[rollei_list] Re: Ivor Matanle

  • From: "Marvin" <marvin0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:35:27 +0800

Thanks for your post Carlos. I don't consider all family albums poor nor the
whole of this genre, it is a straw man, which means you are attacking a
position that is not mine. I can think of some photographers who have used
this genre very well.
Also it must be obvious that I too have a family album, since I too am a
human with a father and a daughter.
Further, my photographs in my family album I think are good images well
composed sometimes spontaneous but well taken I think, thoughtful.
You raise a very good point which is that the only way I would know who the
person in the photograph was is if I was told, in this point you are
correct. I also think this is another reason not to post comments with
photographs.
I suppose the point that I am getting at is if one focuses on a family
member as the object of their photography this can be as interesting as the
photography of the family cat, which we have all photographed at some time,
many of us have these posted these  online.
In regards to good photography, Lee Freidlander was one who photographed a
family member well in my opinion. So it can be done.
I don't expect all of us to photograph our wives naked and then post online,
which is a good thing I think!
My point is that I am interested in a certain level of thought that goes
into image making as well as technical skill. That is not just my own
thought but the thought of the vast majority of the academy, with regard to
art/photography. Now if one doesn't agree so be it, I'm happy to side with
the academy, and this is for good reason, what anybody else chooses is up to
them.

Regards,
Marvin Wallace.

 
-----Original Message-----
From: rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of CarlosMFreaza
Sent: 15 December 2009 18:24
To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Ivor Matanle

Marvin:
           It looks like you only consider "family album"
un-thoughtful photographs, I have a different idea about a "family
album", BTW it can contain un-thoughtful photographs, those ones
someone takes to keep special family moments like a birthday party,
but a "family album" can also contain excellent photographs with a
real artistic worth. I have seen some photographers "family albums"
with identical or better quality regarding the photographs they take
for their customers in the studio or outdoors. Wedding photographs are
part of the family album, some of them can reach very high artistic
and technical worth.
If you don't know the photographer personally, the only way you could
know a photograph is about a photographer relative is because the
photographer or someone knowing the photographer family explained it,
this fact add nothing or detracts nothing to the image value, if you
disqualify an image saying it's a "family album" shot, your comment
does not contain a real artistic and/or technical concept to
disqualify it, you are expressing a preconcept that has nothing to do
with images analysis and technical knowhow, a photograph could have a
good or bad framing, a right composition for the situation but without
a special artistic value, the DOF could be interesting or not, the
main focus for a portrait could be right or not, etc.,etc., artisitc
and technical criteria can be applied to any photographs, family album
shot or not.

Carlos


2009/12/15 Marvin <marvin0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Carlos, thanks for your post. I have had some time to think about it. I
want
> to point out that I am trained in analysis of images and additionally
expect
> a little bit of technical knowhow when I look at images.
>
> Un-thoughtful photographs are not my preferred choice, nor is it the type
of
> photography that I would aspire to.
>
> One can always take a photograph on their dinner break or coffee break as
it
> where, often times this is plainly obvious to see, given one has a little
> bit of experience and is a photographer. Often this type of "it will do
> photograph" is accompanied by a short anecdote, probably because the image
> doesn't speak for itself.
>
> Now I don't expect everyone to understand or be able to analyze at this
> level, I suppose as Mark pointed out there is no determiner for taste, in
> one way he's right, since some enjoy Shakespeare and others Steven King. I
> like them both, but I do know which one I aspire to.
>
> As you point out father and daughter are valuable subjects and indeed I
have
> both. Though I don't see galleries too often display family albums.
> My final comment is your camera is your own you take photographs of what
you
> want. What concern is it of mine. From what I have seen of your
photographs
> technically they are very good.
> It is good that we are not too defensive as we might have something to
learn
> from one another.
> Thanks again for your post.
> Marvin.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:rollei_list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of CarlosMFreaza
> Sent: 13 December 2009 09:39
> To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Ivor Matanle
>
> Father and daughter are human beings like any other human being and
> then a valuable photographic subject, a photographer can take bad,
> mediocre, good, very good, excellent and outstanding photographs about
> his father and daughter as regarding any other human being too; you
> can judge the family shots according their artistic value as for any
> other image or you can have a preconception to disqualify them due to
> that preconception and this way disqualifying  your objectivity and
> your own artistic criteria.  I hope your family album could show some
> artistic value to deserve your hope to sell it.
>
> Carlos
>
> 2009/12/12 Marvin <marvin0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>> Mark the good news is that if people paid for those photos, then there is
>> still hope for me. Why anyone would pay for photos of his father and
>> daughter is truly beyond me, I could always try and sell my family album!
>> Regards,
>> Marvin Wallace.
>>
>>
>>
>>
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