This is a personal take as I've historically struggled to recognise any artstic merit in my snap shots. But the more I dwell on it, the more I recognise the 'art' of a photographer as their collective work over time, very seldom a single image or worse yet a deck of 10 images on socials.
When you start considering a photographer's collective work then a single documentary photo, or lighthearted/organic/non-constructed/pick your preferred word... image can transend that limitated taxonomy. Look at it as part of a life's work and you will always see more of the mind and motivation of the photographer. You can then bring this enhanced understanding back to the individual image and get more out of it.
I believe I've ended up looking at it this way because I will always choose to know more about the creator and don't just want to consume art by looking at what has been created in isolation.
That's a wonderful approach. The belief or trust in a creator/artist will be growingly more important as time goes by for reasons that you mentioned + AI. (Ex: the only way to believe an image is "real" or not will solely rely on the trust an audience holds to the creator/artist once AI really gets perfected)
I think these photos are great and great article. I don't have a big following though so I can only try to imagine the difficulty of posting something different to a large following. This is why sometimes though I dislike using the term street photographer because sometimes I just want to take pictures of what's in front of me and share it because I like it.
"Photography: An act of recordation or art?" I think you know this is absolutely a false dichotomy.
Every photograph you take involves a thousand different decisions - not least light, lens and location - that make it a piece of art. An eye helps too, which you have.
On a different note: a real artist will mention their influences off-handedly, as if clearing their throat before moving on to the main conversation, because everyone knows who the true masters are, or should. I found the references to other photographers in this piece leaden and (in the case of "a bad version of Todd Hido") caught a glimpse of self-pity. You already have a well-enough honed internal critic (i.e. your taste); don't give up your autonomy as an artist by conjuring up comparisons from a place of weakness then putting them down in print.
There's definitely a spectrum in between so yes it's a false dichotomy if you put it that way. They are polar opposites though in my opinion-- if you know the arguments of great photographers well enough they lean heavily into either, ride or die. But ironically, as I pointed out, even somebody like Eggleston who represents a "democratic" approach, made statements that contradict his position very much. Knowing this myself, it's an article that intentionally utilizes that argument for discussion/educations sake. I'm glad you understand :)
To justify myself- It wasn't self-pity. I was lightheartedly being self-aware. There's no way I can suddenly be as coherent as Todd after a 1 week road trip with a camera :) That's just how it is and I accept that.
I talk about my influences all the time so I try not to mention them in all of my articles or videos. I like studying different artists that I necessarily don't agree with or like in terms of visual style too. It helps me understand the world of art better, and who I am or want to be within that world. They pop up in my conversations because that's the value of knowledge.
Also as you said yourself I believe I'm pretty good at being a critic of myself, there's no other way of being where I'm at today practically with no mentorship or education on the medium.
I thought it'd simply be a good topic to write about, because photographers or viewers of photography can get really narrow sighted about the position they take within the spectrum (documentarian↔︎art). Within this spectrum I personally like trying new things out all the time, but I can see how that can be perceived as weakness or laziness. Anyways I thank you for the complements, and I know where you're coming from with your feedback, thank you!
Thanks for a very considered reply. I like your stuff. There's a quote somewhere (I can't remember who said it): "I'd rather listen to Keith Richards fall down stairs holding a guitar than anything else, and that includes Chuck Berry - and Keith comes from Chuck Berry."
This really connected with me. I’ve had similar thinking about what I share and have defaulted to temporary story type posts rather than committing to something of greater permanence. I have no significant following or audience so the back and forth about a decision like this lies solely with me. I believe you made a good decision and I really enjoyed the photos you shared, even though they aren’t images I have some to expect from you. It broadened my idea of you as a photographic artist and maybe that’s the point.
I'm glad this resonated with you. But that's exactly what I wanted to convey, having an audience or not these are important thoughts that go through a photographer's mind. Personally I like to expand horizons, try new things out, learn from mistakes, and adjust accordingly.
This is a personal take as I've historically struggled to recognise any artstic merit in my snap shots. But the more I dwell on it, the more I recognise the 'art' of a photographer as their collective work over time, very seldom a single image or worse yet a deck of 10 images on socials.
When you start considering a photographer's collective work then a single documentary photo, or lighthearted/organic/non-constructed/pick your preferred word... image can transend that limitated taxonomy. Look at it as part of a life's work and you will always see more of the mind and motivation of the photographer. You can then bring this enhanced understanding back to the individual image and get more out of it.
I believe I've ended up looking at it this way because I will always choose to know more about the creator and don't just want to consume art by looking at what has been created in isolation.
That's a wonderful approach. The belief or trust in a creator/artist will be growingly more important as time goes by for reasons that you mentioned + AI. (Ex: the only way to believe an image is "real" or not will solely rely on the trust an audience holds to the creator/artist once AI really gets perfected)
Very nice photographs. You totally nailed it about the difficulty in what type of photographer you are. I have this internal monologue most days.
great read and some lovely shots man
Hey Wes, thanks for the feedback man
I think these photos are great and great article. I don't have a big following though so I can only try to imagine the difficulty of posting something different to a large following. This is why sometimes though I dislike using the term street photographer because sometimes I just want to take pictures of what's in front of me and share it because I like it.
Heavily agreed-- that's why I just call myself a candid photographer.
I can't imagine how really great photographers change formats depending on projects without hesitation. Joel Meyerowitz is a good example imo
"Photography: An act of recordation or art?" I think you know this is absolutely a false dichotomy.
Every photograph you take involves a thousand different decisions - not least light, lens and location - that make it a piece of art. An eye helps too, which you have.
On a different note: a real artist will mention their influences off-handedly, as if clearing their throat before moving on to the main conversation, because everyone knows who the true masters are, or should. I found the references to other photographers in this piece leaden and (in the case of "a bad version of Todd Hido") caught a glimpse of self-pity. You already have a well-enough honed internal critic (i.e. your taste); don't give up your autonomy as an artist by conjuring up comparisons from a place of weakness then putting them down in print.
There's definitely a spectrum in between so yes it's a false dichotomy if you put it that way. They are polar opposites though in my opinion-- if you know the arguments of great photographers well enough they lean heavily into either, ride or die. But ironically, as I pointed out, even somebody like Eggleston who represents a "democratic" approach, made statements that contradict his position very much. Knowing this myself, it's an article that intentionally utilizes that argument for discussion/educations sake. I'm glad you understand :)
To justify myself- It wasn't self-pity. I was lightheartedly being self-aware. There's no way I can suddenly be as coherent as Todd after a 1 week road trip with a camera :) That's just how it is and I accept that.
I talk about my influences all the time so I try not to mention them in all of my articles or videos. I like studying different artists that I necessarily don't agree with or like in terms of visual style too. It helps me understand the world of art better, and who I am or want to be within that world. They pop up in my conversations because that's the value of knowledge.
Also as you said yourself I believe I'm pretty good at being a critic of myself, there's no other way of being where I'm at today practically with no mentorship or education on the medium.
I thought it'd simply be a good topic to write about, because photographers or viewers of photography can get really narrow sighted about the position they take within the spectrum (documentarian↔︎art). Within this spectrum I personally like trying new things out all the time, but I can see how that can be perceived as weakness or laziness. Anyways I thank you for the complements, and I know where you're coming from with your feedback, thank you!
Thanks for a very considered reply. I like your stuff. There's a quote somewhere (I can't remember who said it): "I'd rather listen to Keith Richards fall down stairs holding a guitar than anything else, and that includes Chuck Berry - and Keith comes from Chuck Berry."
This really connected with me. I’ve had similar thinking about what I share and have defaulted to temporary story type posts rather than committing to something of greater permanence. I have no significant following or audience so the back and forth about a decision like this lies solely with me. I believe you made a good decision and I really enjoyed the photos you shared, even though they aren’t images I have some to expect from you. It broadened my idea of you as a photographic artist and maybe that’s the point.
I'm glad this resonated with you. But that's exactly what I wanted to convey, having an audience or not these are important thoughts that go through a photographer's mind. Personally I like to expand horizons, try new things out, learn from mistakes, and adjust accordingly.
Thank you