Violence in Ecuador

[Ivo_B]

No, by all of us, Ivo.

Don’t turn things upside down, Rob. Come on.

[RSL]

Actually, it's not worth arguing about. Everybody has a right to his own beliefs and opinions. Even Jackie Higgins's book The World Atlas of Street Photography thinks a picture of a street is street photography. It's unfortunate that a genre that deals with meaningful interactions between people and people and their environment, going about their business without realizing they're being photographed was given such a misleading name. Nothing we can do about it now.

[Ivo_B]

Actually, it's not worth arguing about. Everybody has a right to his own beliefs and opinions. Even Jackie Higgins's book The World Atlas of Street Photography thinks a picture of a street is street photography. It's unfortunate that a genre that deals with meaningful interactions between people and people and their environment, going about their business without realizing they're being photographed was given such a misleading name. Nothing we can do about it now.

Your description of street is in a part of the world a privacy offense.
That’s why it is good genre rules are not carved in stone.

[Rob C]

Your description of street is in a part of the world a privacy offense.
That’s why it is good genre rules are not carved in stone.

You are talking about legality here, not the kind of image, and they are totally different matters, Ivo.

Rob

[Rob C]

Rob, you are free to pigeonhole to your heart's content. Each to their own. Here, at least, we all get a say.

Yes, absolutely, but nobody here has yet come up with a reasonable reason why a working, understandable index of types should be thought a bad thing.

That is in no way any kind of dictat as to what or how anybody must shoot anything; it is only a working description of what's what. Better yet, it allows a datum, once one does a wee bit of reading about it, as to what that what might actually be, and where, in the broader scheme of things, own's own images may  be headed. Isn't it interesting to know? Living in a vacuum of self is not a good idea, by and large.

Rob

[Ivo_B]

Yes, absolutely, but nobody here has yet come up with a reasonable reason why a working, understandable index of types should be thought a bad thing.

That is in no way any kind of dictat as to what or how anybody must shoot anything; it is only a working description of what's what. Better yet, it allows a datum, once one does a wee bit of reading about it, as to what that what might actually be, and where, in the broader scheme of things, own's own images may  be headed. Isn't it interesting to know? Living in a vacuum of self is not a good idea, by and large.

Rob

And who lives in what vacuum?

[RSL]

Your description of street is in a part of the world a privacy offense.
That’s why it is good genre rules are not carved in stone.

The problem, Ivo, is with that "part of the world," not with street photography. Yes, it's a heartbreaker that HCB's France would do such a thing. But there you are. I've been around for nearly 90 years and I can tell you that "part of the world," including parts of the United States, has gotten stupider and stupider as we go along.

[KLaban]

Yes, absolutely, but nobody here has yet come up with a reasonable reason why a working, understandable index of types should be thought a bad thing.

That is in no way any kind of dictat as to what or how anybody must shoot anything; it is only a working description of what's what. Better yet, it allows a datum, once one does a wee bit of reading about it, as to what that what might actually be, and where, in the broader scheme of things, own's own images may  be headed. Isn't it interesting to know? Living in a vacuum of self is not a good idea, by and large.

Rob

Good luck with getting agreement here on that index of types.

;-)

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I don't care much for categories in photography, but for those that like them, maybe Rob's "attempted street-cum-photojournalism" is worth it's own showcase?

[RSL]

Good luck with getting agreement here on that index of types.

;-)

You can say that again, Keith. It's pretty obvious. I'd bet we even could get into a pretty serious argument about what Impressionism is.

[Rob C]

And who lives in what vacuum?

The facile reply would be moi, but it would be incorrect.

The mind can live in a different world to the body - if one is lucky. Living surrounded by alcoholics is not a wonderful experience unless you happen to be one too; spending one's days discussing football and ex-wives is no more rewarding, and neither would a permanent diet of plumber, electrician or photographer talk be very healthy for too long, though the first couple of options might be more useful to anyone in the long run.

Fortunately, I went to boarding school, which I detested, but it did teach me early the value and personal technique of spiritual levitation and rising above the horrors of the quotidian.

And salvation lies not in movement across continents and in crowds; you always end up meeting the same guy in the bathroom mirror.

[Ivo_B]

The facile reply would be moi, but it would be incorrect.

The mind can live in a different world to the body - if one is lucky. Living surrounded by alcoholics is not a wonderful experience unless you happen to be one too; spending one's days discussing football and ex-wives is no more rewarding, and neither would a permanent diet of plumber, electrician or photographer talk be very healthy for too long, though the first couple of options might be more useful to anyone in the long run.

Fortunately, I went to boarding school, which I detested, but it did teach me early the value and personal technique of spiritual levitation and rising above the horrors of the quotidian.

And salvation lies not in movement across continents and in crowds; you always end up meeting the same guy in the bathroom mirror.

I agree with your contemplation, and I think we have more common ground than expected.

As long as the man in the mirror blinks his eye, I’m reasonably happy.

[KLaban]

You can say that again, Keith. It's pretty obvious. I'd bet we even could get into a pretty serious argument about what Impressionism is.

Russ, there are those here who argue about anything and everything...










...myself included!

;-)

[RSL]

Russ, there are those here who argue about anything and everything...










...myself included!

;-)

Yeah. I've noticed that. 

[Ivo_B]

The problem, Ivo, is with that "part of the world," not with street photography. Yes, it's a heartbreaker that HCB's France would do such a thing. But there you are. I've been around for nearly 90 years and I can tell you that "part of the world," including parts of the United States, has gotten stupider and stupider as we go along.

Well, Jerry Lee Lewis was also very surprised about the opinion of ‘the world’ when he left his South American bubble.

[Rob C]

I don't care much for categories in photography, but for those that like them, maybe Rob's "attempted street-cum-photojournalism" is worth it's own showcase?

Rip van Winkle!

It's already here, and living in the Street box - or pigeonhole, depending on noun of choice. Personally, I tend to frequent the sub-genre of street art which is dedicated to enjoying the metaphysical aspects of the actual locations rather than those based on human behaviour which I find more and more inexplicable, thus the art of photographing it less and less inviting and more and more difficult for me to do.

Perhaps all is illusion, which may account for the blank expressions with which much of what I find interesting in this photographic world rewards others.

Kids know about this: that's why they create secret societies. Sadly, with age, disillusion. It's sort of echoed in the reverse of the French saying: si jeunesse savait et vieillesse pouvait.

Rob

[Ivo_B]

When I was doing Photojournalism 🙄, I was in Brussel for an exhibition of Brancusi.

Something to think about:

[Rob C]

Good luck with getting agreement here on that index of types.

;-)

Hope lives until it dies!

:-)

[RSL]

Well, Jerry Lee Lewis was also very surprised about the opinion of ‘the world’ when he left his South American bubble.

Not sure what that has to do with anything, but okay.

[KLaban]

When asked what kind of photography I do I'll answer that I spend half of my photographic life in abandoned buildings and the other half photographing people and interacting with them.

If that's a vacuum then so be it, but it is my real-world vacuum.