Without (hopefully) reigniting the endless and pointless (because no one changes anyone's mind) debate on whether or not photography can be defined as art, I am in the category of attempting to create art through photography. Emphasis on 'attempting'. My interest is in creating aesthetically pleasing images. In other words, images I make into prints that I, my extended family and my friends want to put on their walls.
I am not a recorder. I don't do family gatherings, parties, weddings (at least since my film days) or social events. Much of that is selfish; I like to circulate, have a drink, and socialize. I have done a couple of night Christmas pageants in church, because I find those to be very aesthetic.
But, if one has enough talent; one can successfully combine both elements; art and recording. O. Winston Link exemplifies that ability. He was recording the end of the steam railroading era on the Norfolk and Western Railroad in the late 1950's. But these were not opportunistic snapshots that fortunately happened to capture a moment. Link knew exactly what he wanted to photograph and how to do it. They were meticulously planned and set up prior to the train coming through. Link was a civil engineer by training, so his photographic approach and preparations reflected that level of thoroughness. To me (again, speaking only for myself) his images are art.
David R. Stoecklin was another photographer who, in my opinion, successfully combined both elements. Because his subject matter was different (the American west), his preparations differed from Link, but again he had a specific intent, and he knew how to go after it.
Both were, in my view, artists and recorders.
I am not a recorder. I don't do family gatherings, parties, weddings (at least since my film days) or social events. Much of that is selfish; I like to circulate, have a drink, and socialize. I have done a couple of night Christmas pageants in church, because I find those to be very aesthetic.
But, if one has enough talent; one can successfully combine both elements; art and recording. O. Winston Link exemplifies that ability. He was recording the end of the steam railroading era on the Norfolk and Western Railroad in the late 1950's. But these were not opportunistic snapshots that fortunately happened to capture a moment. Link knew exactly what he wanted to photograph and how to do it. They were meticulously planned and set up prior to the train coming through. Link was a civil engineer by training, so his photographic approach and preparations reflected that level of thoroughness. To me (again, speaking only for myself) his images are art.
David R. Stoecklin was another photographer who, in my opinion, successfully combined both elements. Because his subject matter was different (the American west), his preparations differed from Link, but again he had a specific intent, and he knew how to go after it.
Both were, in my view, artists and recorders.
