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Author Topic: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark  (Read 4645 times)

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #20 on: September 30, 2017, 11:00:28 am »

... alas, Slobodan seems not to frequent the site often ;)...

Now you know why ;)

RSL

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #21 on: September 30, 2017, 11:44:38 am »

Art is a solitary endeavor -- most of the time. But in painting you find Renoir and Monet at La Grenouillére. In music there are jam sessions where you wing it but you need the rest of the players when you wing it. But in most cases painters paint alone, musicians compose alone, poets write alone, novelists write alone, and Cartier-Bresson photographs alone. You need quiet to let creativity from deep within your own personality shine through.

And as far as Vinnie or any other "expert" being able to critique your work, if you think about it you realize you can critique your own work. What you need is to spend a lot of time in books, looking at great works. You can't copy that stuff, but you can learn what works that way.
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Rob C

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #22 on: September 30, 2017, 11:44:43 am »

Funny you said that, I came up with a similar phrase long time ago: photography is a solitary endeavour.

It's the European part of me, Slobodan; the Brit parts wants to belong to a club, sit and drink beer and share lies about women. I never could stand beer; it took me all my courage to photograph around it and avoid the actual substance of the plot as much as possible. I never told lies about women; I photographed them instead. Maybe, in retrospect, that was telling an ever bigger pack of fibs than words ever did - but I enjoyed it - mostly.

Rob

Rob C

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #23 on: September 30, 2017, 11:52:04 am »

Art is a solitary endeavor -- most of the time. But in painting you find Renoir and Monet at La Grenouillére. In music there are jam sessions where you wing it but you need the rest of the players when you wing it. But in most cases painters paint alone, musicians compose alone, poets write alone, novelists write alone, and Cartier-Bresson photographs alone. You need quiet to let creativity from deep within your own personality to shine through.

And as far as Vinnie or any other "expert" being able to critique your work, if you think about it you realize you can critique your own work. What you need is to spend a lot of time in books, looking at great works. You can't copy that stuff, but you can learn what works that way.

Yes indeed, and not only what works, but importantly, what actually appeals to you, deeply, as individual. Knowing that is a huge step forward: the worst situation is in being adrift, having no firm idea of where you want to point your boat, beyond the vague thought of liking the concept of being aboard something. That's never enough: imagine starting on a sailing boat only to realise, after you've blown your pennies, that you were really a motorboat person at heart!

Rob

32BT

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #24 on: September 30, 2017, 12:43:44 pm »

imagine starting on a sailing boat only to realise, after you've blown your pennies, that you were really a motorboat person at heart!

omg, doesn"t that sum up life precisely!
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Rob C

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #25 on: September 30, 2017, 02:06:33 pm »

Oscar, that's one ironic reward of getting the years behind one.

;-(

Rob

David Eckels

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #26 on: September 30, 2017, 03:01:12 pm »

Wow! Many terrific thoughts here. Appreciate the participation.

Back to vanity.

I don't know if you meant it this way, Russ, but I am aware of the double entendre in, "All is vanity." As I think about the discussion here, which incidentally warms my heart, I have to be honest in that when I opened my 500px account, my primary motivation was to see how I compared to other photographers. Wasn't hubris the great Greek sin? And that kind of vanity would lead to all sorts of score keeping and perhaps compromises in approach that I mentioned in my previous posts. In retrospect, what a silly notion! "Atta boys" are great, but not really the point; I don't want to be V.V. or H.C.B. or A.A. or even Slobodan ;) But we've all enjoyed mentorship to mature, some of it technical, some of it aesthetic, some of it spiritual and I guess that therein is where the communal aspects of artistry become important. Likely this is an oversimplification.

But Rob C is right (again)! I have often suspected or felt the need to "wander in the wilderness" with my camera. This brings me to the other usage of "vanity." It cannot be pointless to pursue our art, even if it means that we won't necessarily break new trails. I believe that is not what Russ meant when he quoted Ecclesiastes. There must be value in "re-re-discovery" or else what's the point of anything? If there is none, I don't need to visit Majorica because many have already discovered it. If I know about A.A. and see a beautiful moon rising over a peaceful cemetery, should I snap away or should I just gaze in reverence? But if I do make the capture, what then? If the PP makes ME happy, should I share that image? Of course I would, especially if I hadn't heard about A.A. Imagine the realization that I had "seen" if not "pre-visualized" something one of the great photographers of our time had iconized. So, it's not pointless to continue stretching forward; it is not vanity. But that still leaves the question of sharing: whether to or not. I will leave that for now.

imagine starting on a sailing boat only to realise, after you've blown your pennies, that you were really a motorboat person at heart!

I spent most of my life as a scientist, anal-yzing everything I did (can you tell? ;D ) and while I blew some pennies doing that, regardless of what the folks at 500px may think of my posts, I know that photography feeds my soul. That alone is why it is not a vain endeavor to pursue it. I will take my camera and wander alone.

No polemic here, just working through some of my own thoughts and discoveries. Slobodan, I thought it was Trump! ;) Russ, I have been looking at those books and going to those museums and my appreciation continues to grow. Eric, I'd love to visit the group in Boston! Slobodan, you know I have been banned from FB!

RSL

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #27 on: September 30, 2017, 03:13:49 pm »

I know that photography feeds my soul.

To me, that's the bottom line, David. All the rest is vanity.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: How naive am I?! or perhaps, Coming of age? or a plaintive cry in the dark
« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2017, 04:27:46 pm »

To me, that's the bottom line, David. All the rest is vanity.
+100.
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-Eric Myrvaagnes (visit my website: http://myrvaagnes.com)
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