Boring Photographs

[Peter Lewin]

Several thoughts, largely triggered by Coran's post (which I thought raised excellent points) and H2oman's equally thoughtful response:
- Rather than critique a photo as "boring," one should ask the photographer why they made/posted the image. That implies that the viewer does in fact find the image boring, but gives the photographer the chance to explain why he/she feels it is not.
- I attend a monthly critique session where the basic rule is "show only what you feel is your best work." I think that is also a good rule for posting on the web, unless one specifically has questions about the way they handled an image and wants feedback on those questions.
- Related to my second comment, editing is a skill we need to develop. That suggests that we edit our own work, rather than post it all to get comments, in effect asking others to edit our work.

Again, just my personal take on things.

[Merg Ross]

Several thoughts, largely triggered by Coran's post (which I thought raised excellent points) and H2oman's equally thoughtful response:
- Rather than critique a photo as "boring," one should ask the photographer why they made/posted the image. That implies that the viewer does in fact find the image boring, but gives the photographer the chance to explain why he/she feels it is not.
- I attend a monthly critique session where the basic rule is "show only what you feel is your best work." I think that is also a good rule for posting on the web, unless one specifically has questions about the way they handled an image and wants feedback on those questions.
- Related to my second comment, editing is a skill we need to develop. That suggests that we edit our own work, rather than post it all to get comments, in effect asking others to edit our work.

Again, just my personal take on things.

Excellent!

[h2oman]

Wow boring is an interesting topic for many of us

That's because what really IS boring for many of us is lens choice, developer, trying out my new this or that, etc.

[Corran]

Rhein II.

I used to be in the camp that disliked Gursky and the rest of the Düsseldorf school. But now I am a fan. I realized images such as Rhein II are closer to color field paintings, at least in my opinion. Seeing that image at massive scale was also a very different experience. Attending an exhibit of Rothko paintings is what made the whole stylistic comparison click for me.

Is it a boring photograph? Well I guess it depends on one's criteria. It certainly does not follow convention with regard to subject/foreground/background. I would make an argument about the use of space and 4ths as a compositional tool. Whether or not it is/was "worth" $4 million is another question altogether!

[AuditorOne]

I used to be in the camp that disliked Gursky and the rest of the Düsseldorf school. But now I am a fan. I realized images such as Rhein II are closer to color field paintings, at least in my opinion. Seeing that image at massive scale was also a very different experience. Attending an exhibit of Rothko paintings is what made the whole stylistic comparison click for me...

I studied that photograph for months after that auction. I was sure at the time that I had to be missing something, but I never did see the worth in it. But, as you say, I have not seen the print in person and that can often make a difference. I have had the same happen with some of Ansel Adam's work. Moonrise Over Hernandez never clicked for me until I was able to view the actual print.

I do feel that some compositions I see here in the gallery are that way for me. Viewed on this computer screen they just do not seem very interesting. But if I could actually see the print itself I may feel different. This is why I don't feel critique threads are worthwhile. Unless you can actually base your critique on the print itself you will almost always be missing things.

I have some equally boring compositions made in the desert where I live. I obviously thought that there was something there worth photographing when I snapped the shutter, but I have never been able to find it in the prints. Maybe they just have not been large enough.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I studied that photograph for months after that auction. I was sure at the time that I had to be missing something, but I never did see the worth in it. [...]

I have some equally boring compositions made in the desert where I live.

What ya need to do is go into the hills over Hollywood, take a picture, then erase all signs of humankind from it.

[AuditorOne]

What ya need to do is go into the hills over Hollywood, take a picture, then erase all signs of humankind from it.

So that's the secret to the Dusseldorf School! I wondered how that worked.

[neil poulsen]

Boring is a close relative of mundane, lacking interest or excitement. What will trigger this for me is a photograph that has obviously been done before. (Talk about boring.)

For example, AA did a photograph of a wood fence with grass/weeds at the base. At the time, this was probably quite original. But, it's been done so many times since, that such a photograph instantly strikes me as boring.

At the same time, I can get excited about this or that scene that may have been done before. I like to think that, if it's exciting to me, it can be exciting to someone else. But perhaps, boring is relative.

Another photographic characteristic that can strike me as boring is poor execution. A really excellent image can be ruined by poor contrast control. Good craftsmanship is important to photography.

With that said, let's talk about photographing sunsets . . .

[stefan dinu]

I could not resist:
welcome to boring M. Parr

[Willie]

Camera club and check box scoring system photography.