Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Playground, Istanbul 1985  (Read 3354 times)

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Playground, Istanbul 1985
« on: October 31, 2013, 05:39:37 pm »

Playing with some old files (35 mm scan):

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2013, 10:53:32 am »

Interesting but sad, Chris.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Cem

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 126
    • Photographs
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2013, 10:59:56 am »

Hi Russ,

Interesting but sad, Chris.
May I ask what is sad: the photo, the child, the environment or the fact that Chris is playing with some old files?
Logged

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2013, 11:09:56 am »

Interesting but sad, Chris.

Yes, Russ - its sad. But why the "but" ?
Do you want happy snaps?

Of course its a rethorical question, since I don't believe you really want that.

This was a an occasional shot from the Galata tower in Istanbul when I enjoyed the otherwise great vista when I suddenly saw this child on that deserted roof.
So - I wasn't out for poverty porn, just stumbled into it so to say.
Seems thats life too ...

Cheers
~Chris

Cem

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 126
    • Photographs
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2013, 11:22:12 am »

Hi Chris,

Yes, Russ - its sad. But why the "but" ?
Do you want happy snaps?

Of course its a rethorical question, since I don't believe you really want that.

This was a an occasional shot from the Galata tower in Istanbul when I enjoyed the otherwise great vista when I suddenly saw this child on that deserted roof.
So - I wasn't out for poverty porn, just stumbled into it so to say.
Seems thats life too ...

I personally don't see why this particular picture would be interpreted as sad, but my views are a bit tainted having been born and raised in Istanbul.
There are many details to be seen when shooting from the Galata Tower, like this one. You have zoomed in so close that we don't get much info about the environment. I like the isolation and the subdued tones of color. Thanks for sharing.

Logged

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2013, 11:27:11 am »

Bir şey değil. :)

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2013, 11:39:59 am »

Yes, Russ - its sad. But why the "but" ?
Do you want happy snaps?

Of course not, Chris. Take a look at my Asian pictures. But it reminds me of a very moving picture by Roy DeCarava of a small kid playing in a gutter in front of a street full of boarded up store fronts. I couldn't find it on the web, though I'm pretty sure it's out there. I don't remember the title, but I have it in a couple books and I'll have to look it up.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2013, 12:06:12 pm »

I posted the image, because I was thinking about what we discuss on this site, what type of photography we do and what it is all about.
And why do I want to take pictures of pretty landscapes?
Of course it is a very good goal to show our fascination and the beauty of our world, nature and landscapes. And a deep experience of this can have a healing effect, and I believe many of use here, pros and ams alike do a great job concerning this.
But sometimes I have the impression, especially when discussions start to get flat, too much nitpicking and gear-driven there is an illness which might come from forgetting about some basics, e.g. that photography is from humans for humans and has always dealt greatly with the "conditio humana".
I find myself asking questions like:" Why do I take photographs? What do I really want with that?"
In the moment I am thinking about going to change equipment, not only to digital - because this is already decided (I won't buy that Arca Swiss 4x5" kit I was dreaming of a long time) - and I am seriously pulled back and forth between buying a big, high resolution kit (D800 or MFDB) or a lighter kit for street and travel photography (Fuji X-pro 1 or successor most likely).

I feel more and more the wish to find a sort of synthesis between the more aesthetic, beautiful nature-type and the more humanly touching imagery.
However - enough rambling now.
Just random thoughts ...

Cheers
~Chris

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2013, 12:37:28 pm »

Damned nice shot and post-treatment!

;-)

Rob C

David Eckels

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3526
  • It's just a camera.
    • Website
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2013, 01:15:08 pm »

I am seriously pulled back and forth between buying a big, high resolution kit (D800 or MFDB) or a lighter kit for street and travel photography (Fuji X-pro 1 or successor most likely).
Why not do both? Then you can roam where your fancy takes you. This is meant to be encouraging not smart alec. And I like that you are so adept at seeing what is in front of you.

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2013, 01:43:28 pm »

Why not do both? Then you can roam where your fancy takes you. This is meant to be encouraging not smart alec. And I like that you are so adept at seeing what is in front of you.

Actually thats the plan. :D

Most likely I'll start with a Fuji-X kit.
MFDB is a serious investment which will probably have to wait a bit.
For some reason I want to avoid FF - I don't believe in "One to rule them all .." ;)
My Mamiya 7 II and the dreaded scanning will stay a while because of that.

Actually my dream kit would be:
- A Fuji X system (X Pro 1 or X E2) and some awesome glass
- IQ260 (For the 1 hour exposures) + Techno or Rm3D plus some even more awesome glass.
(Not yet sure which to like more - tested the Rm3Di with great fun)

Cheers
~Chris

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2013, 03:57:10 pm »

I agree with your ruminations, Chris. I've been a people photographer from the beginning, which was in Korea sixty years ago. I find extremely tedious the stuff posted here and displayed in "art fairs" that's merely pretty or merely documentary. There's a place for merely pretty, of course, but it's in decoration, not in serious art, and there's a place for documentation, but it's in newspapers and magazines. In the end, as I've said ad infinitum, what makes a great picture is the transcendental experience you get when you look at it.

What does that mean? My New Oxford American says "transcendental" is "Of or relating to a spiritual or nonphysical realm. . ." In other words, if you can describe the experience in words, it's not transcendental. I think that nature in the raw can give you that kind of experience. I've had it many times hiking in the mountains. But I've never seen a photograph of a landscape, a flower, a bird, or any part of nature that's given me that kind of experience, though I've seen paintings of landscapes that do. On the other hand, the Roy DeCarava photograph I mentioned earlier does give me that kind of experience. The picture is the reverse of pretty, and the juxtaposition of the kid in the gutter with the boarded-up buildings behind him makes it clear that this is his world -- his environment, from which he's not likely to escape. What comes across isn't pity, though, it's something that goes far beyond that. This is the kind of photograph upon which a photographer can hang his reputation, and you get this kind of photograph only when it involves people.

Of course none of this is to say that it isn't pleasant to look at all sorts of pictures, even landscapes and documentary shots, but that's not the same thing as being whopped in the soul by a work of art.

Oh. . . and equipment has zilch to do with it.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Christoph C. Feldhaim

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2509
  • There is no rule! No - wait ...
Re: Playground, Istanbul 1985
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2013, 04:09:39 pm »

Oh. . . and equipment has zilch to do with it.

indeed, i fully agree.
But still I want to adapt my gear to the type of environment I am in or the type or "working mood".
I'm just a different type of person when using my Camera on a tripod with cable release and stuff or not.
Actually thats one reason why I bought that Zeiss Ikonta (shame I have done little with it).
Estimating exposure (sunny 16 and the like), estimating distance - its a different way of working,
a different state of mind - though the more you use a specific type of gear,
the more these effects vanish and stay in the background - until you are one with the gear.
I once hope to be good enough with my Ikonta (planning to use Tri-X on it) to produce
technically sufficient photographs without any help of a light- or distance meter.

Cheers
~Chris
Pages: [1]   Go Up