Photographers on photography

DMillier said:

Wow! I did ask. Thank you for that story. I'm highly impressed. Amazing. Even though you are justly renowned for your technical contributions, there is a lot more going on than that. This is clearly not a casual hobby for you. A vocation. It's fantastic when someone has an outlet for self expression but to do so with your own personal niche, even better. Perhaps Michael Kenna should have been interviewing you!

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DavidMillier said:

I think there are so many lessons in your story for anyone enthusiastic about image making. For me, the first clear lesson is about the commitment level and focus needed.

I have to confess to be completely envious that you have the opportunity to work with so many photographers. The only photographers I've ever had the opportunity to work with (and so briefly) are Lea Tippett (who's a Sigma ambassador in the UK) and Laurence Matson (whose relationship with Sigma I never quite understood but he used to travel extensively to trade shows and represent them at the stands (booths). Working with other photographers (especially if they are friends) provides such an opportunity to learn that I really miss. Online connections are wonderful but not quite the same. I really wish I had a friend who is into photography but that has only happened a couple of times back before I started work and was a total beginner. I'm not picky, I don't need a world-renowned name, anyone who can hold a camera would do. A club of two is better than a club of one

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• Get a copy of the Orland/Bayles book Art and Fear.
• Read it, with close attention to the part about creating support groups.
• Join a camera club or two, not for the club activity itself, but to meet kindred spirits.
• Form a group of 4 to 6 people who meet once a month or every other month to show each other their new work, do mutual critiques, and talk about where they're going.

JimKasson said:

DMillier said:

Wow! I did ask. Thank you for that story. I'm highly impressed. Amazing. Even though you are justly renowned for your technical contributions, there is a lot more going on than that. This is clearly not a casual hobby for you. A vocation. It's fantastic when someone has an outlet for self expression but to do so with your own personal niche, even better. Perhaps Michael Kenna should have been interviewing you!

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Come to think of it, Michael mentored Rolfe Horne. I have one of Rolfe's images that people often mistake for one of Michael's.

JimKasson said:

I think there are so many lessons in your story for anyone enthusiastic about image making. For me, the first clear lesson is about the commitment level and focus needed.

I have to confess to be completely envious that you have the opportunity to work with so many photographers. The only photographers I've ever had the opportunity to work with (and so briefly) are Lea Tippett (who's a Sigma ambassador in the UK) and Laurence Matson (whose relationship with Sigma I never quite understood but he used to travel extensively to trade shows and represent them at the stands (booths). Working with other photographers (especially if they are friends) provides such an opportunity to learn that I really miss. Online connections are wonderful but not quite the same. I really wish I had a friend who is into photography but that has only happened a couple of times back before I started work and was a total beginner. I'm not picky, I don't need a world-renowned name, anyone who can hold a camera would do. A club of two is better than a club of one

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I have some suggestions:

• Get a copy of the Orland/Bayles book Art and Fear.
• Read it, with close attention to the part about creating support groups.
• Join a camera club or two, not for the club activity itself, but to meet kindred spirits.
• Form a group of 4 to 6 people who meet once a month or every other month to show each other their new work, do mutual critiques, and talk about where they're going.

Click to expand...

DMillier said:

I think that it is fairly obvious to reflective types, that in most thinking activities, your unconscious mind does the heavy lifting then reports it back to your conscious mind. Our conscious mind is what we are aware of and we naturally tend to give it primacy but it's your unconscious mind that is actually the smart one.

On photographing in series, I've moved over the years away from thinking that making a great photo is the goal, to thinking about building portfolios of photos. I've completely abandoned competitions as a useful activity because they are normally single photos and subject to the personal whim and taste of judges. It's a shame that camera clubs are 90% about photo competitions (at least they are in the UK) - there is a massive inter club infrastructure supporting traditional competitions but very little support for building and showing portfolios. I often think that camera clubs would do better to follow the RPS model of encouraging panels of photos over the single image. For me the problem with hunting the single image to win competitions is that it compromises what you are trying to do. Instead of following your instincts and your personal artistic leanings, all of a sudden you are trying to second guess a judge's preferences and adapt yourself to them. I think it is better for us to just do what we like and not bother too much about whether anyone loves your stuff. Just let that happen or not happen as the cards fall.

I don't think I think about series in quite the same way that Jim does, though. I don't go out explicitly to photograph something for a portfolio. Instead, I go out, photograph anything that catches my eye. Later I will look through my photos for images that will fit my various portfolios. It's a post hoc process, rather than pre planning. Also, unlike Jim, I don't think I have ever had an idea for a photo in my life. I lack the imagination and the mental visualisation abilities for that. I find my photos spontaneously when I see them - they are found things. I do have a bunch of built in presets I can call upon to help recognise the possibilities - most particularly, I'm looking for lines, curves, tones, patterns in my subjects, rather than anything intrinsic about the subject. I like the graphic. For landscape I'm looking for mood rather than beauty. Storms are good!

Also, I think that most of my photos are taken during family outings and holidays because they are the times when I have the time and opportunity. It's fairly rare that I get dedicated time for photography.

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D Cox said:

DMillier said:

I think that it is fairly obvious to reflective types, that in most thinking activities, your unconscious mind does the heavy lifting then reports it back to your conscious mind. Our conscious mind is what we are aware of and we naturally tend to give it primacy but it's your unconscious mind that is actually the smart one.

On photographing in series, I've moved over the years away from thinking that making a great photo is the goal, to thinking about building portfolios of photos. I've completely abandoned competitions as a useful activity because they are normally single photos and subject to the personal whim and taste of judges. It's a shame that camera clubs are 90% about photo competitions (at least they are in the UK) - there is a massive inter club infrastructure supporting traditional competitions but very little support for building and showing portfolios. I often think that camera clubs would do better to follow the RPS model of encouraging panels of photos over the single image. For me the problem with hunting the single image to win competitions is that it compromises what you are trying to do. Instead of following your instincts and your personal artistic leanings, all of a sudden you are trying to second guess a judge's preferences and adapt yourself to them. I think it is better for us to just do what we like and not bother too much about whether anyone loves your stuff. Just let that happen or not happen as the cards fall.

I don't think I think about series in quite the same way that Jim does, though. I don't go out explicitly to photograph something for a portfolio. Instead, I go out, photograph anything that catches my eye. Later I will look through my photos for images that will fit my various portfolios. It's a post hoc process, rather than pre planning. Also, unlike Jim, I don't think I have ever had an idea for a photo in my life. I lack the imagination and the mental visualisation abilities for that. I find my photos spontaneously when I see them - they are found things. I do have a bunch of built in presets I can call upon to help recognise the possibilities - most particularly, I'm looking for lines, curves, tones, patterns in my subjects, rather than anything intrinsic about the subject. I like the graphic. For landscape I'm looking for mood rather than beauty. Storms are good!

Also, I think that most of my photos are taken during family outings and holidays because they are the times when I have the time and opportunity. It's fairly rare that I get dedicated time for photography.

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I think the conscious mind is just the secretary taking the minutes. The decisions are made elsewhere.

Don Cox

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JimKasson said:

I have some suggestions:

• Get a copy of the Orland/Bayles book Art and Fear.

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Rich42 said:

JimKasson said:

I have some suggestions:

• Get a copy of the Orland/Bayles book Art and Fear.

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Jim,

Never heard of this book.

It's now on its way from Amazon.

Rich

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darinb said:

Also, check out Ted Orland's photo work. He was one of Ansel's assistants and did his own work along those same lines but then something happened and he went off in a new direction. Toy camera,

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darinb said:

hand coloring, witty imagery.

A couple of years back I was in Yosemite at the gallery and was sort of frustrated by the thick crowds and they had Orland's newer photos--which I had never seen before--up on exhibit. I went from one to the next are started chuckling to myself as I went, very much enjoying the images, and probably making the staff think I was a bit crazy.

My wife bought two of them (the guy juggling and the bison sign) for me for my birthday and all of the staff was sort of paying attention but trying not to look like it. As we left, just before the door closed behind us, they broke out in applause....

You can see a few things of his here: https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland

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JimKasson said:

darinb said:

Also, check out Ted Orland's photo work. He was one of Ansel's assistants and did his own work along those same lines but then something happened and he went off in a new direction. Toy camera,

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Medium format!

JimKasson said:

hand coloring, witty imagery.

A couple of years back I was in Yosemite at the gallery and was sort of frustrated by the thick crowds and they had Orland's newer photos--which I had never seen before--up on exhibit. I went from one to the next are started chuckling to myself as I went, very much enjoying the images, and probably making the staff think I was a bit crazy.

My wife bought two of them (the guy juggling and the bison sign) for me for my birthday and all of the staff was sort of paying attention but trying not to look like it. As we left, just before the door closed behind us, they broke out in applause....

You can see a few things of his here: https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland

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One of my faves:

https://shop.anseladams.com/products/one-and-a-half-domes-yosemite

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darinb said:

JimKasson said:

One of my faves:

https://shop.anseladams.com/products/one-and-a-half-domes-yosemite

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They have (or had?) a poster of that image--I have a copy, still in its tube. You'll never look at bear-proof trash cans in Yosemite the same way again.

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darinb said:

Rich42 said:

JimKasson said:

I have some suggestions:

• Get a copy of the Orland/Bayles book Art and Fear.

Click to expand...

Jim,

Never heard of this book.

It's now on its way from Amazon.

Rich

Click to expand...

Also, check out Ted Orland's photo work. He was one of Ansel's assistants and did his own work along those same lines but then something happened and he went off in a new direction. Toy camera, hand coloring, witty imagery.

A couple of years back I was in Yosemite at the gallery and was sort of frustrated by the thick crowds and they had Orland's newer photos--which I had never seen before--up on exhibit. I went from one to the next are started chuckling to myself as I went, very much enjoying the images, and probably making the staff think I was a bit crazy.

My wife bought two of them (the guy juggling and the bison sign) for me for my birthday and all of the staff was sort of paying attention but trying not to look like it. As we left, just before the door closed behind us, they broke out in applause....

You can see a few things of his here: https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland

Click to expand...

JimKasson said:

darinb said:

Also, check out Ted Orland's photo work. He was one of Ansel's assistants and did his own work along those same lines but then something happened and he went off in a new direction. Toy camera,

Click to expand...

Medium format!

JimKasson said:

hand coloring, witty imagery.

A couple of years back I was in Yosemite at the gallery and was sort of frustrated by the thick crowds and they had Orland's newer photos--which I had never seen before--up on exhibit. I went from one to the next are started chuckling to myself as I went, very much enjoying the images, and probably making the staff think I was a bit crazy.

My wife bought two of them (the guy juggling and the bison sign) for me for my birthday and all of the staff was sort of paying attention but trying not to look like it. As we left, just before the door closed behind us, they broke out in applause....

You can see a few things of his here: https://shop.anseladams.com/collections/ted-orland

Click to expand...

One of my faves:

https://shop.anseladams.com/products/one-and-a-half-domes-yosemite

Click to expand...

JimKasson said:

https://photography.org/interview/al-weber-interview/

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IacoPolo said:

JimKasson said:

https://photography.org/interview/al-weber-interview/

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This is probably one of the statement I agree with the most

“AW: Something that really concerns me, not just in photography but in all the visual arts, is that too many people allow the art to take precedence over being human. I don’t think there’s anything that should come above your family, or your responsibility to the planet. etc…”

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IacoPolo said:

Superficially, it sounds obvious, less superficially it is a sign of considerable experience and wiseness.

I really am enjoying this series of interviews.

Thanks for sharing.

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JimKasson said:

Since Ted entered the conversation, here's his interview:

https://photography.org/interview/ted-orland-interview/

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