Sticky Critiques

[MurrayMinchin]

YIKES!!!!!

So many questions jump out, but the biggest ones have to be what expectations did you have, and how high did you hold him in your esteem? If both were high, how did you recover?

...he shook his finger at me and in a threatening way said, "i take photos like this, don't you ever!"

From what little information I have to work with, it sounds like you thought he was giving you a warped warning...why?

Murray

P.S. For those relatively new APUG'ers, I think jnanion is possibly the most creatively experimental photographer here on APUG, but you'll never know it if you search his gallery because he 'cleanses' it often. Keep your eyes peeled, because the only way to know is to let the images build up over time and to catch them before they disappear

[jnanian]

YIKES!!!!!

So many questions jump out, but the biggest ones have to be what expectations did you have, and how high did you hold him in your esteem? If both were high, how did you recover?



From what little information I have to work with, it sounds like you thought he was giving you a warped warning...why?

Murray

P.S. For those relatively new APUG'ers, I think jnanion is possibly the most creatively experimental photographer here on APUG, but you'll never know it if you search his gallery because he 'cleanses' it often. Keep your eyes peeled, because the only way to know is to let the images build up over time and to catch them before they disappear

i though he would have at least said something to me productive.

in school i did the critique sessions, they could be harsh, but at least something productive came out of it ... not sure why he threatened me as he did, maybe he was olde and loopy by the time i saw him - certainly acted olde and loopy!

did i hold him on high ?
he was a great photographer, and did a lot of things before a lot of folks ... i have to admit, i like some of his work. the stuff he did in south america was pretty cool, and some of the road-work he did on the mount hope bridge was kind of eccentric ( having the police stop traffic so he could photograph the roadway ) but other than researching for papers, and seeing his work, i didn't really know him at all. how much do you learn from articles, art critiques, books - about someone, really, unless you meet them. now i know what kind of a person he was (some of the time at least), and i feel kind of sorry for him, and how pathetic he was.

recovery? my brother and i drove across the country soon after that, and i shot lots of film. i guess photography is the best medicine for a bummer like that. i also figured i wouldn't listen to a word he said, and if i could help someone out i would ....


thanks for the plug!
john

[Gay Larson]

I've had several critiques from people I respect and learned from all of them, whether it was to never listen to them again or follow their suggestions. The most outstanding moment for me came when I had my first and only so far show at a small gallery here in town. It was the night of a "gallery crawl" and people came in and out all evening long. I sold a couple to people I knew but then a local artist that I did not know came in and looked then came and took me by the hand and went to 4 or 5 of the prints and described just what she saw and liked in the prints. She encouraged me to continue, to get a web site and then promptly bought 4 prints. I was estatic and hope someday I can do the same thing for someone having their first show. What a high.

[toddstew]

One of the hardest pills to swallow is the fact that not everybody likes black and white photography. I have had the misfortune of showing somebody some prints, hoping to get a reaction of some sort from them, only to hear those same crickets that were mentioned earlier,or a "they are _______(insert any courteous, fluffy word)." It took me several instances like this to learn when and to whom to show work that means a lot to me.
Todd

[Troy Hamon]

When somebody doesn't like B&W, I usually take that as an opportunity to point out what I do like about it, the sorts of images that I prefer in color and why I shot those particular ones in B&W, and then let it go unless they want to talk more. It works. They start thinking about it in terms of your own decision process and approach it more openly the next time.

[BWGirl]

I've had several critiques from people I respect and learned from all of them, whether it was to never listen to them again or follow their suggestions. The most outstanding moment for me came when I had my first and only so far show at a small gallery here in town. It was the night of a "gallery crawl" and people came in and out all evening long. I sold a couple to people I knew but then a local artist that I did not know came in and looked then came and took me by the hand and went to 4 or 5 of the prints and described just what she saw and liked in the prints. She encouraged me to continue, to get a web site and then promptly bought 4 prints. I was estatic and hope someday I can do the same thing for someone having their first show. What a high.

How about I just send you 4 prints & you can send me money?? hahaha Seriously, Gay... I can see why people would like your work!