: nobody cares, not even my mother.

I guess if someone slipped one of my shots into gary winogrand’s collection it would be seen as fokan marvelous but unfortunately, this is never going to happen.

I can’t say I care.

 

[ced]

It's not about caring it's about satisfaction, so put it in your pipe and smoke it...

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

My mother has been the one most likely to NOT like my photography.

I looked at your flickr page and really like your shots. She should be proud of your photography. Take your best photo, and frame it, and give it to her as a gift. She'll love you for it.

PS the first link doesn't work; only the flickr. works.

 

[removed account4]

I care and various others do... not caring about one's life and what one does indicates end-of-road.

im not talking about caring about our own photography,
obviously we care about photography otherwise why would
we be wasting hours and hours and hours doing it.
and countless rupies buying film and cameras and paper and chemicals ..
youknow ...
thousands of sales of a blurb book
being an "influencer" on some public media social forum
people flocking to an opening you have in some che che gallery
where they pay HUNDREDS of thousands for your work

sure, some friends may say they like your stuff
( LOL even though they put it UP when you are there and take it down when you leave like aunt millie's vase)
family might like your stuff and keep you moving forward ..
but in the grand scheme of things
it has nothing to do with not caring about what one does and it being the end of the road.

its unfortunate, but i can't find " internet millions of likes and troll farm " in the yellow pages

To me, all the anwers are the same LOL

About my photography: nobody cares, not even my mother.

I guess if someone slipped one of my shots into gary winogrand’s collection it would be seen as fokan marvelous but unfortunately, this is never going to happen.

I can’t say I care.

yep

 

[winger]

I looked at your flickr page and really like your shots. She should be proud of your photography. Take your best photo, and frame it, and give it to her as a gift. She'll love you for it.

PS the first link doesn't work; only the flickr. works.

Thank you!
(and thanks for mentioning my broken site link - I need to put in the new one, which is only half built, but still better than nothing)