My use of Anglo-American as an epithet is to reinforce the idea that the "mantras" are created from within a peculiarly English and American historical and cultural perspective (mostly a pious and rather stern Judaeo-Christian religious ethic overlaid with a quasi-religious reverence for capitalism).
These are historical accidents and mine is only one interpretation of how such things (such beliefs, such convictions, such mantras) come about.
I think Jesus would miraculously create prints from blank paper and they would be some of the most beautiful prints you would ever see.
Probably not. But I dare say he could have made some very nice wooden frames for them!
Steve.
I always think to myself: "am I going to want to print this?". This can backfire into becoming too selective though... a couple weeks ago, I was walking on the beach with my daughter, it was foggy and there was no horizon, and a fishing boat came by. It was floating in a sea of grey, and my daughter said "take a picture!". I thought the boat would be too small in the frame and decided not to. I've thought about it a dozen times since then and wish I'd listened to her. I would have printed it.
I hope I'm not the only one who has enjoyed the image on the GG so much that I didn't bother recording it on film.
What I find interesting in this comment is the "oh I'm sorry I'm inflicting myself on you" self esteem issue. Don't you realize that most people are actually flattered to "model" for you, and like being collaborative in the process of making pictures. Even often the ones that say they aren't.
And if when looking at contact sheets we see the things we could have fixed but didn't because we "didn't want waste any more of their time" we are always sorry.
Seriously, we need to take the time to get it right and the subjects will be more interested and more impressed than by the guy who is rushing around and nervous. Photography of people is a collaborative effort and let them know they are part of the process and they will have fun with it.
I find it really hard! It's one of main reasons I moved to film - I care about the shot. I find it much more conducive to the mindset Blanksy is talking about.
Thanks, but it's not the grass huts that are the issue. Or the castles or the rocks or the sunsets......
It's that we need to try to do "grass huts" in ways they've never been done before. Put our stamp on them.
I think you got that.
I generally agree with you but you need to realize that not everyone thinks like you, nor do they have to. That person simply isn't at your level and obviously don't care to be at this point. How would your life be if you had to fit every one elses mold?
I generally agree with you but you need to realize that not everyone thinks like you, nor do they have to. That person simply isn't at your level and obviously don't care to be at this point. How would your life be if you had to fit every one elses mold?
......
Looking through the gallery a couple days ago was a snapshot of an attractive girl in a campy hat and glasses, which the photographer came upon and was intrigued by. My comment was to the effect, if its worth shooting, its worth controlling the elements. Its worth the extra 10 seconds to nail the shot. Now Im not picking on him because this is something every one of us has done. The oh well who cares, its just a snapshot.
But what if we walked around with our cameras with the mindset of, What would Ansel do? Or what would HCB do? Or what would Karsh do? Dont get me wrong, Im not talking about copying them, Im talking about the state of mind of getting it right, to the best of our ability every time we look through the viewfinder. No excuses..........
I disagree with your assessment of nbagno's ability and motivation.........
From a purely conversational and philosophic POV, I agree w/blansky, as was suggested. Those things need to be considered. At the same point in time, we know nothing about that other photographer and where they are or what their skill endeavor may be. My point specifically is that if everyone has done the same thing-at some point-we really can't hold that against them. Having someone else not accept practical advice don't prevent us from becoming better. I was addressing the viewers mentality-which was telling- and the fact they weren't prepared or concerned enough to receive it. Like many things in life, it's up to each individual to want to improve.
I think part of the point of this thread was about that when I saw the picture in question, I just thought back to all the times, I kicked myself for doing the same thing when I started out. And even 40 years later I can look at a portrait I did in a controlled setting and going, shit, why didn't I fix that piece of hair, or why didn't fix the clasp on the necklace or why didn't I move one person slightly to the left.
I think part of the point of this thread was about that when I saw the picture in question, I just thought back to all the times, I kicked myself for doing the same thing when I started out. And even 40 years later I can look at a portrait I did in a controlled setting and going, shit, why didn't I fix that piece of hair, or why didn't fix the clasp on the necklace or why didn't I move one person slightly to the left.
And the point is, number one, learning to see that stuff when we are nervous in front of our subjects, and taking the time to see the other elements, and secondly to have the confidence to take it slow, and getting away from the feeling we are imposing on their time.
So the "what would?????do, is to sort of a mindset to pretend we are them at the time of shooting(Ansel HCB, Karsh or whomever), and just taking our time, like they would (in most circumstances). But I guarantee every photographer who ever lived, has looked at any picture he ever took and said, damn, I wish I'd fixed this or that or printed it slightly differently.
One of the most useful things I learned in the many many workshops I've taken over the years is not necessarily the technical stuff, it was actually the ability to watch how the teachers/instructors worked with the subjects and the environment. I've probably taken at least 30 different seminars/workshops all by professionals, and it was eye opening. How they talked, engaged the subjects, let them know it was collaborative, how they set up, how they approached a blank canvas and laid down the elements.
How they talked, engaged the subjects, let them know it was collaborative,
This statement demonstrates several very important points.
1 - That the taking of any photo is actually worth real effort; to the photographer and the audience.
When shooting we don't necessarily know which shots are going to be important.
For example I was going through some of my dad's old photos looking for a few to blow up. While I'm glad to have the collection, the struggles with focus and exposure on many of the shots, relegated a significant number of great compositions to the reject pile. I didn't toss them but they aren't going to be seen much either.
An extra second or two of attention and thought could have made many of these shots truly exceptional instead of also-rans.
2 - That photography can follow a myriad of specialized paths.
In this specific case the subject is aware of the photographer. The WW__D question implied there leans toward "What would Yousuf Karsh or George Hurrell or Jose Villa do?"
"What would Ansel do?" and "What would HCB do?" are a very different questions in style, but that difference does not indicate a change in importance.
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