[pure-silver] Re: The Quest and My Heresy??
- From: "Ralph W. Lambrecht" <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: PureSilverNew <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 18:26:50 +0100
Snoopy
Let's ask ourselves, why do we create images, and why have we chosen
photography to do so. The answers might be surprising.
Once we did that, let's think back and remember what was first in our image
making career, the camera or the art. In other words, did we buy a camera,
because we liked the technology of photography, and the love of art came
later. Or did we intent to create art first, and then decided to do it
through photography? Was our wish to create art a conscious decision, or is
it an add-on, and we are not even sure anymore when this need was born? Once
we have the honest answer to this second question, let's compare it with the
answer to the first question, and see if it matches.
Now, let's assume the wish to create art came first and the selection to do
it through photography came second (rarely the case). If it is so, we're OK,
and a minimum understanding of the surrounding technology is all we need to
create great images.
If however, the quest for art came second (mostly the case), we need to
answer yet another serious question. Why do we want to create art? Do we
have to justify our hobby through the claim of art? Is art work, hobby, fun,
a mission? What is art anyway, and do we have to carry this burden? Is it
spoiling the hobby?
Well, I did this all for me, and I tell you, art is difficult to define,
very hard to do and rarely appreciated enough. Becoming a solid craftsman
and enjoying the fruit of your labor is very satisfying too. You can be good
at something and enjoy it to the fullest without creating art.
Don't let your surroundings tell you where your goals should be. But if you
really need to become an artist (and who knows, you might be one already)
then go and join them. Seek them out and work with them, learn from them.
Join an art school, go to workshop after workshop (not the technical ones)
or get books from and about artist and their work. You don't need to copy
them, but you must become part of it. Art might be created in isolation,
artist rarely are.
But before you do all of that, ask yourself again "Must my photography be
art" or is competent photography OK too.
Regards
Ralph W. Lambrecht
http://www.darkroomagic.com
On 2006-12-15 10:54, "Snoopy" <snoopy@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dear Adrienne,
>
> sorry if I am being a heretic (feel free to burn
> me at the satke) but I myself always find myself with two hearts in my chest.
>
> Firstly I want to make good pictures (note: not
> necessarily good prints) and I do feel that most
> people, also some on the list here, are far too
> technical in their approach. For a lot of people
> good pictures boil down to printing technique and
> chemistry. Or lots of pixels and PhotoShop. Or
> expensive ameras and even more expensive lenses.
> At the Photoclub especially the digital crowd
> just drones on and on about their cameras and not
> about the pictures taken with them, I sometimes
> wonder if they actually take pictures or just get
> their kick reading the spec sheet!
>
> My point is: is it really worthwhile for you to
> try and make prints that look like someone elses
> by going down the same "technical route" what
> with big cameras and unsharp masks and/or loads
> of pixels etc. ?? Is this the way you should "run" _your_ hobby?
>
> Photography (well, the way we do it) is a unique
> pastime in that you need specific technical
> skills and thorough working habits and procedures
> in order to produce an acceptable quality.
>
> But if you try to emulate someone else I think
> you simply get frustrated. At some point, after
> having seen tons of grand and fabulous prints by
> the Grand Masters and Mistresses I just gave up
> "trying to be like them". The problem being:
> there is obviously no "right way" - everyone has
> their on style, their own "look" of the prints
> etc. So I am stuck with having to chose a Grand
> Master to follow plus all the technical challenges thrown in on top.
>
> And some of the renowned pphotographers never did
> their own darkroom work. Helmut Newton and James Nachtwey for example.
>
> So my second heart is now: try to take good
> pictures which are "medium-indpendent". I try to
> capture the emotions, the look, the scene , the
> moment and I simply do my processing to ensure
> that the pictures are "consumable" in an
> acceptable form. Oh, sure, I try to get things
> "right" with contrasts, gray scales, no dust, no
> scratches and some such, but I only really see
> this as the "substrate" on which good pictures grow.
>
> My friend Lance does a lot of Baryt prints. They
> are wonderful - because he captures the souls of
> his models and his message is clear. I do RC
> prints and my critics assure me that my message
> also comes over (sometimes better, more often
> worse). But I do not feel "hampered" by the
> paper. I feel hampered due to lack of talent, not technical skills.
>
> By the way - this attitude of trying rto simply
> taker "good pictures" i.e. those that transport a
> "message", have a "deeper sense", emotional depth
> etc. is a kind of neat way to escape the entire
> film vs. digital debate. I don´t give a damn how
> the picture got into the camera. Whats important
> is what COMES OUT OF THE FINAL PICTURE to reach ME.
>
> And I admit it: I have never never ever made a
> print and/or picture I am truly happy with. And I
> have been trying for nearly 30 years now! Oh, my
> models, my friends etc., everyone I take them for
> are happy, very happy indeed. But I am NEVER happy.
>
> It is an eternal quest. Maybe a curse. But it has
> very little to do with unsharp masks, chemistry
> or pixels. If I feel my messagewould come over
> better if the print were sharper, only then would
> I dig out unsharp masks and all the good stuff.
>
> So the questuion to you is: would you really be
> happier if you produced prints that looked like someones elses?
>
> Just a thought.
>
> Have a nice weekend...and thank you lots for all
> of your postings on pure-silver, always wonderful to read...
>
> Love,
> Snoopy
>
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