Creating Meaningful Photographs

[Isaac]

Isaac, I have no idea what has been done to that image first published nearly 70 years ago so I cannot comment.

I accept your wish not to comment in that case.
You also made no answer when asked about the photographer's explicit statement of "departures from reality" in their work - in that case, you do have the information you need to formulate an answer.

However, you appear to think that I am somehow a self-appointed policeman - a position that I have never taken on.

That isn't something I've stated, suggested or intimated.

As for the rest of your argument - much the more sweeping assumptions are yours.

The point is that all you seem to have is assumption. When you write "It is both logical and honest to assume..." you're building a house of cards. The truth seems to be that you don't know, in which case it's both logical and honest to accept that you don't know - nothing forces you to stack up assumptions but the need to support your opinion.

I know that you will not accept this but any reasonable reader of my posts will not see extreme, unreasonable positions adopted.

Please don't presume to tell me what I will or will not accept.
As long as, by any reasonable reader, you just mean someone who agrees with your opinions about what is unreasonable, there's no reason not to accept the statement.

Isaac, you are circling like water around a drain pipe on only one issue.

When having you answer to that issue is like drawing blood from a stone, why would I take on more than one issue :-)

[Jim Pascoe]

Would it be okay if he moves the trees with a telephoto and warps mountains with a super-wide? ;-)

Well, I think you know what I mean.  As I said, it is just down to what the photographer wants to do really.  They decide what to show - the viewer decides if they like the image or not. Simple.

Jim

[Jim Pascoe]

Well Jim, you'll have to ask the girl. Some like to be reminded of days that used to be - I, for one, listen to those sorts of songs most of the day - but others see only the passage of time and that's not always a comfortable or rewarding sight at all. As I say, better ask the girl.

On the other hand, if everything is cool between you both, why not take another such piccy and post it here under Without Prejudice and not a soul will pass comment, thus saving face all round or, perversely, hiding acclaim and assorted congratulations. As has been observed before, you can't win both ways. Or, if you can, you're better off working the stock exchange instead of a camera. Anyway, to save time and effort, you could always forget the tree and just remain closer to the subject.

I look forward to the update.

;-)

Rob C

I'm beginning to suspect your motives are not purely to do with the subject of photography.

[Rob C]

I'm beginning to suspect your motives are not purely to do with the subject of photography.

Whatever would make you think that?

Puzzled -

Rob C

[HSway]

The selling aspect of a photograph/photography gets emphasised often in this thread.

The photography is not a commodity per se. And will never be turned into a typical one even in our commercial world. Its inherent meaning will simply be never exhausted by its also-commercial use and aspect.

Direct sales and commerce it’s part of it, it’s part of everything, but the photography holds much more than this. Its influence on quality of photography and in general in many other areas is not always and by far only positive. Commerce, let alone signs of mass use, almost of anything brings its own character with it and is no surprise many branches of human activities protect their field of interest (and values) against these influences.

I thought it a good reminder worth keeping in mind when putting arguments on this topic (Creating Meaningful Photographs).

Hynek

[Ray]

I like the way this Cambodian Apsara dancer is balancing on the log, but I just can't remember the name of the bird. The gargantuan feathered bird, that is. I must be getting old.

If anyone reading this thread is familiar with this species of bird, please let me know. The shot was taken on the Daintree River, North Queensland.

[LesPalenik]

Never mind the bird!  If you carefully clone it out, you would get a clean Venus Transit over the log.

[Rob C]

Les, I believe you're more like me than you'd imagined; it's always important to get priorities right!

Can't imagine what Ray was thinking about. Ray, Wray - does anyone else remember them?

Rob C

[Ray]

Never mind the bird!  If you carefully clone it out, you would get a clean Venus Transit over the log.

But I don't believe in cloning out major features in a scene. That would be a distortion of reality. 

[Rob C]

But I don't believe in cloning out major features in a scene. That would be a distortion of reality. 

But Ray, it's the feathered bird you cloned in; that, too, must be a distortion of a reality, so you might as well make amends and take it out, just like Janis Joplin tried to do in her conversation regarding friends, Porsches and Mercedes.

You'll improve the picture vastly - trust me on this one. Oh - a touch of five o'clock foot shadow wouldn't go amiss either since you're not selling trainers and flight sensations...

Rob C

[LesPalenik]

But I don't believe in cloning out major features in a scene. That would be a distortion of reality.

You have a valid point, Ray.
However, after a thorough analysis, now I feel that in order to salvage the image and arrive at a more harmonious and balanced scene, you should consider replacing that unsightly bird with a more vibrant one.  BTW, I happen to have one that would be facing in the right direction towards the major element.

[theguywitha645d]

The best way to add meaning to a photograph is to put words over it...

[Ray]

You have a valid point, Ray.
However, after a thorough analysis, now I feel that in order to salvage the image and arrive at a more harmonious and balanced scene, you should consider replacing that unsightly bird with a more vibrant one.  BTW, I happen to have one that would be facing in the right direction towards the major element.

The major element for the bird is a fish swimming in the water below. He hasn't yet noticed the tasty homo sapiens morsel. The fish has a greater priority, but the lady doesn't realise this. 

[John R Smith]

Hmmm

I hadn't actually got around to reading Alain's article till just now. But this statement -

"In art, only things that are new are of interest to art collectors and admirers.  What has already been done is of no interest in regards to developing a personal style, being unique, making a name for yourself, being noticed, being collected or becoming a true artist."

Is just bollocks, I'm afraid. We all stand on the shoulders of everything which has gone before.

John

[Isaac]

We all stand on the shoulders of everything which has gone before.

As Henri Cartier-Bresson once said of himself, Robert Capa, and Brassaï, “Whatever we have done, Kertész did first.”

[Tony Jay]

If anyone reading this thread is familiar with this species of bird, please let me know. The shot was taken on the Daintree River, North Queensland.  

This bird is the Australian Bittern.

Regards

Tony Jay

BTW: Fantastic place to take a camera, the Daintree - I haven't been there for a while but I will be back.

[Ray]

This bird is the Australian Bittern.

Regards

Tony Jay

BTW: Fantastic place to take a camera, the Daintree - I haven't been there for a while but I will be back.

Thanks! It seems its also called the Australasian Bittern and the Brown Bittern. It also appears to be on the list of endangered species. Winter is a great time to visit the Daintree. I recommend taking a river trip early in the morning. The mist can be magical.

Cheers!

[Ray]

On the other hand, Tony, I'm not sure it's a Bittern. A  friend has recently emailed me and informed me it's a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron. A search on the internet tends to confirm this is indeed the case. Below are pictures of the juvenile and the adult Nankeen Night Heron from Wikipedia.

Cheers!

[Rob C]

Okay, you want meaningful pictures - here's one: very bloody meaningful and extremely expensive to boot. Or rather, to complete and replace with new tiles and different type of wall - basically, no new wall at all, but an edge tile (fiola) that prevents drainwater spilling back down onto the wall below the edge as gravity beckons it to the garden.

The moral question here is immense: should a builder's guarantee be limited to ten years? The work is being carried out because of water ingress to the apartment leading to a stained fitted carpet, this because of insufficient slope for good drainage, poor insulation of the building's main water tank which lives beneath this terrace, but the book can be bought or read in the public libraries of every country around the Mediterranean, so I won't bother writing it again for you here and now.

Hot damn! The price of dreams!

Rob C

[Tony Jay]

On the other hand, Tony, I'm not sure it's a Bittern. A  friend has recently emailed me and informed me it's a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron. A search on the internet tends to confirm this is indeed the case. Below are pictures of the juvenile and the adult Nankeen Night Heron from Wikipedia.

Ray it is possible that it is a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron since the image is rather front on.
Nonetheless the Nankeen and Bittern are very closely related species as evidenced by their similar beak and body shape.

Regards

Tony Jay