Flawed Pictures?

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Mike Farley
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Flawed Pictures?

Postby Mike Farley » Thu 17 Jan 2019, 09:13

I had to smile when I read the introduction this blog article by Mike Johnston. He describes a method of working where photographers come across a setting which does not make an image on its own. They hang around in the hope that something will occur to complete it.

https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.c ... tures.html

A few years ago, a judge declared that he did not like pictures where the author had found a location and waited for something to happen. Despite that being how some successful photographers work, Henri Cartier-Bresson being the foremost example. When a shot of mine came up where he thought* that is what I had done, his "critique" consisted of a single sentence:

"This is exactly the type of photograph which I do not want to see."

It is my favourite judge's comment of all time.

It occurred in a SLF competition, so the standard was reasonably high. The irony was that he went to award a certificate to another of my shots where <drum roll> I had indeed found a setting and waited for something to happen. (That shot is one of my more successful efforts, although along the way it has also garnered a few comments of its own which seem a bit odd.**)

The postscript. A few months ago I met the judge, who I know reasonably well, in a social context and asked him about his comment. The response was one of immense disbelief that he had ever said such a thing.

* I have to smile when judges give their perceptions of how a shot was made. They are invariably wrong. In fact, the shot in question was something which spontaneously took place in front of me while I was photographing something else. Jane Bown once said: “The best pictures are uninvited. They’re suddenly there in front of you. But they are there one minute and gone the next. I mean it is quite easy to take a photograph, but difficult to get the shot." That fits in with my own experience and often the moments are fleeting, lasting way less than a minute and easy to miss.

** In a way, this is a continuation of the previous footnote above. The linked article refers to Roland Barthes' definitions of stadium and punctum in his book "Camera Lucida". Punctum is personal to the viewer and their response to an image. While a reaction to any given image might be similar across individuals, that does not apply universally. It is probably a particular issue for judges who, by the nature of the task, are more attuned to finding faults.
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Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
BillWex
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Joined: Tue 29 Jan 2019, 10:08

Re: Flawed Pictures?

Postby BillWex » Wed 30 Jan 2019, 14:21

"This is exactly the type of photograph which I do not want to see." A comment like that is about as close-minded as it gets imo. That's laughable.
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Mike Farley
Posts: 7316
Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
Contact:

Re: Flawed Pictures?

Postby Mike Farley » Sun 03 Feb 2019, 15:33

SteveBudd wrote:https://youtu.be/YdHty-vc06w

A few thoughts from Mattias Burling that chime with your thread Mike. :-)

I imagine that is the way most photographers operate. Maybe setting out with a half formed idea of the type of image they want, but not really knowing what they will come back with. The most satisfying shots are those which are completely unexpected. Probably the most famous example being Ansel Adam's "Moonrise, Hernandez , New Mexico", a photo which he came across by chance and had to work quickly to capture. It is among his best known images and probably the one which was most profitable for him.

http://anseladams.com/ansel-adams-anecdotes/
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

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