Nueva York redux, ad nauseam

I very rarely do this anymore since I think or want to believe I've

reached a fairly confident point in photography (my ability to look

at pictures, my ability to take pictures), but just to see how

accurate or off-base my perceptions are with regards to the

perceptions of folks here, and really, just for sh*ts n' giggles,

what do folks here think? Your comments are welcome. Older stuff up

on top, newer stuff toward the bottom. <p> <a

href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=317362" >One-

dimensional "street" photographs---Mike :></a><div></div>

I think the greatest challenge for me, in the years to come, or perhaps even throughout the remainder of my photographic lifetime, will be to develop a look, a style, a voice---that I can claim to be my own. Looking at my own photographs, and trying to look at them as critically and objectively as my biased eye will allow, I think a lot of them are competent, some even "nice," but there's nothing distinctive about them; there's no common theme or factor (aside from geographical location) tying them together. The influences of many before me and even today are felt and seen, and they meld into a somewhat bland, formless amalgam.

You're not going to let me forget that one, are you?<br><br>

It's a very fine collection of pictures that document the realities of New York's streets and the people who inhabit them. I am particularly partial to your style which lets the subjects speak for themselves rather than forcing them into some surreal artificiality. Of course, the other thing that shines through in your pictures is that you love the place and the people.

Drew, the first thing is stop worrying about your voice, or eye, or style or whatever you want to call it. After you look back at thousands of pictures, taken over a decade, then you can worry if you want to (or you could go on happily snapping). This unique perspective nonsense comes from T.S. Eliot's essay, "Traditional and the Individual Talent" (which even affects people who have never heard of Eliot) and it--and the whole American modernist insistence on the original, invent the world afresh each day crap-- is just pointless.

 

Shoot and improve your eye and your working methods, figure out what you like and what you don't, muster some ambition, and soldier on.

 

You clearly have talent, evidenced in these photos and in others I've seen. Photography is a long, hard slog and, fortunately, one that is enjoyable and rewarding. The way to address any concern about a particular photo is to go out and take another photo.

That should be "Tradition and the Individual Talent." Sorry.

One of the primary things I like about your work is that you haven't imposed a superficial style, and you don't go for what's cheap. You're already more respectable than most photographers who have been around much longer. Just keep doing what interests you and the question of "style" will work itself out. If you make a more conscious decision to tweak things to be more distinctive I'd think it's at a point in the future, not now.

 

Be proud of work like you posted on this thread and quit worrying.

Ditto to what Preston wrote. Damn that T.S. Eliot (& his little cats, too)! ;-)

Andrew, everyone who thinks about what they're doing goes through this. Your folder has three keepers, to add to as you keep shooting. I bet you know which ones they are, they just jump out. The rest are there to be replaced with the better shots you will shoot. You're doing great.

 

FWIW, in another thread there is a reference to in-public,com and an article on street photography that references it. I personally find much of the black and white stuff there tired. There is only so much clever juxtapositions that I can take, and frankly they're not all that hard to find in NY or London. It's old and it's fairly shallow stuff. In contrast, you're finding a real interesting voice avoiding the clever stuff and concentrating on visually complex people. In time, that type of photography will carry more weight, I think. Best,

Andrew

I'll join in the praise & encouragement. From what I've seen & FWIW, I think your photography has improved & your vision has matured a great deal in a very short time.

 

On a side note, per an earlier post of yours from the "Representing Cities" thread, why do you find "the working class . . . [&] people of color" so much more interesting than "out-of-towners" & "stroller-pushing yuppies?" I like traditional ethnic enclaves as much as the next guy, but seriously, from my perspective as a (non-stroller pushing) DC yuppie (I often put down DC by saying "it's like 1 big Upper West Side, only lamer!"), if you can't make it out to the outer boroughs, the DR, or some other fill-in-the-blank "authentic"/exotic locale, perhaps you should try stepping back & giving the full outsider treatment to those boring Manhattan neighborhoods. You may just find something worth photographing within those familiar confines.

 

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"Manhattan, where I live and do most of my snapping (an aside and an admission: at this point in my photographic life I'm feeling particularly lazy and lacking in initiative, which is why I stay close to home when I decide to snap, as it's easiest/most convenient), in its current state, is really rather uninteresting from a subject/content point-of-view, with the exception of a few concentrated pockets or neighborhoods (e.g., Washington Heights in upper, upper Manhattan).

 

So really, I guess at this point I'm shooting primarily for form and composition, and not much else. I will still seek out subjects or areas that don't totally put me to sleep (e.g., the working class, people of color), which is why I'll rarely shoot out-of-towners in, say, Times Square, or old money New Yorkers on the Upper East Side, or stroller-pushing yuppies on the West Side. But really, Mike has it right when he says there are mainly one-dimensional street photographs here. Because that's what I feel like I'm primarily contributing."

"I think the greatest challenge for me, in the years to come, or perhaps even throughout the remainder of my photographic lifetime, will be to develop a look, a style, a voice---that I can claim to be my own".

Best way to do this is to keep shooting, and (in my opinion) try to think through your connection with the subject matter as clearly as possible. But this folder is a good start.

like anything, life is dynamic and ever changing. given that fact, the pix will also change as you change....

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just keep doing what youre doing with little or no thought. theres an invisible force which draws us all, perhaps unconsciously, to that place we can never quite reach....but as long as we are being pulled, you might as well go along for the ride.....just keep your eyes open along the way and keep snappin...

Andrew, I cannot add much more to what has already been said here in

your praise. Your good, my friend.