Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: seamus finn on July 25, 2013, 01:46:12 pm
-
Having a natter...
-
A very fine shot, Seamus.
And the distant lone figure adds a lot, IMHO.
-
Thanks, Eric. I find that a lot of the time, I'm fecking around wondering why the hell I'm doing this.
-
I'd bet you aren't capable of stopping, Seamus.
-
I'm fecking around wondering why the hell I'm doing this.
At a guess because it beats the socks off any alternative. From an existentialist's perspective, it is as suitable distraction as any.
W
-
Having a natter...
I would bet that we see two absolutely disjoint natters.
-
I'd bet you aren't capable of stopping, Seamus.
It takes one to know one, Russ.
Once upon a time, I used to shoot landscapes and was reasonably good at it. I had a few exhibitions here and there, all very technically executed, wonderfully printed and well regarded - the right light, the correct exposure, should that rock be in or out, should I wait another fifteen minutes for the sun to rise higher, and why am I out at 6 am in the freezing cold hoping something will happen with the mist.
In the end, it became tedious - a joyless waiting game. I simply don't have the patience nowadays, although I deeply envy those who do and whose work is a wonder. When I see their best stuff, and understanding the effort involved, my breath is taken away and I wish I had the endurance to go back to it again.
However, in the street, as you well know, it's a different game: there's no time for that luxury: you see a scene, shoot it in the full knowledge that 99% of your efforts will inevitably fail but you go for it anyway. It's a blind act of faith between you, your ability to work the damned camera and your view of the world. Many times, the shot will be out of focus and technically deficient on any number of levels. But when it works, when all the ingredients come together, when all the elements of the human condition are there, well, its magic - hopefully not just for yourself but for anybody who understands what you're about.
It's street.
-
Though landscape, like an old soldier, may never die, it will fade away. But street has been and will continue to be where the heart of photographic art resides. People, the things they do, their weird behavior, the things they think about, and the relationships between them have everlasting interest to other people. Though El Capitan may become boring, what happens in good street photographs never will breed ennui. Keep on shooting Seamus.
-
Though landscape, like an old soldier, may never die, it will fade away. But street has been and will continue to be where the heart of photographic art resides. People, the things they do, their weird behavior, the things they think about, and the relationships between them have everlasting interest to other people. Though El Capitan may become boring, what happens in good street photographs never will breed ennui. Keep on shooting Seamus.
I have to agree with all of this, except that landscape will fade away. It seems somewhat myopic to feel that only images of people can provide insight into our relationship to the world. Good landscape (not simply the technically well-executed and well-composed "pretty" sort) can provide real inspiration, as does good street photography. I agree that yet another El Capitan shot is unlikely to do it, however.
Cheers,
Eric M.
-
Well, it isn't only images of people, Eric. Images of their belongings and personal environment hold a great deal of interest too. Here's an example of what I mean. I think I've posted it before. It's the inside of a restaurant in Springer, New Mexico (which no longer exists) on a Sunday morning in the late sixties. Church is out and a bunch of locals are there for brunch. I was there with my wife and four sons -- kids then -- and we were waiting for a table. I shoot landscape too, but this is serious stuff. I think Walker Evans's picture of the Maine pump is infinitely more interesting than El Capitan.