Fine art photography anyone?

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

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Bambi24 said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

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Meh. This idea to try to categorize certain photography as 'fine art' to try to create a wedge between photographers by suggesting there are 2 distinct 'types' of photographers isn't sticking.

Fine arts are crafts done by hand, you're not going to convince others that photography is fine arts, you're not going to convince me of that either, it just isn't.

Photography is photography, it is it's own thing, there is no need to create a wedge or try to tailcoat a term used for other professions in an attempt to distinguish oneself from others.

People who take pictures are photographers, that should be good enough.

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DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

Is this complete anathema in a gear oriented photography forum?

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Tom Axford said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

Is this complete anathema in a gear oriented photography forum?

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Well, there are some threads that have an emphasis on the artistic side of photography, but it is true that they are scattered across various forums and can be hard to find.

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Tom Axford said:

Erik Ohlson has a regular thread encouraging contributions of "artistic" shots in the Panasonic Compact Camera Talk (I suspect that users of compact cameras are rather less inclined to be gearheads than users of FF cameras)...

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Bambi24 said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

Click to expand...

Meh. This idea to try to categorize certain photography as 'fine art' to try to create a wedge between photographers by suggesting there are 2 distinct 'types' of photographers isn't sticking.

Fine arts are crafts done by hand, you're not going to convince others that photography is fine arts, you're not going to convince me of that either, it just isn't.

Photography is photography, it is it's own thing, there is no need to create a wedge or try to tailcoat a term used for other professions in an attempt to distinguish oneself from others.

People who take pictures are photographers, that should be good enough.

Click to expand...

Brad Bohland said:

Bambi24 said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

Click to expand...

Meh. This idea to try to categorize certain photography as 'fine art' to try to create a wedge between photographers by suggesting there are 2 distinct 'types' of photographers isn't sticking.

Fine arts are crafts done by hand, you're not going to convince others that photography is fine arts, you're not going to convince me of that either, it just isn't.

Photography is photography, it is it's own thing, there is no need to create a wedge or try to tailcoat a term used for other professions in an attempt to distinguish oneself from others.

People who take pictures are photographers, that should be good enough.

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While I agree with your point, I would like to add that if you look around this website, you'll find plenty that should satisfy just about anyone's aesthetic standards.

Just check out the shot by Buzz Lightyear, displayed right before us on the FINISHED CHALLENGES window:

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DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography

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DWMurf said:

Is this complete anathema in a gear oriented photography forum?

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Brad Bohland said:

Tom Axford said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography, photography that is created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer In contrast to representational photography, such as photojournalism, which provides a documentary visual account of specific subjects and events, literally representing objective reality rather than the subjective intent of the photographer.

Is this complete anathema in a gear oriented photography forum?

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Well, there are some threads that have an emphasis on the artistic side of photography, but it is true that they are scattered across various forums and can be hard to find.

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I wouldn't say "it won't be handed to you on a platter" is quite the same as "hard to find." Looking is not that hard, really.

Brad Bohland said:

Erik Ohlson has a regular thread encouraging contributions of "artistic" shots in the Panasonic Compact Camera Talk (I suspect that users of compact cameras are rather less inclined to be gearheads than users of FF cameras)...

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I started a thread over a year ago on the difference between the photos posted on fredmiranda.com and DPReview, arguing that the stuff on the former was more polished than the latter.

I ended up backing off my claim because I couldn't really pin down what the difference was.

I would simply say now that I think there is a little higher percentage of professional quality photography on fredmiranda, which I think is due to skill, gear, and post processing.

But certainly, the best photography, wherever you find it, is often paired with the best gear. They go together like pie and ice cream.


A shot I found recently on fredmiranda.com taken with a 5DSR

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Mark Scott Abeln said:

DWMurf said:

There is no forum here that focuses on art photography

Is this complete anathema in a gear oriented photography forum?

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There are people here who are knowledgeable in the arts, and arts-related discussions, although rare, are lively and fill up quickly.

By all means, start a discussion!

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Mark Blauhoefer said:

All of my photographs are fine art. That's why I takes the photographs. I can't think why else to takes the photographs.

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Joe Pineapples II said:

It sounds okay in theory, but my guess would be the forum would attract lots of sunsets, saturated tone-mapped ultra-wide angle landscapes, old barns in HDR, silky waterfalls, shots of the ocean taken through 10-stop ND filters, and B&W portraits of wrinkly old fishermen with beards and knit sweaters so sharp and detailed you can just about smell 'em. Any actual say post-1972 art photography would probably be howled down by an angry mob carrying flaming torches and pitchforks.

J.

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Mark Blauhoefer said:

Okay then.

Well photography to me is about the aesthetics of life, so it's also about philosophy, and the 'art' follows from there.

Aesthetics are all around us, everywhere we look, but can be fleeting which is why I press the shutter. Be it a macro on a fresh mushroom or insect, or a rainy landscape, cloudy cityscape, a ghost town, an ancient tree or a forest.

How this glimpse of a transient moment is preserved through the magic of the machine intrigues me, so I take more and more photographs. Then when I have time browse through a day's or even a week's worth, I make my first decisions on which to immediately process and which can wait.

Sometimes it's the idea, sometimes the wealth of details, sometimes the strikingly unusual, or even just the simplicity that conveys more than an entire scene. But there's almost always something about a shot. Just a pity I can't infinitely enlarge a crop of a later noticed detail.

But there are always surprises and techniques to discover from other photographers. Thus never is the one shot the definitive last say on any given subject.

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Mark Blauhoefer said:

Interesting idea. I've hyper-blurred shots that were a bit out of focus because no amount of convolution sharpening was ever going to fix them, and shrinking them for appearances sake would mean they'd only suit Instagram.

The other day I was shown a shot of a marina. Normally that would fall into a landscape orientation sea view. Horizon dead level, sharp water reflections and all that. But the photographer decided to tilt the camera a full 45 degrees to maximize the number of included boats. I call that pure genius.

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