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Thread: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

  1. #81
    mandoman7's Avatar
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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    Quote Originally Posted by John NYC View Post
    No one here has criticized the imagery as far as I can see. What exactly is your point?
    Boy, these are testy waters! No offense was meant to anyone in particular. The point was that its easy to get sidetracked with lens particulars, and what others might be saying about them, and then possibly losing sight of the original intention. To put it another way, I like the shots where the guy takes a lens that is nothing special and makes something creative and interesting with it. Maybe this isn't the place for such an interjection...
    John Youngblood
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  2. #82
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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    I've been known to step on the soapbox and get a bit pedantic...

    But as long as I have a few minutes to waste this morning, I'll elaborate. After about 10 years of doing portraits in the 80's and early 90's, I had a revelation which was that the effective portraits seemed to happen when I gave myself over to the process, and let go of certain preconditions that I might have started out with. And part of that process was to find a place of empathy and understanding with the subject. A place of true compassion at least for the duration of the session. I thought about it for a few years, and then realized that the place I was looking for was often found in the third question.

    Once you get your lights up and the subject in position, as portrait photographers know, the air can get heavy. Most photographers develop some sort of repartee to lighten the atmosphere. What I found, though, was that, after a question and a followup, their 2nd answer often contained a clue to a place of departure. But to hear this clue you had to really be listening. . What you might hear would be a hint of how they felt about some trying situation in their life. When I heard it, I would offer a third question which would give the subject the answer they were looking for; was I really listening?

    Eventually I came to realize that what I was talking about was one of the best gifts you can give to another person in many contexts; the gift of listening. But in the portrait situation, however, it had magical effects on people's faces. People's eyes light up when they feel they are with a kindred spirit. If the third question showed that you had heard something about their frustration and were honestly curious about it, I guarantee that you'll then hear the rest of the story at length, if your interest is genuine. To do this you have to have your lighting and camera questions resolved, of course. You'll lose the subject quickly if you go there. Its easy to tell, on the other hand, if the subject is feeling like they are in a welcome place.

    In the rest of my encounters, I'm not known as a particularly good listener , but I've found that it definitely pays off in the portrait session.
    John Youngblood
    www.jyoungblood.com

  3. #83

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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    Well it seems like the mods did their usual trick of deleting all the posts they didn't want to see, including the one that showed the true colors of the OP and people's reactions to that, including Helen's.

    Pretty tired of the selective censorship around here.

  4. #84

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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    I didn't go back and look for censorship... but if that's really what's happening then why do we bother to post our opinions on forums at all?

  5. #85

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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    There were at least 6 posts from yesterday that have vanished altogether. It seems the moderators have 2 levels of deletion. The ones that are are deleted that have a placeholder and an explanation of why it was deleted. And those that just disappear with no trace with no explanation. The ones missing here fall into the 2nd category, which smells a little bit like a cover up.

  6. #86

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    Quote Originally Posted by Old-N-Feeble View Post
    I didn't go back and look for censorship... but if that's really what's happening then why do we bother to post our opinions on forums at all?
    By censorship I mean deleting many many posts in this case without a trace.

    I think I am done with this place. Bye.

  7. #87

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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    Quote Originally Posted by John NYC View Post
    By censorship I mean deleting many many posts in this case without a trace.
    I don't think anyone likes, or appreciates, that type of moderation. While I completely agree that many posts should be moderated I don't agree that they should simply vanish. That's just too close to "Big Brother" control and "Newspeak", IMHO.

    The above stated, I understand why some of my posts should be moderated... I'm half brain-dead these days and make a jerk of myself without realizing it at the time.

    Sorry Mods/Admins but that's the way many of us feel... even some who won't speak up.

  8. #88
    joseph
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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    It's like being Lenin in a picture of Stalin.

    John, don't swell the ranks of those who have left, nothing to be gained by that..

  9. #89
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Miller View Post
    There were at least 6 posts from yesterday that have vanished altogether. It seems the moderators have 2 levels of deletion. The ones that are are deleted that have a placeholder and an explanation of why it was deleted. And those that just disappear with no trace with no explanation. The ones missing here fall into the 2nd category, which smells a little bit like a cover up.
    I agree, and this is disturbing. I find myself replying to insults and accusations that weren't there anymore, and some of my points about technical aspects of the article disappeared. There is also contentiousness running through the tread with no trace of how that contentiousness came to be.

    Rude entries into other threads (far less rude than some here) are removed with that placeholder explanation of why it was removed. That I can accept as "moderating". These just disappeared without a trace. This isn't moderating, it's sanitizing and concealing the nature of the situation.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

  10. #90
    Mark Sawyer's Avatar
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    Re: New article: Large format lenses for portraits

    Quote Originally Posted by Old-N-Feeble View Post
    I don't think anyone likes, or appreciates, that type of moderation. While I completely agree that many posts should be moderated I don't agree that they should simply vanish. That's just too close to "Big Brother" control and "Newspeak", IMHO.

    The above stated, I understand why some of my posts should be moderated... I'm half brain-dead these days and make a jerk of myself without realizing it at the time.

    Sorry Mods/Admins but that's the way many of us feel... even some who won't speak up.
    I can understand the need for moderating too. But when one side throws out insulting and offensive statements, then the tone heats up, and finally the initial insults disappear, it leave a misimpression about why the heat is there.
    "I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."

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