What you can see in a bunch of thumbnails

[mark]

As a lowly poor member I can only see thumbnails. There was a thread recently that a little out of hand and people started whipping out their resumes. I went to several or the galleries to get a better understanding of their prowess. I was shocked by what I saw. So, I went to lots of people's galleries. It was an interesting excercise.

It was cool to see things in thumbneails with several on a page. Too small to see the details but plenty big enough to see the compositional elements. What I think of as the geometry of the image (focal point, line, shape, light/dark, balance) really stood out. I also could see connections between images. Those I would call the more experienced (Don't read professional photographer into this because I don't know who is and who is not professional) behind the lens had a unifying nature to their images. They were fluid, yet connected. Some I found a new found respect for and others, whom I have been blown away by on a single image basis, became boring, and stagnant. Like they are taking the same 3 photographs 20 or 30 times and posting them.

From there I took a look at my own and woof! I got some work to do.

Try it sometime. Find your favorite APUG photographer's gallery or just take a stroll through the populace and look at their thumbnails only. It is an interesting excercise, then look at your own.

 

[mark]

You weren't the only one and there were lots of people on that thread. That thread was just what started the browse through the thumbnail galleries. I went through lots of them. There is no reason to name names or voice opinions about people's work. I thought it was a great way to get another insight into others as photographers as well as myself. Thought I would pass on the exercise.

As another thought from a want a be collector's point of view. I saw some people whose work a buyer could just keep buying because of the connected fluidity of the pieces. Others, if you bought 2 or 3 images you have the breadth of their work, no matter how much they produced.

As a teacher I can see the extreme value of this excercise as a means for students to discuss an artists dominant compositional structure.