+2 Vaughn!
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
-Hunter S. Thompson
+2 Vaughn!
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
-Hunter S. Thompson
On the other side of the dime is the adage: An artist will create when the pain of not creating gets too big. So I am not a lazy artist, I just have a high tolerance for pain...
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
The personal delineation of boring is as critical to the evolvement of a photographer as the mastery of ones materials. Both take considerable time, effort and dedication to the nth degree. Anyone that has picked up a camera and used it has gone down this road. The differentiation of those that have evolved past "boring" is remarkable simple. The insatiable desire to learn from what one knows is in fact boring and continue to pursue image making will eventually hone the skill set of the photographer to continue to look past what they know does not interest them and refine their skill set to a high level of visual interest. Malcolm Gladwell very eloquently expresses the rational for success and failure in his book "Outliers". We cannot control when we were born or the last name given to us at birth. But we are completely in control of the deployment of our passion in the form of effort. I contend that if you want something bad enough, there is nothing preventing you from attaining it.
The measure of 'boring' is tightly coupled to the number of words defending the same.
.
This is quoted from Bruce Barnbaum The Art of Photography: “Choose any great photographer—let’s say Ansel Adams, for he was great and his work is so well known—and ask yourself how many truly great photographs he produced in his lifetime (50+ years of photography). 50? 100? 200? Maybe more. But that is about four per year at best!”
Excerpt From: Bruce Barnbaum. “The Art of Photography.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the...31327432?mt=11
Something to think about when you feel you shoot boring photos. Most of them are, but hopefully we will capture that magic at least 4 times a year.
Bored at work and though all 9 pages would add some spice. How wrong with all the philosophical opinions.
Tastes change.
Sometimes a gourmet burger hits the spot, other times junk food burger. Sometimes you may snicker at someone for eating junk. Sometimes I want a salad and other times a steak.
The layperson may complain about the quality of food yet when confronted to cook he'd burn water if it was possible.
Clips of my lids are fascinating but pics of other's kids may bore me.
BTW I loved the parts which I quoted above.
What is boring? The tiredness of seeing the same thing over and over again? I am an expert in making boring photographs and the reason I am doing LF photography now is to fix that. It was very easy to shoot a picture with an DSLR and AF lenses. In fact, I have shot about 20,000 in the last 6 years. How many of those I consider Not Boring? A small amount of those. The rest are there in my computer where no one sees it. What am I learning now to make non-boring photos? Composing them well, taking the time to apply those rules of composition, those advices of composition, etc. I take the time now, I measure the light, I estimate the exposure, I develop my film, I scan (for now), and I will print in the dark room. I have the sense now that my photos start to look a bit less boring. Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to express my thoughts here. Here is an example of a boring photo:
AutoTamronAdaptamatic200-3.5-calizrojo1-1 by Palenquero Photography, on Flickr
I think people are on to something with the differences in approaches between a hobbyist and an aspiring artist. However, we are plagued by academics and the human desire to over-intellectualize things.
Imagine if Robert Adams were 25 years old in 2018, people would deem his work boring. Even in interviews he gives, he is incredibly modest. He says he creates images out of the pure interest in their visuals and when poked to give some grandeous intellectual reasoning behind the picture, he states he can't make stuff up.
We are presentlyt in a state where pictures really don't matter anymore, it's the message that comes behind it.
Our heros and their work couldn't be made today, it isn't en vogue and is neither celebrated or more importantly, supported. We all have to make money, pay the mortgage and can't run off to Mexico like Weston.
Bookmarks