Video - why?

[donbga]

That's not video.

What do you mean, that's not video?

[GrahamBy]

The attached pic came about due to blowing it badly and then thinking, "Hey, I like that."

Perfection may be the enemy of greatness.

Or to be less grandiloquent, controlling everything can prevent happy accidents

[Rob C]

Perfection may be the enemy of greatness.

Or to be less grandiloquent, controlling everything can prevent happy accidents

Bailey said as much in that interview where he was asked whether he planned photoshoots, and replied that were he to do so, then he'd get somebody else to do them for him.

Sarah Moon's mantra has ever been in praise of the accident, of something that doesn't exist existing for the moment it takes to catch it. Never realised; photography must, spiritually speaking, be akin to atomic research for the infinitely tiny particle that exists for the even more infinitely tiny moment. Only we don't need several miles of expensive circuit to get there.

;-)

Rob

[Justinr]

Bailey said as much in that interview where he was asked whether he planned photoshoots, and repllied that were he to do so, then he'd get somebody else to do them for him.

Sarah Moon's mantra has ever been in praise of the accident, of something that doesn't exist existing for the moment it takes to catch it. Never realised; photography must, spiritually speaking, be akin to atomic research for the infinitely tiny particle that exists for the even more infinitely tiny moment. Only we don't need several miles of expensive circuit to get there.

;-)

Rob

It's pointless going to a wedding, event, case study etc etc without a plan.

[GrahamBy]

It's pointless going to a wedding, event, case study etc etc without a plan.

Guess I wasted my Saturday night then. People who got the photos seemed happy though...

Person A may need a plan, person B may not. Or it might depend on the circumstances.

[Telecaster]

My basic plan when it comes to many things is: wing it. 

-Dave-

[Rob C]

My basic plan when it comes to many things is: wing it. 

-Dave-

It's how to get spontaneity - pretty much by definition. Which is why so much advertising material is relatively dull: over-produced, over-intellectualised, over-retouched. It's why Annie L. thinks her covers suck (relatively) whereas her inside pages material is where she's at.

There is a downside, however: working without a 'script' is great when you get lucky, but you also carry the can when you bomb, which you can do for all sorts of reasons beyond your control. One of the purposes of having an art director around is to share the blame at those times.

;-)

Rob C

[Justinr]

Guess I wasted my Saturday night then. People who got the photos seemed happy though...

Person A may need a plan, person B may not. Or it might depend on the circumstances.

You never know, they might have been happier still if you had had a plan. 

Before attending any event or shoot I tend to put together a list facts about about it beforehand and talk to the customer to try and find out what they are trying to achieve, how the images are to be used and so on. Being prepared like this can take an awful lot of stress out of the situation on the day and help produce a result that is appreciated by everyone. I rather feel that just turning up with a camera and trying to blag your way through is not the way forward if you are trying to do a, dare I say it, professional job. Knowing the subject is also a great help and even spending time brushing up on rock crushers helped me get better images of one company's product because I knew what the machine was doing and could highlight the important features.

A plan is a list of actions, usually those actions turn out to be nothing like you envisaged they would be, but that doesn't mean to say  that planning is an invalid or wasted activity, I have certainly never found it to be.

[Rob C]

My basic plan when it comes to many things is: wing it. 

-Dave-

You are, of course, in good company:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQUp02XfAM

Prick up the ears at 3.30.

;-)

Rob

[Telecaster]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQUp02XfAM

Prick up the ears at 3.30.

;-)

"To go out empty." I like that. Nice little mindbender of a photo at ~3:35 too. Seeing something new is IMO what it's all about. (Working to someone else's brief is also what it's often about if you're a pro, but that's not my concern.)

-Dave-

[GrahamBy]

Great video :-)

[mbaginy]

Great video :-)

I agree, enjoyed Jay's descriptions enormously!

[Rob C]

Glad you enjoyed it, folks.

I think it's on this vid but might be on another, where he tells of having bought his building in the 50s, when nobody else wanted to buy it.

Couldn't help thinking of the 80s when we moved out to live here in the Balearics. There used to be a relatively modest yacht club existing in the village at the time, and I was interested in buying a Glastron for running around the Bay now and then. Spoke with the agents here, got a price I could afford without pain, and then got on to the delicate matter of a mooring. The only thing I could get from the agency was: don't worry about it, we'll sort something out for you later. I was still running a business then, and that wasn't something I wasn't about to swallow, so I didn't bite.

The agent (Commodore of the club) ended up offering my wife and I life-membership of the new, expanded club that was going to be built on a huge set of new jetties and walkways. I asked advice from a friend with whom we used to cruise and he said don't touch it! Another friend/client back in Scotland who had a massive Oyster in Turkey said the same, adding that marinas almost always take down their investors with them.

That offered membership was for £ 340. I was also offered the chance of buying a berth.

Today, I'm told membership starts at around £ 23,000, with a waiting list, and you can't find a berth for love nor money, the last one I knew about going for over £ 100,000.

Had I been rash I would also now have been rich, with a fine berth-rental income stream making the bankers' insulting interest rates irrelevant.

Who knew? Clearly, not I!

Rob

[mbaginy]

I think it's on this vid but might be on another, where he tells of having bought his building in the 50s, when nobody else wanted to buy it.

I recall Jay mentioning that too.  Wasn't that a video with Michael?  I need to re-view those old videos.

[Justinr]

You are, of course, in good company:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQUp02XfAM

Prick up the ears at 3.30.

;-)

Rob

Some nice photos but it's rather a list of cliches that any veteran of a camera clubs will have heard before. Not knocking camera clubs, I'll leave that to others who have been far more active in that field in past and I certainly benefited from being a member anyway, but his point about composition being just about cropping is demonstrably incorrect. As we all know the composition of any shot can be greatly altered by moving to either side as well as in and out, up and down or whatever to alter the distribution and dominance of the elements.  Perhaps he just wants to keep that to himself. 

[GrahamBy]

I think it's on this vid but might be on another, where he tells of having bought his building in the 50s, when nobody else wanted to buy it.

1966, when it was in the middle of a violent slum, apparently. But then if you want a secure building to live in, an ex-bank is probably one of the better options

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania_Bank_Building_(New_York_City)

BTW, given that he bought at $102K in 1966 and sold at $55million in 2015, that's an annualised return of 13.7%. That is certainly considerably better than any investment fund or, for eg, the achievements of Donald Trump, but it isn't as stunning as my gut reaction suggested.

[Rob C]

1966, when it was in the middle of a violent slum, apparently. But then if you want a secure building to live in, an ex-bank is probably one of the better options

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania_Bank_Building_(New_York_City)

BTW, given that he bought at $102K in 1966 and sold at $55million in 2015, that's an annualised return of 13.7%. That is certainly considerably better than any investment fund or, for eg, the achievements of Donald Trump, but it isn't as stunning as my gut reaction suggested.

Regarding the building: there was an article in the BJP many years ago on Bob Carlos Clarke (who as a bit of an erotic - and advertising - photographer in London, did quite well for himself until he hit problems that ended in death), where he mentions that he made far more money from changing/selling property than he ever made in photography. Kinda figures... I think there could be many echoes.

Rob

[Telecaster]

…but his point about composition being just about cropping is demonstrably incorrect. As we all know the composition of any shot can be greatly altered by moving to either side as well as in and out, up and down or whatever to alter the distribution and dominance of the elements.

I took "moving to either side as well as [etc.]" to be part of what Maisal meant by "cropping." I'd use the term "framing" myself, though.

-Dave-

[Rob C]

I took "moving to either side as well as [etc.]" to be part of what Maisal meant by "cropping." I'd use the term "framing" myself, though.

-Dave-

I had assumed, as did you, that to be obvious. But being obvious doesn't always mean it's obvious to everyone... that's why there are artists and non-artists, great visionaries and those living in a state of permanent anger at life's dealing of the cards. Then there are those constantly on the hunt for controversy, for argument; it's a wonderful, surpising world. If it really is a world: might actually be a massive kaleidoscope.

;-)

Rob

[Justinr]

I took "moving to either side as well as [etc.]" to be part of what Maisal meant by "cropping." I'd use the term "framing" myself, though.

-Dave-

As I said, a list of cliches and in the segment I referred to he was talking purely about cropping..

Still, it's handy that  LuLa is here or I would never have come across a video informing me of either such considerations when taking a photo.