Thank you John!!!
I wish I could add to your "rant", but I'm not even familiar with
Galen, (now I guess I need to be) and really don't give the
south end of a rat anyway...I take pictures and try to make
photographs for ME! I'm a non-pro so I have that LUXURY.
I love to look at other people's work, so I can make my own
calls as to what works and what doesn't, but replication of
something already done by someone else grates an extra
bone I have...unless I shoot it for a technical exercise...
The more I work with the tools and the materials available,
the more I'm able to achieve my "vision"... 'nuff said.
Bill >; P
(Owner of only "crappy" Zuiks, no stellars and can still take pix)
"Life unfolds on a great sheet called Time (film)*,
and once finished (developed)* is gone(here)* forever..."
*provided ya have a good archival system in place.
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 2002 19:33:14 +0000
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [OM] Velvia - was: 350mm f2.8
<snip>
[Begin Ayn Rand Rant]
I will not work to juror/critic expectations. I visualize what I want
first, then perform the technical work to achieve the visualization,
jurors
and critics be damned. My "art" is mine and I *won't* allow it to be
driven by others' expectations. If I do [shoot to others' expectations],
it's no longer *my* art, but becomes *their* art. If it starts with film
selection, were does it end? Subject material? Composition? Time of
day? Time of year? Lighting angles?
I hear Galen Rowel's name mentioned frequently. I also see what are
essentially clones of his work submitted to photography competitions.
IMHO
that's not "original" work. I will not dispute that he's a superb
photographer. He is, and has some outstanding, very original
work. "Copying" it by making photographs that are home-grown versions of
his compositions may demonstrate technical prowess, but it's *not*
original
work. [Don't confuse this with understanding and making use of some of
his
"first principles," e.g. using the "Zone System" does not by itself
create
copies of Ansel Adams' work.] The Great Photographers defined their own
unique style; their originality is a large part of what made them Great
Artists instead of being an Excellent Technician.
If I were creating photographs for a "stock" agency or doing
commercial/industrial work for hire it would be different, but I'm not.
I
don't care that much what film National Geographic uses either; they can
use what suits them for their vision and I'll do the same for mine.
[End Ayn Rand Rant]
>Seems to me that photography "culture" pushes us in percieving the
results
>of specific films, techniques and tools as "normal". Granularity and
>contrast figures don't tell the whole story.
You're right, they don't. There's a lot more to it, i.e. the entire
process from light source, to subject material, to lens, to film, to
print
(or projection, web, publication, et cetera).
- -- John
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