Seeking Critique (please read)

Hello and happy new year to everyone!

 

I'm posting a link to my Zenfolio photo gallery featuring my personal favorite photos, from my photographic exploits in year 2020. I'm not asking for critique on individual photos per se- although if you wish to go that far, I welcome your comments in that regard.

 

What I AM asking for is any comments on the body of work as a whole, on my style of shooting/framing/composition.

 

Note that I have done basically nothing to present these with any sort of visual or thematic flow. They appear in the rough chronological order in which they were shot. Hopefully this does not kill the whole thing, and at any point I could indeed go back and rearrange the gallery to perhaps make it more "viewable". Or cohesive. Or whatever.

 

Note also that these are strictly my film photographs. In truth, I shot so few digital photos in 2020 that there is next to nothing to present. I shot more phone pics by far than with my digital camera. IMO there is a clear demarcation line between genres however so I personally wouldn't necessarily present them all together. Furthermore, I'm not particularly enamored of phone and digital photos quite the same as I am with my film work.

 

These are a mix of 120 and 35mm shots, shot on my Hasselblad 500cm, 500c bodies, a folding "6x9" Voigtlander folder from the 1930s, and 2 different 35mm cameras- all using a mix of various film stocks in black & white and color. Of course, many of these have been posted around the forum over the course of the year, and some of these have appeared here in Critiques. So please excuse any reposts that definitely exist here

 

Please let me know what you think.

 

Thanks very much.

Happy new year (again) and have a lovely day.

Tom

 

EDIT: Zenfolio makes some attempt to present a gallery of photos as a "store" in which you could in theory select photos for purchase. I am by no means suggesting that you do this, in fact I AM suggesting you close that sidebar feature for unhindered viewing.

Thanks again, see link below:

 

2020 Favorites

Edited January 2, 2021 by Ricochetrider

Happy new year. Took a look! Didn't go through the whole collection (did close the sidebar) but from what I did go through it looks like you've got some interesting stuff there. Not going to comment on any of it, but I am going to take a look at the parent site.

Hi @Ricochetrider, I enjoyed browsing through your 2020 favorites. I also enjoyed getting an impression of your Zenfolio galleries - you must have put a huge amount of time on these over the years!

 

My impression is that you have different styles of shooting/framing/composition (depending on the subject) which IMHO is exactly as it should be. One observation is that many of the photos are taken from a 3/4 (or thereabouts) horizontal perspective which looks to be at eye level or (in the case of cars/bikes etc.) at 'subject level'. A great advantage of 3/4 perspective is that it shows depth (what painters used to call 'perspective'!). But your fewer 'front-on' (0-degree perspective) photos gain a greater impact from being 'different' to the majority. So I enjoyed seeing this change of horizontal perspective from time to time.

 

For signs, constructions, etc. that are situated way above eye level, there's not a whole lot you can do to vary the vertical perspective. It's perhaps worth considering how you could perhaps introduce more variation in vertical perspective for things like bridges, cars & bikes, etc. I fully realize that you usually want to shoot relatively 'documentary' photos of old cars, trucks, bikes, engines, etc. And you do change your perspective for these shots. But you might consider more extreme variation in vertical perspective. Not for documentary purposes, just for purely photographic purposes. So for example (at least in this series) I didn't see a close-up wide-angle lens shot of a bike where a gleaming front wheel could be huge and 'in your face' and in which the body recedes into the background. This may well not be your style at all. Just something to consider.

 

You have a wonderful Zenfolio site! My impression is that your photos over the years are well-ordered and well-structured. Both by theme and/or date. So each gallery and group of photos is easily accessible to visitors.

 

As far as I can see, the 'My Favorites 2020' collection is not yet accessible to the wider public. My main suggestions for this collection is:

- there are some (almost) duplicate photos per subject: it's worth deciding which 'almost duplicates' add real value to viewers and cull as necessary; as examples, for both an external and internal view of a Box bridge, my guess would be yes; for two different photos of the same ornament, my guess would be no.

- I found that the lack of thematic grouping made things difficult in viewing the collection. So my suggestion on this point are:

Good luck in integrating your best 2020 photos into your already impressive site!

 

Mike

Since you're not asking for help with the presentation itself, but instead asking for a critique of the body of work, I'd encourage you to present the photos with some sort of consciousness. That can be nuanced and adjusted based on critique, but it would be helpful for both you and us to start somewhere beyond random. It's hard to ask for a critique of a body of work when what you're presenting is not a body but an arm here a leg there and a head somewhere in the distance. Were you to present them with a conscious intent or at least a gut sense of organization, I would more effectively be able to glean what the body is to you and what it might be to me, which would give me a sense of how to critique for you. How would I know if that unmoored limb should be shorter or longer or darker or lighter or if it would be effective to bring out this or that if I don't know where it fits into a bigger and more culled picture? What relationships do YOU care about in your photos enough to at least attempt to bring them to my attention by the order of and juxtapositions in your presentation? What thematic elements are important enough to YOU to highlight so that I might get a sense of your purpose and meaning regarding the BODY of work? Getting a critique of your body of work requires your creating one, which suggests an input of energy from you in terms of presentation and editing almost as significant as creating the photos themselves.

Mike, Sam-

 

Thanks for your input. Really appreciate it.

 

Sam I think I understand what you are saying, Like maybe I could separate 2020 into something like "people, places & things"? I admit the concept of a "cohesive" presentation isn't something that comes easily to me. We've spoken about this in the past- I see that while my "logic" behind presenting a chronology feels appropriate- having lived and shot it-, it does make for disjointed viewing from a perspective outside that of my my own. Mike, I think you were kind of alluding to something. similar in terms of presentation, with near-duplicates etc...

I'll go back and see if I can sort these into categories at least, so maybe take a look some time later to see if I've done anything to help the 2020 gallery.

 

Mike, thanks, too, for having perused the whole darn thing! That was certainly above & beyond. I THINK I can rearrange things better. in Zenfolio? I'll give it a try.

 

n any event I'll revisit this with some consciousness towards what OTHERS are seeing. And try to forget or disregard for the "order" in which only I see things ha ha.

Consider that categories is one among many ways to go, one of the more literal and mainstream. Visual thematics, regardless of particular subject, and other more subtle juxtapositions and ordering, might also be worth considering. Sometimes a photo with a particular perspective followed by a photo of complementing or contrasting perspective can have an emotional pull on a viewer far more impactful than “here are my motel signs.” Likewise for tonality, mood, atmosphere, the establishment of a visual poetry of sorts, which can make a whole (body of work) much more than the sum of its parts. There are reasons why “here are my motel signs” might work best for a given presentation, so I’m not dismissing that idea. Just suggesting that you may also want to open up to other means of sequencing beyond those sorts of categories.

Hey so @samstevens

 

edit: I made some rearrangement and then saw our 2nd post. Take a look, I may have actually gotten some of what you've said later, like things-that-sort-of-resemble-things sequencing?

 

I've done some rearranging of the 2020 gallery, in a sort of "people, places, things" kind of way. I've also made some effort to arrange things in such a way as to have similar things appear in sequence, IE there are shots of bridges I kind of lumped together then tried to sequence out of that with some vaguely similar feeling images of other things in the category of "places". The "people" segment opens the gallery and I've included live people with things that emulate humanity but aren't: sculptures, statuary, or what have you.

 

(I think) it begins with people or facsimiles thereof, swings into bridges and structure, segues out of that into places and dissolves into what I call my moto-fotos.

 

@mikemorrell I've also taken an eye towards eliminating or at least cutting down on "repeats" although much of what I've done is more or less minor photo-study type documentation, so much repeat type stuff remains.

 

Anyway, see if the new layout w works any better than it had, please.

 

Thanks!

I like your style. It has been a pleasure to see your work. The strength of your photography is in the collective imo. So the presentation and editing has great significance for me. Make it yours.

 

You have a strong instinct at work for when you photograph. Your subjects, framing, composition are consistent and becoming more recognizable as yours.

The presention may benefit from tapping into the same distinctive voice. So groupings that come from the gut and not the linear logic of the brain will let your voice come through in a new way. Your gut is serving you very well in the individual photos. The cohesion that is present in your photographs is not chronological... if the source of your style is tapped for presentation I think it will enhance & energize the collection. Editing is very influential and often underrated. With flow & rhythm a powerful non verbal voice emerges.

Edited January 3, 2021 by inoneeye

I viewed all the images in the order they appeared (as at the time I write this).

 

. . . What I AM asking for is any comments on the body of work as a whole, on my style of shooting/framing/composition. . . Note that I have done basically nothing to present these with any sort of visual or thematic flow. They appear in the rough chronological order in which they were shot. Hopefully this does not kill the whole thing, and at any point I could indeed go back and rearrange the gallery to perhaps make it more "viewable". Or cohesive. Or whatever.

 

They are two different requests.

 

It is appreciated that there is no visual or (designed) thematic flow, therefore, as samstevens has pointed out, to attain critique of a 'body of work' there needs to be your work to make that body. Hence, my first comments are to that end:

 

I think that you have some / many suitable images to create a few different 'bodies of work'. One (simplistic) theme which could garner a group of several smaller, and similar works, each being a thematic approach based on subject - I see (separately) Bridges, Cars, Bikes, Eateries and Buildings; additionally I see cross-overs within those subjects combining as other possible themes.

 

Therefore I think it would be very worthwhile to digest all the feedback on this thread and then go about taking these images, set about culling (that means ditching some) into one purposeful body of work, the idea of which floats your boat and then putting that Body of Work up for critique.

 

***

 

On the second request - [comments on] my style of shooting/framing/composition

 

It occurs to me that you're more comfortable making images of (larger) inanimate Objects than shooting Portraiture. I could guess a few base reasons and one reason might be the (extra) time that you have to coordinate the framing and composition of the shot.

 

I think you 'see' Monotone Photography (or, at the least, have good Post Production skills for Black and White) - my gut tells me that it is the former rather than the latter - that is to say you can 'see' images in Black and White before you release the shutter. If so, that's both a gift and a product of hard work, so congratulations.

 

I think you should work on refining your portraiture work by (in the first instance) getting back to basics of Framing - I would encourage you to shoot a fraction wider (NOT a wider focal length, just a wider view - i.e. step back a bit) and that will allow you to make better (or at the least have more) choices apropos cropping. Non-grounded legs (feet missing) hands chopped etc do have a place, but I think your Portraiture is not yet at the stage to break these 'rules', I think you've simply never adhered to them for a long enough period of time.

 

***

 

Bottom line is: the Shop Fronts, the Cars and Bikes and the Bridges have a style, some creative compositional approaches and stimulate (my) viewer interest - many would make for a themed Body of Work. Continue refining and learning this Genre. On the other hand, the Portraiture shows a style in infancy and I think mastering the basics is the best course of action here - and I would encourage that, mainly because, I think the marriage of your eye for B&W and your style for buildings and architecture WITH people as a key factor in that composition, will extend your creativity and learning.

 

WW

Thanks very much, everyone! You comments are giving me a lot fo digest.

 

It seems I need to deeply consider presentation (among other things, more on these in a minute). Clearly I need to back away from any of my previous thoughts on sequencing and "find" my way in this regard by letting go of... well probably or possibly everything! LOL. This is My Year In Photos- my favorites from 2020, and my approach to presenting these is indeed linear. I've made some effort fo break it up and "categorize" these but I feel like maybe it's still too "stiff". Or still too "something". I'll work on developing a flow that is more "from the gut" (thank you Samstevens & Inoneeye) because right now it is absolutely linear and not very instinctual.

 

It no doubt does not help that there are so many photos here. Admittedly there's a lot to wade through and you all have been very kind in indulging me. I definitely see that breaking these into different segments and "culling" some photos (thank you William Michael & Mike Morrell) would be helpful at least from an outside perspective. I've done a few studies of a couple things such as a 1950s Corvette and one of my motorcycles, who needs to see more than one photo of each? OK there are more than a couple bridges in this body, for one example. But hey I live near two major rivers and lots of creeks, and admittedly I'm endlessly fascinated by structure, particularly enamored of bridge structure (of all sorts). I think I understand that 15 (or whatever) photos of bridges may be too much, it's not exactly "seen one, seen them all" but it must still add up to what could be quite a lot of the same sort of thing.

 

I guess I'm perhaps clinging to seeing these as my favorite shots from the year of shooting. While that means something to me, maybe it doesn't present all that well with all its repetition? I've come to terms with my documenting my "world", and I guess I've settled easily & naturally into that niche or style or whatever. I move around quite a bit and like to photograph things I see along the pathway. I'm a bit of a motorhead so cars, vehicles and motorcycles are a large part of my year- in fact 2020 saw most events cancelled! So there's really a fraction of what I would normally have seen represented here! LOL I dunno, now I feel like I'm rationalizing my stuff here, hopefully I'm not on the defensive or anything. 160 (ish) images is a lot, perhaps especially as presented. SO back to presentation and letting go.

 

In terms of "how" I "see", first of all these are all film photos. Although I easily could, I wouldn't change a color photo to black & white. Nothing wrong with doing so, it just isn't me. IN terms of how or why I shoot either color or B&W, I was greatly. influenced by a friend who told me early on that, "color is for color and black & white is for everything else". I look at everything, except the most colorful things, as subjects for black and white photography. I know there are entire books about photographing and/or "seeing in black and white". I might even have one although I've not read it. I shoot a lot of old stuff, so shooting these things in black & white does come naturally. If this is a skill that has to be learnt, then I skated on in and thank you very much. I won't give myself too much credit, I credit the subject matter and my buddy Wade with his saying which I quoted above.

 

More than a couple people over the course of time have told me that I have a "natural eye" for photographic composition, and I've been actively trying to build on that for more than a couple years now. But I'm totally self-taught and just winging it as I go. I never even know how to use a camera until I bought the Hasselblad a few years ago and began figuring things out by trial & error. It's fun to go back thru my photos (as Mike did in a Herculean effort, thank you very much) and see some successes from my "pocket camera" & "point & shoot" periods. Ha.

 

In any event, I do have quite a LOT of learning to do; hopefully it never stops. Landscapes I find incredibly difficult, for one thing. In terms of portraiture, I've never done any. This past year I made a distinct effort to shoot more people. I would never call this portraiture but maybe it's a beginning. In running around documenting my world and my travels, shooting the stuff I like, am I making "art"? I'd like to think I'm leaning in that direction, maybe. To date, I've only ever had one photograph made into a print. I "know a guy", via the internet and a vintage motorcycle community. He lives up in British Columbia and has invited me to come up there. He has stated his willingness to teach me darkroom and printing technique. Far as I know, Canada won't let me in due to this Covid thing, or I'd be up there right now. My one print is hanging on a wall in our house. The printer ended up making 2 prints of my photo as it happened. The 2nd hangs on the wall of some long time, older friends of mine at their home in England. By now, I'd love to have a few more images printed. By "print" I mean black & white photos and silver gelatin, darkroom process prints. Seems there are so many options for color printing... I remain unsure what the original process for color photo printing is/was. I have yet to figure out how color photo prints will manifest in my world. With so many options for alternative process printing in every realm, maybe I need to step back and see what's happening in B&W too. Having a goal to print some photos isn't new, but maybe that's one task to prioritize in 2021.

 

Probably the biggest challenge is going to presentation of my "body of work". Not only this particular one but going forward as well. I don't, for the most part, come out with large groups of photographs- although each year I do collect my favorites or what I see as highlights. This is the first time I ever presented such a large number of photos for critique. It's a bit much but you all have been very kind in looking through it all, and in your critique & commentary. I'll revisit the gallery again & again to tweak it, and cull out some of the repetitive images. I can still have them all as my "faves" but can now clearly see the difference between a large number of favorites and a reasonable "body of work" to present publicly. While these could fit neatly into categories such as "people, places, and things", I'm sure there's a way to combine all these elements into a blend that flows somehow, without being stiff and unnatural. I might guess that I could perhaps cut a full 1/3 or maybe even 1/2 of these to make a far more reasonable gallery that represents full well what I've done in 2020. I'll work on that.

 

Thanks very much.

Have a great day.

Tom

Edited January 4, 2021 by William Michael

Less is more.

 

Too much/many presented to really do meaningful critiques.

 

A pat on the back is warranted, however.

What's missing is the presentation(s). I see lots of nice stuff that could be made into several very interesting pieces. Don't just weed out the weak, but pick one, two or three themes and try to put together meaningful presentation(s). I'm somewhere between Sam and JDM, but leaning more toward Sam.

my approach to resenting these is indeed linear.

Calling Dr. Freud! :eek:

Although I easily could, I wouldn't change a color photo to black & white.

A reasonable choice, if that’s what you want to do. Regardless, sequencing back and forth between color and black and white can be either very effective or very jarring, sometimes both! As in music, maintaining a rhythm and breaks in that rhythm can work hand in hand, as can changes in key.

This is My Year In Photos- my favorites from 2020

Something that's really surprised me but that's also made a big difference in my series and groupings is going beyond that line of favorites. As a series or presentation starts coming together, I make sure to go back and have a careful look at my non-favorites, my seconds, thirds, and rejects, and most of the time I find a few that may now fit in and add to the whole amazingly well. What I didn't see when looking at some photos individually now becomes apparent when I see them fitting in somewhere as part of something bigger.