Godfrey, We may in many ways be doing exactly the same thing and I may just not appreciate the same aesthetics that you seem to find, because to me they are often not aesthetically pleasing.
My responses were not written with regard to your photograph as much as they were to Paul's notion... "The position of the two yellow leaves and the tire tracks tells a bit of a story. I see the one leaf as being blown away by a passing vehicle and the other vulnerable to the next wild man on a bike. Seriously. And I like the geometry of it as well. I judge photos in part by how much they can hold my interest." With the caveat that every individual has different tastes and the right to decide what pleases them, I've perceived that many people look at a photograph and do not judge it critically, rather they express 1) how it makes them feel, or 2) make up a story in their head that gives the photograph some meaning beyond what it has. Both may be a natural human response, but I contend that those responses, separately or combined, are not the sole criteria for judging a photograph, and absent any other critical evaluation should likely be discarded. I notice now that Paul also said 'in part'. As a photographer that is striving for excellence, as I assume we both are, I devalue the above kind of responses because I believe they can skew and mislead the photographer into thinking that they have created an excellent image, when in reality it may be an ordinary or substandard image that happens to evoke an emotional response. The fact that an *emotional* response is triggered and the person thinks "I like that" should not be viewed as synonymous with having created a successful image, IMO. If one believes it does, then they may be more or less subjugating or suppressing the development of their own abilities in both skillfully acquiring images and critically judging them afterwards. That's essentially a trap we are all prone to in judging our own images as well isn't it? I make take a photograph, and because of my own emotional response and memory of being there, or attachment to the subject, superimpose those emotions on the image, and misguidedly think it's better than it is. We like to feel successful and therefore have a tendency to judge things in a way that make us feel that way, and to give greater ear to others expressed opinions when they are favorable. Trying not to ramble on too long... summing up... the fact that people may express enjoyment of an image due to the way it makes them feel or because they ponder and find some deeper meaning in the image, should not be confused with the image itself being a superior image. In this "Minimalist" genre I find the above to be too often the case. Since there is a lack of information in the image, viewers make up a story for it and, pronounce the image as good, at the same time not really viewing the image critically. Tom C. > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Godfrey DiGiorgi > Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 5:14 PM > To: PDML List > Subject: PESO 2007 - 46c - GDG > > Thanks for all the commentary on yesterday's photo. While it was > being looked at and discussed, I was out for another walk and > couldn't resist a few more. ;-) > > I dislike the notion of trying to "defend" my photographs: I see no > reason to do so. And having read various discussions of 'art' on this > mailing list in the past, I do not feel that it is a sensible venue > to engage in such a discussion. Consider the work that I show to be > for enjoyment and entertainment, or ridicule as the case might be. I > capture and save all comments offered, they are all valuable to me, > and thank you all for them. Whether you like or dislike any > particular photograph of mine, or all of them, is not an problem to > me nor does it cause me any pain if you express your intense dislike > for them. > > However, I do have a question to pose to Tom C: > > You occasionally post landscape photographs which, in your words at > various times: > 'Out my front door, I saw this fog in the trees and grabbed my > camera... ' > 'Driving on the way to town, the light was very nice and I thought > this looked beautiful....' > etc. > > In other words, you are seeing something that you find lovely, > beautiful, intriguing ... not something that necessarily has any > "meaning", "message" or "story" ... capturing it well, and posting it > for the enjoying and entertainment of others. You are responding to > something which you consider to have great natural beauty and be > worth sharing. You compose and focus it carefully, set the exposure > as well as you are able, and render it to the best of your ability. > You are acting as a photographer. > > How is this different from my being on a walk, camera in hand, and > out of the thousands of minute by minute impressions on my vision of > the things around me, I see shapes, forms, curiosities of flotsam and > jetsam that I find intriguing, beautiful, and worthy of sharing? That > I spend ten or twenty minutes composing in the viewfinder, setting > focus, exposure, and capturing, then spend more time rendering as > well as I might ... acting as a photographer ... in order that I > might share them with you? > > If what I am doing "does not rely on the eye or skill of the > photographer or the quality of the image necessarily to be > successful", then the same must be said for what you are doing. > Whether the subject matter of my interest is appealing to you, > whether I have any "message" or "story" to tell with it, whether it > is representational or abstract is all irrelevant, just as it is with > what you present. > > We are, in essence, doing *exactly* the same thing with our > individual perceptions of the world: seeing that which captures our > interest and sharing it with other people using photography as the > medium of that expression. Acting as photographers. > > What else might be made of it, well, that's beyond any purpose I have > in showing my work to this subscriber community. > > http://homepage.mac.com/ramarren/photo/PAW7/46c.htm > > Comments, critique, etc always appreciated. > > enjoy > Godfrey > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the > directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
