Photo Fight Club #2: Bullock v. Adams

[Justin Black]

The Bullock picture stands to me out because it is a great composition and print that hasn't been knocked off endlessly. The Adams picture is an incredible print (I've seen a few originals), but I've seen this composition improved upon. Of course, no one had done it better when Ansel made his version. At the end of the day, I just love Bullock's work because he was much more open to unorthodox approaches to photography and embraced experimentation. The variety of style in his work is as impressive as Adams' masterful control of the process. Like Minor White, Bullock deserves more respect.

[timparkin]

For all those people who were unable to compare two photographs with each other in order to make selection, could you answer the following question?

How do you go about choosing images for your own portfolio? Are all you images equal but the portfolio is chosen on subject matter?

For myself, I know that some of my photos are poor and some (very few) make me very happy indeed. I can apply these same reactions to other people's photographs also. This doesn't mean that I now 'know' which is better; I only know which one I think is better.

I'm quite interested in the results of discussions like this because it's enlightening sometimes to see how other peoples subjective answers differ from you own and why. The overall result will reflect the subjective tendencies of the community.

Tim

[lostcoyote]

tim,

the opening post had set up the two pictures as a contest. i believe that both images are simply exceptional images and stand on their own feet over time without the need to say that one is better than the other because [in my opinion, irregardless of the creators status and popularity] one is not better than the other. people may "like" one image better but that is personal bias and really has nothihng to do with saying that one image is universally better than the other. that's sort of what gets implied when a judge comes along and declares one a winner and the other a loser. not only is a declaration made for all to hear, but the judges declaration often has influence upon other people... and that just is not really fair.

now if it was a case of putting up one exceptional landscape image and a really poor landscape image, then that would be a whole different matter... which is what happens when we might put together a group of images out of our own personal reservior of images we have in our boxes to pull from. i don't know of one photographer out there that shoots 100% excetional images.... more like 1-5% and so we pick and choose based on feelings, right? are the feelings universal tho? i guess that's my complaint here.

just this dusty old coyotes opinion here of course

[timparkin]

tim,

the opening post had set up the two pictures as a contest. i believe that both images are simply exceptional images and stand on their own feet over time without the need to say that one is better than the other because [in my opinion, irregardless of the creators status and popularity] one is not better than the other. people may "like" one image better but that is personal bias and really has nothihng to do with saying that one image is universally better than the other. that's sort of what gets implied when a judge comes along and declares one a winner and the other a loser. not only is a declaration made for all to hear, but the judges declaration often has influence upon other people... and that just is not really fair.

..snip..

just this dusty old coyotes opinion here of course

I'd hope that anybody seeing a 'competition' like this knows that there is no universal truth that can say one thing is better than another. Perhaps there should be a sticky somewhere that says.. "Remember, opinions are like blah blah blah".

Do some people really think that there can be an absolute scale of images without given the context of a person or group of people and an environment (i.e. the environment here is so lacking that it's fairly neutral - but if it was a boiling hot day, people might like pictures of water or ice? Also people get asked to judge given some criteria)?

Are people unsure whether to make a decision because they don't feel qualified to judge? (if so who is qualified and why do you need to be qualified to have an opinion?)

I know where you are coming from but I just hoped that in a forum like this then some things don't need saying.

Tim

[Tim Hyde]

there is no universal truth that can say one thing is better than another

Yes, but there is something called a market. Both images sold at Sotheby's auction in 2007--both at a fair amount over estimate. Adams went for $60,000 and Bullock's for $12,000.