June offerings

[John R]

Of course I like to play and experiment a bit and seldom get to where I actually intend to go. So these are some results.

JMR

[John R Smith]

Seeing as you are another John R a feeling of kinship prompts me to reply  

This sort of photography is actually not my personal area at all, as you would probably guess, but it does intrigue me. I think that the pictures do work very well, and the thing that you have going for you is a consistent and recognisable style which is always a good thing. The problem that I see with this approach is twofold - one is that conventional photographers may simply dismiss it because it turns the norms of good practice on their head (focus, sharpness, depth of field), but that is really a problem for them, not you. The second issue is more problematic, in that an impressionistic style of this kind may itself become a creative trap, where for the sake of style and consistency one is forced to work within an ever-narrowing form where you can never actually indulge yourself with a sharp picture. Still, the fun bit about art is that you can always change your mind.

My favourites here are the first frame, for its strange combination of sharp and unsharp - very appealing - and the last, for its total abstraction. The others, I feel, are using this impressionist technique but without such a clear sense of purpose as my favourites. And I am surprised that no-one else here felt moved to comment.

John

[John R]

Seeing as you are another John R a feeling of kinship prompts me to reply  

This sort of photography is actually not my personal area at all, as you would probably guess, but it does intrigue me. I think that the pictures do work very well, and the thing that you have going for you is a consistent and recognisable style which is always a good thing. The problem that I see with this approach is twofold - one is that conventional photographers may simply dismiss it because it turns the norms of good practice on their head (focus, sharpness, depth of field), but that is really a problem for them, not you. The second issue is more problematic, in that an impressionistic style of this kind may itself become a creative trap, where for the sake of style and consistency one is forced to work within an ever-narrowing form where you can never actually indulge yourself with a sharp picture. Still, the fun bit about art is that you can always change your mind.

My favourites here are the first frame, for its strange combination of sharp and unsharp - very appealing - and the last, for its total abstraction. The others, I feel, are using this impressionist technique but without such a clear sense of purpose as my favourites. And I am surprised that no-one else here felt moved to comment.

John

It's all good to me. I am just an amateur who has to work for a living. I have hundreds of "straight" shots in my slide collection, some of which have won awards in competiitions, a few of which can be seen on my site @ http://johnroias.smugmug.com/ The site is mostly for display. One day I will scan my collection. And I shoot the majority of my work "straight." Do an LL search and you will see some of my straight work, albeit on the abstract side. But I guess I am just in a period or phase where I want to be impressionistic, because I always wanted to when shooting slides. It's like developing another side of yourself. But it was so difficult and cumbersome compared to digital. Wasted a lot of slides. I don't get out often enough to shoot when the time and weather is best. So maybe this is sideways thinking, as the buzz word goes. I enjoy exchanging opinions and seeing other peoples work, so I post when I can. Perhaps I post too often. I try to do most of my work in-camera, and all those herein posted are in-camera. Even if you only enjoy one image, that's good enough for me.

Thanks for the comments JR, from JMR, my initials. I enjoyed reading them and your critique.

JMR

[Michael LS]

Of course I like to play and experiment a bit and seldom get to where I actually intend to go. So these are some results.

JMR

This is extremely good work. There is luscious color, the color relationships work and there is a strong design structure in each shot.
You must've worked at this technique for awhile, as it doesn't look easy to do. My favorite is #5, the last shot, but they are all
well done. I'd like to walk into a gallery with 20 of these blown up BIG !

[John R]

This is extremely good work. There is luscious color, the color relationships work and there is a strong design structure in each shot.
You must've worked at this technique for awhile, as it doesn't look easy to do. My favorite is #5, the last shot, but they are all
well done. I'd like to walk into a gallery with 20 of these blown up BIG !

Many thanks. Yes, whether experimental or not, good images need structure and balance. I would like to try to print some of my work large...maybe some day. Anyway, one more for the road.

JMR