Photography as communication

[SteveGangi]

Often The LIGHT is all there is and all you need. I took a series of photos of a door. Just a dark, old, weathered door with a lighter area where it was patched and an old fashioned cast iron latch, the sort of thing most people would never notice or care about. I made the prints, and then looked at them... really looked. Not to beat my own drum, but they were good... very good. The grain of the wood, the texture, the detail, it was all there. No message, no agenda. A friend came to visit, and out of all the pictures on the wall, she said "I want that one". It was that old door. It was the Light.

[chrisl]

Great photos Robert! Very sharp, contrasty and very interesting moments captured. Funny, I've never gotten over being afraid to shoot people so casually. Fine with family and friends though. Very good work.

For me, I too just want to capture an image and share it. Interpretation is theirs. And hopefully, it's a halfway decent shot technically as to not distract.lol As long as it's inviting to the viewer in the end and they enjoy it, I'm happy.

[Robert Kennedy]

Thanks Chris. One thing that helped was the large amount of OTHER photogs there!

[blansky]

I photograph people because they fascinate me.

Portraits, to make them look great, and to stop time. So they and other people can look at then down the road and to see them as they were.

Photojournalism, to make a statement, either their statement or mine.

I rarely do scenics but I love to look at old pictures of places that are no longer there or have changed considerably.

I think I have a melancholy approach to photography, and perhaps to life. I think I'm trying to stop time.

[Ed Sukach]

I heard this the other day:

First person (Actually a Lawyer in a non-legal role): "I've tried, but I just can't understand Art."

Photographer: "That's the trouble. Art is irrational - and you are trying to rationalize it. Too many people are trying to come up with a coherent "formula" for an irrational activity. Just relax and `Feel' it."

I agree. Comments?

[blansky]

Good comment.

I guess it's all part of the right brain , left brain quandry. We are trying to quantify the unquantifiable. The human being's need to put everything in a slot so he feels safe and comfortable.

Art is at it's best is probably uncomfortable, because it makes us think or react or at least evokes some sort of response.

The next question, is art that makes us feel comfortable, as good a piece of art as that which disturbs us.

I certainly don't have the answer.

Michael McBlane

[Robert Kennedy]

Treu. Art is visceral not logical. And it bugs me when it is overanalyzed.

[David Hall]

Thanks for the comment, Jdef.

If you don't mind...what's your filing system for negs and proofs? How do you keep track, what do you keep them in, and how do you keep things archival?

Always interested in how others do things.

dgh

[SteveGangi]

I use looseleaf binders, shoe boxes and brown paper bags. A pile for everything, and everything in its pile

[Robert Kennedy]

The easy way is this -

Buy two LARGE (3" is good) 3 ring binders for each format you shoot. One for chromes, one for negs. Make sure each format has a unique color (for example my 35mm binders are red). Mark one "SLIDES" and one "NEGS". You could even seperate it down to color or B/W if you have a lot of negs.