What are your photographic turn-ons/turn-offs?

[2F/2F]

Great artists respect tradition even though they may not embrace it for themselves.

I don't think "great artists" do any one thing universally.

 

[keithwms]

Something odd about dissing traditionalists on APUG...

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I don't think "great artists" do any one thing universally.

Where in my post do you see the phrase "all great artists"?

 

[Tony Egan]

Something odd about dissing traditionalists on APUG...

Likes:
The expression "all mouth and no trousers" (I believe one American translation is something like "all hat and no cattle")

 

[lxdude]

Where in my post do you see the phrase "all great artists"?

Not there. But that is how it reads.

 

[Roger Thoms]

I just rediscovered a real photographic turn off, dead battery, and no spare, real turn off for sure.

Roger

 

[keithwms]

There is a perfectly reasonable contrary view, though, Michael, that too much emphasis on appreciation and critical study of what others have done can really fill up a curriculum and leave little time for tinkering. If you look at how all the great artists and scientists developed, I think you'll find that all of them experimented in a lot of different directions. That takes time. In classical music, it is widely accepted that one cannot be a composer and a performer (or critic)... it really takes full effort to accomplish one or the other. And we need both, of course.

Even in the physical sciences (my area), in which you'd think that standing on the shoulders of others is the best way to see forward, i.e. through incremental progress, this can be a real issue. As a teacher, I think we have gone waaay to far from experimentalism and learning through direct experience. The result is a generation of students who can google anything but who are terrified of venturing their own attempt at damn near anything. Education has become so 2-dimensional and dry. No seeds for innovation.

There is a beautiful quote by Giaever in his Nobel lecture that goes something like this: I am very fortunate not to have known all the good reasons why I shouldn't have done these experiments. In other words, the prevailing theories suggested that his work wasn't worth doing. But he was "dumb" enough to do them and the results were remarkable.

Obviously balance is always good. Everybody needs the basic schooling and guidance. But I really think that throughout academics, right across the spectrum including arts and science, there isn't nearly enough experimentalism.

I got a bit off the topic, but those are my sincere convictions as a teacher.

 

[David Brown]

In classical music, it is widely accepted that one cannot be a composer and a performer (or critic)...

Even in the physical sciences (my area), ...

Respectfully disagree.

In my area, music (this photography thing is just a hobby) I don't think this is "widely accepted" at all. There are certainly examples to the contrary from every age: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Listz, Bernstein - the list goes on and on.

 

[keithwms]

David, it's true that these are notably great performers and composers. I was thinking more of today's craft when I wrote that- the repertoire is so large and challenging now that it'd be very hard to accomplish both. And it's hard to get the sponsorship of a king or queen now Anyway, you're right, that was an inaccurate generalization on my part.

Michael, I agree and I think different for its own sake isn't terribly satisfying. It does occasionally lead to something interesting though. I have seen a lot of very interesting mistakes, even.

Anyway, I was attempting to promote balance.

 

[winger]

Even in the physical sciences (my area), in which you'd think that standing on the shoulders of others is the best way to see forward, i.e. through incremental progress, this can be a real issue. As a teacher, I think we have gone waaay to far from experimentalism and learning through direct experience. The result is a generation of students who can google anything but who are terrified of venturing their own attempt at damn near anything. Education has become so 2-dimensional and dry. No seeds for innovation.

I know this is off topic for the thread - apologies! But I have to mention that in the lab where I used to work, accreditation has had the effect of making the chemists do everything just by protocol, rather than by common sense or knowledge and experience. They no longer reason their way through something, they just follow the written "rules". Though I miss the paycheck, I'm glad I don't have to deal with that.

My turn ons:
-deep, rich prints
-texture I can feel by sight
-visual puns and humor

My turn offs:
-things I've seen before too many times
-something I know I could do better

Yup, I know it when I see it.

 

[ROL]

Someone once remarked that to tell whether a photograph is artistic or pornographic; "the artistic photograph always contains a plinth or an urn."

What does a Grecian urn?

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't get the punny reference as quoted here. :confused:

I believe the funny punny actually goes more like this:

MB1: It's a Grecian urn.
MB2: What's a Grecian urn?
MB1: Oh, about a dollar and a half.

* MB = Marx Bros?

Turn-ons:
Compelling, well-composed, finely executed prints of any type or description (and that includes digital – though I'm no digital fan).

Turn-offs:
Photographers who dislike any subject or style that isn't theirs, and disparage the efforts of others who are honest and sincere in there image and print making (especially those who eschew a certain style because of their own insincere, failed, aping attempts).

 

[darinwc]

I know this is off topic for the thread - apologies! ...

Thats OK, this thread has gone a number of ways I never expected ( furry pussies !?). But, threads are like children, you have to allow them to do their own thing.

 

[Dave Martiny]

Worst turn-off in a photograph?

For me, it's a title.

I find that some titles will include words that can indelibly skew my interpretation of a photo in a way that can be annoying and counterproductive to my ability to appreciate it on my own terms.

Almost all my photos are titled simply by "Location, date" or "Untitled, frame number, date".

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Gerald is pretty correct on this, and it is that way in most of the arts and sciences. Music has some excellent examples. Generally the greatest creative minds recognize the beauty and importance of great work that came before them, even if they themselves are forward thinkers.

Thank you for getting to the idea of my post. Regretfully some others infer or assume and then criticize.

I was thinking of Picasso who painted in a traditional and representation style when he first started. The "Boy with Horse" painting is an example. Van Gogh "The Potato Eaters" is another example. Shostakovitch composing a series of 24 preludes and fugues. A jazz musician like Keith Jarrett also records classical music. There are, of course, many, many other examples.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Worst turn-off in a photograph?

For me, it's a title.

I find that some titles will include words that can indelibly skew my interpretation of a photo in a way that can be annoying and counterproductive to my ability to appreciate it on my own terms.

On the other hand ocassionally the viewer does need a slight nudge.

 

[Cloudy]

Turn ons:

overexposed colour film/pastel colours
slide films shot on an overcast day
good portraiture, especially on medium and large format film
even better, good wet plate collodion and tintype portraits
close up portraits
interesting documentary project about things/people I don't know
panoramic images

Turn offs:

photos of rocks
most still life pictures
most architectural photos
most street photography you find in photography forums
people going on about their hasselblads
the male gaze
most sunsets and sunrises
boring pictures of boring things (the list is too long)
pregnancy shots/family commercial portrait session
most stock photos

 

[removed account4]

I don't disagree. Experimentation is critical. But there is a fine line for me I guess. When lomographers, people burning holes in their paper negatives, or purposely using expired materials, or the worst lens they can find, or no lens at all, tell me "Ansel sucks", I have a hard time taking them seriously.

I hate to say this but it is because "lomographers" and people who were guilty of having a good time and wasting all those precious commodities that film and papers are still manufactured today. I think maybe you missed the point of their "Ansel sucks" comment, it might not actually be Ansel Adams they think sucks, but people who insist "those unserious lomographers" behave themselves and take "real photographs" .. Don't get me started on that new fangled KODAK camera, those shutterbugs are really annoying with their wretched ill composed blurry photographs. How do they think they will get a suitable composition if they hold their camera and don't take their time ... and they mail them away to be printed. If you will excuse me, I have some 14x17 wet plate negatives to make and dichromate over platinum prints to make. I am photographing an exquisite still life like my favorite renaissance painting hanging in Museum.

too much hate in this world, not enough love.

 

[Charles Escott-New]

I was given a book of photographs of the East Anglian coast . Sadly in every photo the sea had turned in to milk of magnesia, sorry, my age! The beauty of sparkling, alive water replaced by a grey car park with a few rocks in the foreground. Those filters can kill any life in a mountain stream quicker than pollution. I love photographs that show me places I shall never visit.

 

[Ian Leake]

I remember this post from a long time ago (or at least I think I do). I'm not sure what I would have written back then, but here's my list today.

Turn-ons:
* Photos that show deep engagement between the photographer and their subject
* Strong compositions
* Compelling abstracts
* Powerful emotions
* Beautiful photos of everyday things

Turn-offs:
* Technically good but emotionally silent photos
* Photos of beautiful subjects that just repeat what's been done before
* Boring photos

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I would agree with most of the above points, but would suggest an additional turn-off: conceptually overworked imagery / subjects where either the original idea is not that strong or the visual results don't match the intention.

 

[eddie]

I don't have any universal turn ons/offs. I generally don't like prints on canvas (odd, since I've replicated the look on paper) or metal. I generally don't like images with crooked horizons. I like seeing the work of photographers evolve. I don't like one-trick ponies.

 

[removed account4]

Geez John what made you dig this post up? I’ve since loosened up a little on the toy camera crowd and have even wanted to try it myself, as recently discussed in another thread. Still love Ansel though.

haha. I didn't dig it up but this sad thread popped up yesterday I guess ...
sorry to have put you on the spot, wasn't my intent
I don't mind ansel that much either ... but those KODAK camera fiends are still really annoying.
and sadly I can't figure out how to use wriggly's spearmint or juicy fruit on top of my platinum photo, its really gooey..

 

[juan]

Turn ons: photos that allow the viewer to imagine relationships - between photographer and scene, between stuff in the scene, etc.

Color images in which the color itself gives a reason for the photograph. I see few photographers who can do this. I can’t.

Turn offs: images with supersaturated colors and over sharpened elements.

 

[Sirius Glass]

When I see a painting or photograph that I do not like, I just move on. It is someone else's point of view and they do not need to please me nor do I need to please them. There are no absolute right forms of art or photography.