Post by: RSL on October 20, 2018, 01:39:58 pm
Post by: Ivophoto on October 20, 2018, 02:47:31 pm
How about getting rid of Street Showcase, which few LuLa visitors grasp, and substitute a segment called Vacuity Showcase? We could include threads with everybody's "ride," everybody's pets, and the Photo Chain Challenge. Nobody would be allowed to post a serious photograph in Photo Chain Challenge, and we could have almost as good arguments about what's "serious" as we had about politics.
Yes, let’s delete the street showcase, the sub forum where the utterly street-vacuity is applauded and the better work ignored.
Let’s start a Jurassic showcase. Full of images approved by Lula’s dinosaurs.
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on October 20, 2018, 06:06:47 pm
That should slow down the posting of photos a bit.
Post by: Rand47 on October 20, 2018, 06:16:40 pm
Quote
. . . Let’s start a Jurassic showcase. Full of images approved by Lula’s dinosaurs. . . .
Now, this is really funny. I think we "may" all have too much time on our hands. LOL
Rand
Post by: RSL on October 20, 2018, 07:43:47 pm
First, I think we need a lengthy and heated discussion on the proper definitions of Vacuity, and a list of the top twenty practitioners of the Art of Vacuity.
That should slow down the posting of photos a bit.
Exactly, Eric! Slowing down the posting of vacuous photographs would be a great service to mankind, and especially a service to LuLa visitors.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 21, 2018, 01:46:40 am
First, I think we need a lengthy and heated discussion on the proper definitions of Vacuity, and a list of the top twenty practitioners of the Art of Vacuity.
That should slow down the posting of photos a bit.
Sounds like a plan.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 21, 2018, 01:49:35 am
Now, this is really funny. I think we "may" all have too much time on our hands. LOL
Rand
Apart from the so called vacuity topics, I have the impression Lula is close to death. A bit animation doesn’t hurt?
Post by: Two23 on October 21, 2018, 11:27:23 am
First, I think we need a lengthy and heated discussion on the proper definitions of Vacuity, and a list of the top twenty practitioners of the Art of Vacuity.
Can someone suggest a text book for me to buy? As for "serious" photos, I don't have any. I take photos for fun.
Kent in SD
Post by: KLaban on October 21, 2018, 12:44:50 pm
First, I think we need a lengthy and heated discussion on the proper definitions of Vacuity, and a list of the top twenty practitioners of the Art of Vacuity.
That should slow down the posting of photos a bit.
I'd be proud to put myself forward.
Post by: Rob C on October 21, 2018, 03:34:44 pm
I'd be proud to put myself forward.
I'm sorry; I can't accept that your images are capable of fitting this pìgeon hole at all.
I move that you be banned immediately for false representations made with the definite and heinous objective of insinuating yourself into a position of power, predicated upon the consumption of too many megapixels than are good for you.
I think Doctor Ivo would be a good and very safe pair of rubber gloves within which to place our faith; his visions of atrophy and untimely death should not be taken lightly. As Winston said: I love a good puff in the mornings; one at noon and several before bed.
There's nothing else left to add.
And I mean this in all humility, all seriousness, and in absolutely all moods, circumstances and surroundings.
I, myself, refuse to accept nomination until it is unanimous. But never, ever, will I partake of said smoke again.
Post by: RSL on October 21, 2018, 03:42:38 pm
Post by: KLaban on October 21, 2018, 03:59:36 pm
I'm sorry; I can't accept that your images are capable of fitting this pìgeon hole at all.
I move that you be banned immediately for false representations made with the definite and heinous objective of insinuating yourself into a position of power, predicated upon the consumption of too many megapixels than are good for you.
I think Doctor Ivo would be good and very safe pair of rubber gloves within which to place our faith; his visions of atrophy and untimely death should not be taken lightly. As Winston said: I love a good puff in the mornings; one at noon and several before bed.
There's nothing else left to add.
And I mean this in all humility, all seriousness, and in absolutely all moods, circumstances and surroundings.
I, myself, refuse to accept nomination until it is unanimous. But never, ever, will I partake of said smoke again.
I don't remember mentioning anything about my images.
;D 8)
Post by: Rob C on October 21, 2018, 04:04:30 pm
I don't remember mentioning anything about my images.
;D 8)
You see what I mean? Too much political nous. (This is not intended to throw francophones off the scent.)
Inflamed from Norwich, or perhaps even Budleigh Salterton.
(That should throw even the Americans off the scent!)
:-)
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on October 21, 2018, 07:42:31 pm
This thread already has more meaningful content than all the old, banned political discussions!
As George Costanza's father would shout, "SERENITY NOW!!!"
Post by: Christopher Sanderson on October 21, 2018, 09:26:25 pm
I love it!
This thread already has more meaningful content than all the old, banned political discussions!
As George Costanza's father would shout, "SERENITY NOW!!!"
Like all good vacuums, takes all comers :o
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 12:40:38 am
Is this the pout section of Lula?
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 01:56:40 am
+1. Nothing more to be said.
Well, you could add ‘music’ topics to your vacuity list as well.
At least, in the ‘ride’ and ‘chain’ topics, photography is involved and functional. This is called: photography with a purpose.
Vacuity?
Not everyone is sucked into Florida vacuity.
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 02:58:00 am
Well, you could add ‘music’ topics to your vacuity list as well.
At least, in the ‘ride’ and ‘chain’ topics, photography is involved and functional. This is called: photography with a purpose.
Vacuity?
Not everyone is sucked into Florida vacuity.
No, no no!
Florida is there as a national protection: consult an Ordnace and Survey map of the grand old US of A and see where the lines place that state: front line, baby, front line sacrificial - just like my part of Mallorca! The beauty is, it confirms my sense of purpose. No longer do I feel I was just here to eat the lotus flowers of middle-age (mine), but to look after the Golden Calf and, one day, hopefully soon, sell it on to another, younger guardian in time for my own safe exodus whilst the exiting is good.
But you never know: Paris has banned the diesel car - how long before the rest of the country does, turning my planned grand tour back to the land of drizzle and claymores into illegality?
;-(
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 03:09:15 am
No, no no!
Florida is there as a national protection: consult an Ordnace and Survey map of the grand old US of A and see where the lines place that state: front line, baby, front line sacrificial - just like my part of Mallorca! The beauty is, it confirms my sense of purpose. No longer do I feel I was just here to eat the lotus flowers of middle-age (mine), but to look after the Golden Calf and, one day, hopefully soon, sell it on to another, younger guardian in time for my own safe exodus whilst the exiting is good.
But you never know: Paris has banned the diesel car - how long before the rest of the country does, turning my planned grand tour back to the land of drizzle and claymores into illegality?
;-(
Exactly why I changed back to Gasoline with a dash of electric and for the fun gliding around with a decent bike.
Explain more about Florida, please. Do I understand it correctly, is it like the Indian reservation for retired not natives who finds satisfaction in wandering around on the internet instead of finding satisfaction in liquor?
🤫Post by: 32BT on October 22, 2018, 03:15:11 am
But you never know: Paris has banned the diesel car - how long before the rest of the country does, turning my planned grand tour back to the land of drizzle and claymores into illegality?
;-(
You had to ditch the car anyway. The car needs to be a classic romantic, or a romantic classic. Sell the d*mn apartment and buy the ugly black mustang. No need for a new paintjob just yet considering it is better left till *after* Paris.
And btw guys (and galls): don't you recognise reverse psychology?
Russ simply is counting on us doing the exact opposite again of what he intended...
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 03:33:11 am
And btw guys (and galls): don't you recognise reverse psychology?
Despite my wife is therapist in a psychiatric hospital, and she consider me as her home project, I already have problems recognizing normal psychology.
It was after seeing ‘the Truman show’ I began spotting some remarkable details that make me thinking. Suddenly I realized why she was wearing here badge and panic button at home.
Post by: 32BT on October 22, 2018, 03:57:41 am
Despite my wife is therapist in a psychiatric hospital, and she consider me as her home project, I already have problems recognizing normal psychology.
It was after seeing ‘the Truman show’ I began spotting some remarkable details that make me thinking. Suddenly I realized why she was wearing here badge and panic button at home.
Shutter Island obv
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 04:04:16 am
Shutter Island obv
Ha. That is why she pretends to start knitting.
Post by: KLaban on October 22, 2018, 04:55:53 am
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 06:53:36 am
My wife was an art therapist working with people with learning difficulties. She refers to me as her most difficult client.
I recognize the good old therapist humor.
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 07:46:12 am
I guess that so do all of us photographers. Perhaps that's what makes mod/phot rapport work: we recognize and respond (or not) to the need we see.
This isn't meant as humour, by the way.
Rob
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 09:45:06 am
On the other hand, those who engage actively in art: photographers, painters, poets, writers of fiction, musical composers, etc., are attempting to make contact with the creator by creating.
Almost fifty years ago I wrote a poem that dealt with what makes real poetry work. Here’s an excerpt. The first four lines relate to descriptive prose:
Quote
And in linear order the words,
Like a freight train chugging across flat country,
Carry their load flatly
And disappear.
But when words are set against each other,
Each one turning back, swooping inward,
Folded out of the flat plane, meshed,
Moving, woven, turned
With the glitter uppermost,
And forced to sing to each other, sometimes
A shimmering web of words so wrought
Has strength to carry life.
And that’s the key. That’s what I mean by “serious” art: a human creation that attempts to carry life. There’s nothing wrong with a segment on “ride.” I enjoyed my 50cc Suzuki first time I was in Thailand. There’s nothing wrong with a segment on pets. I’ve had much loved dogs and cats. There’s nothing wrong with a game like a “photo chain challenge.” I’ve done that kind of thing many times.
But “serious” art attempts to carry life. Keith does it fairly often. Rob does too when he decides to do what he does best. They’re not the only ones. Most of the people who’ve been on here long enough to grasp what Michael, for instance, was after have done it more than once. Wish I could see more of it on LuLa.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 10:09:48 am
I think creativity has mostly to do with the desire – need – to be an active part of ones universe. There are people whose lives are focussed on consumption: TV, rap, the internet, and though they sometimes make a lot of noise, underneath their lives are passive.
On the other hand, those who engage actively in art: photographers, painters, poets, writers of fiction, musical composers, etc., are attempting to make contact with the creator by creating.
Almost fifty years ago I wrote a poem that dealt with what makes real poetry work. Here’s an excerpt. The first four lines relate to descriptive prose:
And that’s the key. That’s what I mean by “serious” art: a human creation that attempts to carry life. There’s nothing wrong with a segment on “ride.” I enjoyed my 50cc Suzuki first time I was in Thailand. There’s nothing wrong with a segment on pets. I’ve had much loved dogs and cats. There’s nothing wrong with a game like a “photo chain challenge.” I’ve done that kind of thing many times.
But “serious” art attempts to carry life. Keith does it fairly often. Rob does too when he decides to do what he does best. They’re not the only ones. Most of the people who’ve been on here long enough to grasp what Michael, for instance, was after have done it more than once. Wish I could see more of it on LuLa.
I don’t disagree Russ. Only, ‘carry life’ is very subjective. It is even age bound. What I found definitely carrying live when I was 20 lost meaning now I’m in my fifties.
Shouldn’t we be watchful not to look down on the passion of young hounds and not declassify their visions as vacuity because we are or have outgrown them? Or forgot them?
I can imagine on your blessed age, not much withstand the test of importance or relevance.
I remember my father at 93, sitting in his chair, sunken away in his age dementia that started with a certain contempt for values he outgrown.
I have to be very careful for myself not stepping in this trap, it would make me a vinegar pissing disconnected parent.
...
Post by: Two23 on October 22, 2018, 10:19:51 am
Kent in SD
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 10:31:56 am
I don’t disagree Russ. Only, ‘carry life’ is very subjective. It is even age bound. What I found definitely carrying live when I was 20 lost meaning now I’m in my fifties.
Shouldn’t we be watchful not to look down on the passion of young hounds and not declassify their visions as vacuity because we are or have outgrown them? Or forgot them?
I can imagine on your blessed age, not much withstand the test of importance or relevance.
I remember my father at 93, sitting in his chair, sunken away in his age dementia that started with a certain contempt for values he outgrown.
I have to be very careful for myself not stepping in this trap, it would make me a vinegar pissing disconnected parent.
...
Hi Ivo. I'm sorry to hear that what you found to be carrying life in your twenties has now dwindled to nothing. Here are two poems. This one I wrote when I was nineteen: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Metamorophosis.html. This one I wrote when I was 68, considerably older than your are now that you've lost your ability to carry life: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Overture.html. All I can say is, "sorry, my friend."
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 10:51:59 am
Hi Ivo. I'm sorry to hear that what you found to be carrying life in your twenties has now dwindled to nothing. Here are two poems. This one I wrote when I was nineteen: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Metamorophosis.html. This one I wrote when I was 68, considerably older than your are now that you've lost your ability to carry life: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Overture.html. All I can say is, "sorry, my friend."
But your writing is a gift, Russ.
As with musicians, I can but envy where those abilities take people.
How lovely it would be to be able just to sit down at a piano and play like Jerry Lee Lewis, putting into sound and words those eternally relevant descriptions of the aging man and the emptiness he often slides down into, mostly due to his own follies... sad songs are so much more interesting than upbeat ones, especially from a voice like his. In far more "polished" mode, Sinatra could do the very same.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 11:29:14 am
Hi Ivo. I'm sorry to hear that what you found to be carrying life in your twenties has now dwindled to nothing. Here are two poems. This one I wrote when I was nineteen: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Metamorophosis.html. This one I wrote when I was 68, considerably older than your are now that you've lost your ability to carry life: http://www.russ-lewis.com/Poetry/Poems/Overture.html. All I can say is, "sorry, my friend."You are good in romantisme, not so good in rhetorics, Russ.
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 12:15:53 pm
Post by: KLaban on October 22, 2018, 12:35:08 pm
Sadly though the sex on LuLa is conspicuous by its absence.
Post by: 32BT on October 22, 2018, 12:41:35 pm
Life, work, play, sex...without fun - sorry, Rob, it's that word again - is but a chore.
Sadly though the sex on LuLa is conspicuous by its absence.
Yes, Keith, your pictures could finally become a lot more interesting, i'll admit.
;-)
Post by: Ivo_B on October 22, 2018, 12:48:46 pm
Life, work, play, sex...without fun - sorry, Rob, it's that word again - is but a chore.
Sadly though the sex on LuLa is conspicuous by its absence.
And it is Rob C whit his work who can spice up a bit......
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 02:27:34 pm
And it is Rob C whit his work who can spice up a bit......
I think there is possibly some misunderstanding about what my work, actually, was about.
To cut a longish story down to its essentials: my first love was fashion photography, and for some years it was a good furrow to plough. Came the fuel crisis of the early mid-70s and a lot of work stopped, principally because some clients were getting helpful funding from the fibres companies such as Monsanto, as well as from the International Wool Secretariat (IWS) that would once be highly visible via its famous Woolmark logo in almost every edition of the leading women's magazines. That funding cut due to fuel crisis caution in those suppliers, a lot of firms simply didn't have the available funds of their own to spend on exotic location advertising and, worse and coincidentally, London-based PR companies stretched northwards right into Scotland, where they were able to offer photography deals I simply couldn't match: far cheaper to send a box of clothes to a PR company in London and have it feed that into the schedule of a large studio in London doing a production line operation.
I read the scribbles on the wall, and having already designed and produced calendars for fashion firms I knew that production was where the money lay, not in being just a jobbing photographer.
With fashion dying, I turned to industrial clients for the continuation of my calendars, and that's where the girls came back in, but with fewer clothes. I never really did care all that much for so-called glamour photography beyond buying Playboy which kinda educated my girlie eye, as it were, and even there, I generally thought the centrefolds the least attractive shot in each issue: too rigidly posed.
In the reality, I guess I just shot the topless girls in the same spirit as I did everything else, and that had an unwritten rule that if I wasn't willing to have my daughter see the pix, then they wouldn't be made.
So sex wasn't a priority; femininity and, hopefully, the approval of a female viewer confronted with my work mattered to me. Indeed, for one long-term client we shot and designed the physical calendars so that a bank manager recipient could display whichever illustration page he wanted to display depending on who was coming into his office. Political correctness in its early stages, then, but at an understandable and reasonable level.
Given a chance, I would far rather be shooting fashion in the manner of a Sarah Moon or Deborah Turbeville, than bare girls in the manner of any of the skin photographers. In the end, after the first five minutes the first time, glamour photography has all the excitement of making spaghetti. But it kept us alive.
Rob
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 02:48:34 pm
In the reality, I guess I just shot the topless girls in the same spirit as I did everything else, and that had an unwritten rule that if I wasn't willing to have my daughter see the pix, then they wouldn't be made.
A wonderful rule, Rob. Bravo! Would that it were universal.
For a very long time the Hays office made it possible for movies to be watched by families. Then, one day, Rhett Butler said, "Frankly, I don't give a damn, Scarlett," and that was that. Sad, and apparently irreversible.
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 02:52:56 pm
You are good in romantisme, not so good in rhetorics, Russ.
You still haven't given me an example, Ivo. Guess I'll have to conclude you use words you don't comprehend.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 02:53:30 pm
I think there is possibly some misunderstanding about what my work, actually, was about.
To cut a longish story down to its essentials: my first love was fashion photography, and for some years it was a good furrow to plough. Came the fuel crisis of the early mid-70s and a lot of work stopped, principally because some clients were getting helpful funding from the fibres companies such as Monsanto, as well as from the International Wool Secretariat (IWS) that would once be highly visible via its famous Woolmark logo in almost every edition of the leading women's magazines. That funding cut due to fuel crisis caution in those suppliers, a lot of firms simply didn't have the available funds of their own to spend on exotic location advertising and, worse and coincidentally, London-based PR companies stretched northwards right into Scotland, where they were able to offer photography deals I simply couldn't match: far cheaper to send a box of clothes to a PR company in London and have it feed that into the schedule of a large studio in London doing a production line operation.
I read the scribbles on the wall, and having already designed and produced calendars for fashion firms I knew that production was where the money lay, not in being just a jobbing photographer.
With fashion dying, I turned to industrial clients for the continuation of my calendars, and that's where the girls came back in, but with fewer clothes. I never really did care all that much for so-called glamour photography beyond buying Playboy which kinda educated my girlie eye, as it were, and even there, I generally thought the centrefolds the least attractive shot in each issue: too rigidly posed.
In the reality, I guess I just shot the topless girls in the same spirit as I did everything else, and that had an unwritten rule that if I wasn't willing to have my daughter see the pix, then they wouldn't be made.
So sex wasn't a priority; femininity and, hopefully, the approval of a female viewer confronted with my work mattered to me. Indeed, for one long-term client we shot and designed the physical calendars so that a bank manager recipient could display whichever illustration page he wanted to display depending on who was coming into his office. Political correctness in its early stages, then, but at an understandable and reasonable level.
Given a chance, I would far rather be shooting fashion in the manner of a Sarah Moon or Deborah Turbeville, than bare girls in the manner of any of the skin photographers. In the end, after the first five minutes the first time, glamour photography has all the excitement of making spaghetti. But it kept us alive.
Rob
Well, Rob. That are a hell of a lot words to say that it was not on purpose, it just happened. Life on its own conditions, we can say. My statement remains valid: you can spice it up.
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 02:55:16 pm
You still haven't given me an example, Ivo. Guess I'll have to conclude you use words you don't comprehend.
You can conclude I don’t go into discussion with you, I would loose the discussion due to a lack of internetblabla experience.
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 02:58:08 pm
You can conclude I don’t go into discussion with you, I would loose the discussion due to a lack of internetblabla experience.
"Internetblabla" being something like this: "You are good in romantisme, not so good in rhetorics, Russ."
Post by: Ivophoto on October 22, 2018, 03:03:19 pm
"Internetblabla" being something like this: "You are good in romantisme, not so good in rhetorics, Russ."
Why don’t you pick up the artistic glove and post a photographic illustration of the ‘ultimate Vacuity’
Come on , walk the talk.
Post by: RSL on October 22, 2018, 03:14:10 pm
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 04:16:46 pm
Well, Rob. That are a hell of a lot words to say that it was not on purpose, it just happened. Life on its own conditions, we can say. My statement remains valid: you can spice it up.
I guess that with fresh models yes, I could, but I don't have any, and using my old shots over and over again becomes boring even to me.
Perhaps that's why I keep looking for new Peter Lindbergh videos, but even he seems to have run out of steam recently insofar as videos go. Funny thing is, the videos are usually more attractive to me than the projects for which they are the making-of part. It happens a lot to me: I keep feeling motion photographers have better eyes and medium than stills people usually do.
:-(
Post by: Rob C on October 22, 2018, 04:32:34 pm
We have the gearhead contingent, and an almost absolute divide between that and the other one, that's almost totally into the metaphysics of the thing. We could be different species for all the cross pollination that occurs.
I guess it's a mirror of photography itself: ultra spec on the one hand with the new impressionists wafting about on the other, not giving a damn about numbers of any kind.
Post by: KLaban on October 22, 2018, 05:05:26 pm
There really do appear to be two, quite separate LuLas going down.
We have the gearhead contingent, and an almost absolute divide between that and the other one, that's almost totally into the metaphysics of the thing. We could be different species for all the cross pollination that occurs.
I guess it's a mirror of photography itself: ultra spec on the one hand with the new impressionists wafting about on the other, not giving a damn about numbers of any kind.
38-24-36?
Post by: KLaban on October 22, 2018, 05:25:01 pm
There really do appear to be two, quite separate LuLas going down.
We have the gearhead contingent, and an almost absolute divide between that and the other one, that's almost totally into the metaphysics of the thing. We could be different species for all the cross pollination that occurs.
I guess it's a mirror of photography itself: ultra spec on the one hand with the new impressionists wafting about on the other, not giving a damn about numbers of any kind.
But there again no doubt the gearheads would define metaphysics as abstract theories with no basis in reality...
Post by: Slobodan Blagojevic on October 22, 2018, 05:47:07 pm
... Explain more about Florida, please. Do I understand it correctly, is it like the Indian reservation for retired not natives...
Post by: Ivophoto on October 23, 2018, 12:59:59 am
Thanks, Slobodan.
Remains the question to what category Florida residents belong.
A granny, A tranny, or just a regular loony.
🤭
Post by: LesPalenik on October 23, 2018, 02:09:15 am
Post by: Ivophoto on October 23, 2018, 05:26:12 am
One category of the Florida winter residents are mature snowbirds paying with loonies.
Canadian emigrants?
Post by: LesPalenik on October 23, 2018, 06:16:04 am
Quote
"Snowbird" is a North American term for a person who migrates from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada in the southward direction in winter to warmer locales such as Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean. Many "snowbirds" are from either the northeast, Midwest, or Canada.
Quote
The loonie is a colloquial term which refers to the $1 Canadian coin and is also used by foreign exchange (FX) traders to refer to Canadian currency in general. The loonie derives its name from the picture of a solitary loon on the reverse side of the coin.
Post by: Rob C on October 23, 2018, 06:29:44 am
Holiday Inn, as far as I recall.
I thought we'd found a nice, private little beach right at the hotel, with one of those big wicker chairs with high backs: turned out the beach was concrete. Got a shot that made it to the calendar, though. And pre-Photoshop!
;-)
Post by: RSL on October 23, 2018, 12:01:04 pm
Bottom line: snowbirding is the best solution. You’re in the north and in the south in their best seasons.
Post by: MattBurt on October 23, 2018, 12:26:05 pm
I'm an athlete and I hate to work out indoors so I need a good fix of some kind of cardio outside a few times a week to feel normal. The times I have been in Florida for work or vacation, it seems too dangerous to road bike and too flat and sandy to mountain bike. Swimming (distance/workout style) works in some places but I've felt like I was going to get run over by a boat or jet ski or the water quality is questionable (gross). That leaves running which is ok but it's hard to find any hills. Bridges seem to be the biggest hills I could find.
I just don't feel like I'm Florida material but my employer that was based in Taos, NM has been acquired by a company in Orlando so I have to endure some ongoing Florida trips now. Just the cost of doing business, I guess.
Post by: KLaban on October 24, 2018, 01:02:37 pm
There really do appear to be two, quite separate LuLas going down.
We have the gearhead contingent, and an almost absolute divide between that and the other one, that's almost totally into the metaphysics of the thing. We could be different species for all the cross pollination that occurs.
I guess it's a mirror of photography itself: ultra spec on the one hand with the new impressionists wafting about on the other, not giving a damn about numbers of any kind.
Getting back to this point, Rob, I believe there's a lot of truth in what you say. At times it does seem to be a cavernous divide. If I had to place myself on that long dividing line between on the left the metaphysical and on the right the gearhead I'd be pretty much nudging against the former.
That said there are occasions when those numbers are important, most notably when I'm about to release the moths from my wallet. Laying down big bucks is something I only do when I have to and have good reason. As an example, when I was in the market for wide lens with outstanding corner to corner performance the last thing I wanted to end up with was an expensive lens with poor corner to corner performance. Based on the MTF numbers I chose the 21mm Leica Super-Elmar ASPH, thoroughly tested the lens, coming to the conclusion that it was the best wide I had ever used and fitted the purpose I had in mind perfectly. On the other hand when in the market for a standard focal length lens with a bunch of character when used wide open I chose the comparatively inexpensive 50mm Zeiss c Sonnar zm and it didn't disappoint. The numbers were the basis of selection, real world behaviour the deciding factor.
The point is once bought, tested and in use the numbers are meaningless, any cross pollination can be forgotten and once again I find myself nudged up against the left of that line.
Post by: Rob C on October 24, 2018, 02:24:50 pm
Getting back to this point, Rob, I believe there's a lot of truth in what you say. At times it does seem to be a cavernous divide. If I had to place myself on that long dividing line between on the left the metaphysical and on the right the gearhead I'd be pretty much nudging against the former.
That said there are occasions when those numbers are important, most notably when I'm about to release the moths from my wallet. Laying down big bucks is something I only do when I have to and have good reason. As an example, when I was in the market for wide lens with outstanding corner to corner performance the last thing I wanted to end up with was an expensive lens with poor corner to corner performance. Based on the MTF numbers I chose the 21mm Leica Super-Elmar ASPH, thoroughly tested the lens, coming to the conclusion that it was the best wide I had ever used and fitted the purpose I had in mind perfectly. On the other hand when in the market for a standard focal length lens with a bunch of character when used wide open I chose the comparatively inexpensive 50mm Zeiss c Sonnar zm and it didn't disappoint. The numbers were the basis of selection, real world behaviour the deciding factor.
The point is once bought, tested and in use the numbers are meaningless, any cross pollination can be forgotten and once again I find myself nudged up against the left of that line.
I'm not in any way trying to be critical of the gearhead section at all - if I were, I'd have been upfront about it. No, I was just remarking on what I see as little interest crossing over, with not much imagery forthcoming from those participants. Insofar as that department's concerned, it's been a great source of help to me during my time printing, a time that has vanished with my great HP printer. So no ill will towards it, mainly gratitude for help freely given.
There are far greater fights going on in my own head between shooting or just letting it all fade into the distance of the rear mirror. Partly, the problem has little to do with photography per se, but with the way that time seems to slip away each day with one damned distraction or another creeping into my life and robbing it of shooting time. It seems impossible to account for this, it just happens to me. One factor, for sure, is my current preference for cloudy weather which means summer stays pretty flat. Equally, I have no desire to get washed away down a gully! Of course, if I were to stop my scribbles here and there... I think it was Walter once told me maybe I should stop shooting and just become a full time blogger, a fate worse than death in its demands to stay productive every day just to hold an audience, with which I'd probably have fallen out with by now, anyway.
:-)
Post by: amolitor on October 24, 2018, 02:31:04 pm
The exceptions are: a) personal photos, which have meaning for me, but are probably vacuous for you. b) the incredibly rare single photo with enough of something I cannot put my finger on to stand alone. Even those mighty single photos exist, more often than not, in the context of someone's oeuvre, and so I cannot be sure that even many of these truly stand alone.
Only with groupings and in context can I hope to make sense of a photograph, in almost all cases.
Conversely, almost any photograph can be made powerful and meaningful when placed into the situation, when placed next to the right other pictures, the right words, the.. I don't know what else.
Post by: Rob C on October 24, 2018, 02:40:39 pm
To my eye, almost every single photograph is vacuous.
The exceptions are: a) personal photos, which have meaning for me, but are probably vacuous for you. b) the incredibly rare single photo with enough of something I cannot put my finger on to stand alone. Even those mighty single photos exist, more often than not, in the context of someone's oeuvre, and so I cannot be sure that even many of these truly stand alone.
Only with groupings and in context can I hope to make sense of a photograph, in almost all cases.
Conversely, almost any photograph can be made powerful and meaningful when placed into the situation, when placed next to the right other pictures, the right words, the.. I don't know what else.
You may be unaware of it, Andrew, but you have pretty much echoed the late Terence Donovan's credo.
It's a part of the tease for the non-pro simply because there is no obligation to make photographs unless you feel like it. And what on Earth can make that urge come alive in any generally meaningful and more broadly relevant fashion?
I fight that worry every time I take a camera out of the apartment: I invariably try to balance reward with effort, and then push that equation away at arm's length out of fear that I may, again, just think of myself as one of those mindless machines that have been programmed to do something and keep doing it, aimlessly, until the battery dies.
Who said it has to be "fun"? (You shouldn't have reminded me, Keith!)
:-)
Post by: Ivophoto on October 24, 2018, 04:21:33 pm
You may be unaware of it, Andrew, but you have pretty much echoed the late Terence Donovan's credo.
It's a part of the tease for the non-pro simply because there is no obligation to make photographs unless you feel like it. And what on Earth can make that urge come alive in any generally meaningful and more broadly relevant fashion?
I fight that worry every time I take a camera out of the apartment: I invariably try to balance reward with effort, and then push that equation away at arm's length out of fear that I may, again, just think of myself as one of those mindless machines that have been programmed to do something and keep doing it, aimlessly, until the battery dies.
Who said it has to be "fun"? (You shouldn't have reminded me, Keith!)
:-)
Fun?
Fun?!
It has to be labour, Sir! Otherwise it can’t be right.
Post by: Chris Kern on October 24, 2018, 06:23:38 pm
Partly, the problem has little to do with photography per se, but with the way that time seems to slip away each day with one damned distraction or another creeping into my life and robbing it of shooting time.
I recall my father, as an old man and long-retired, often complaining that he simply didn't have enough time to do many of the things he intended to do. Struck me as rather odd, since from my middle-aged perspective, he seemed to have all the time in the world.
Now I'm an old man, retired for eight years, and I can't manage to fit in many of the things I used to be able to find time for when I was working 8-10 hours a day (and commuting—Washington, D.C., traffic being what it is—for the better part of another two hours).
Post by: RSL on October 24, 2018, 07:43:58 pm
Post by: KLaban on October 25, 2018, 04:26:04 am
Fun?
Fun?!
It has to be labour, Sir! Otherwise it can’t be right.
If ever - with camera in hand - that sense of fun rears its ugly head I'll typically resort to self flagellation until said sense abates. Ensures my reputation as a leader in the field of extreme vacuity and that of a really, really serious photographer.
Post by: Rob C on October 25, 2018, 12:48:39 pm
If ever - with camera in hand - that sense of fun rears its ugly head I'll typically resort to self flagellation until said sense abates. Ensures my reputation as a leader in the field of extreme vacuity and that of a really, really serious photographer.
Now you know why narrow, leather camera straps got banned, and those silly soft and wide ones became de rigueur! Political correctness: not even permitted a healthy, bracing good thrashing these days! Where's the sense of fun thwarted in that? Bah, humbuggery!
:-)
Post by: Ivophoto on October 25, 2018, 01:28:27 pm
Now you know why narrow, leather camera straps got banned, and those silly soft and wide ones became de rigueur! Political correctness: not even permitted a healthy, bracing good thrashing these days! Where's the sense of fun thwarted in that? Bah, humbuggery!
:-)
I prefer the chrome snake Zeiss Ikon straps. It epilate my neck hair before it grows. Every fun is suppressed in time.
Ok, maybe this will not work for the BDSM fans amongst us.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181025/f97d063f3fca101d246d96d57e7f114b.jpg)
Post by: KLaban on October 25, 2018, 01:41:33 pm
Now you know why narrow, leather camera straps got banned, and those silly soft and wide ones became de rigueur! Political correctness: not even permitted a healthy, bracing good thrashing these days! Where's the sense of fun thwarted in that? Bah, humbuggery!
:-)
Or indeed, a jolly good strapping!
Post by: Rob C on October 25, 2018, 04:09:02 pm
Or indeed, a jolly good strapping!
Um, no.
I usually hear that world in connection with the word lad.
;-)