About your photographs

• What do you photograph?
  
• To whom does it matter?
  
• Why is it relevant?
  

• What do you photograph?
  
• To whom does it matter?
  
• Why is it relevant?
  

Your are more likely to start a constructive discussion and set the tone and expectations if you start out by answering your own question before asking others to commit to such a potentially deep question.

 

You are basically asking for an artist's statement, something most artists sucks at writing - unless they have gone to art school where it is part of the curriculum, and then they suck even more.

Unless you are Stephen Shore or Robert Adams, most are probably better off letting their photos talk for themselves.

 

Regardless, I probably wouldn't mind participating in a casual exchange if I had a better understanding of your motives and expectations.

Your are more likely to start a constructive discussion and set the tone and expectations if you start out by answering your own question before asking others to commit to such a potentially deep question.

 

You are basically asking for an artist's statement, something most artists sucks at writing - unless they have gone to art school where it is part of the curriculum, and then they suck even more.

Unless you are Stephen Shore or Robert Adams, most are probably better off letting their photos talk for themselves.

 

Regardless, I probably wouldn't mind participating in a casual exchange if I had a better understanding of your motives and expectations.

Thank you Niels for your suggestion and for your potential interest in the exchange. I don’t actually have a clear answer myself, which does not mean that I am not looking for one. That is the reason for my inception, of whose lack of focus I am fully aware. My intent is to initiate e free flow of thought about goal, subject(s) and meaning for my (our) photography and see where we get.

 

As far as I see, it is a huge challenge to make pictures speak for themselves and, at the same time, writing seems to be a key starting point to focus on a goal, subject and meaning. Without necessarily aiming for an “artist statement”, also considering that artists in photography are not many considering the huge number of people taking photographs.

 

I am progressing towards some awareness but am distant from any conclusion.

 

What do you think?

Thanks Luca - I'll play along :)

 

Of the things I intentionally photograph almost on a daily basis is temporary "city furniture". Objects placed in the city scape for a limited time, such as containers for building materials, construction fences, garbage cans put out for pickup etc.

 

Most of it is done on film and rarely shown to anyone.

 

It is relevant to me because I enjoy making photographic compositions of things that are not necessarily photogenic - I can focus on composition and not on subject, but it is mostly of zero relevance and significance to others.

Other than that, I can't explain why I feel the urge to take these photographs. I just stop up when such a scene presents itself - by instinct if feels, and I try to make an interesting composition.

 

I tried to show these photos on some of the usual platforms a few years ago, but there was absolutely no engagement, thus I stopped and can with confidence say that it matters only to me.

 

I do think that the subject of these photographs have quite a few time-markers and depicts objects that get only little attention photographically, thus, if any of these photos survives they may well be historically interesting at some point in the future - but this is just an afterthought not someting that drives my activities.

"City furniture" (temporary) sounds extremely interesting to me, I must say. You set loose my imagination and I am figuring out all sorts of scenes. There may also be variations to the theme insofar the same viewpoint is kept but the time of capture is changed.

This kind of approach has the potential to create a story of documentation.

 

I must also say that there is the"what", the "matter", and the "relevance".

 

What I feel is that oftentimes I am (we are) too close (not detached enough) to appreciate the real value of our work.

I was awarded a Creative Capital/NYSCA learning development grant one time that purported to teach me how to answer these questions. Sadly, the endeavor failed miserably--as all I got out of it was an elevator speech and an artist's statement. However, there were some great photos to be had at the street festival outside of the arts council building!!!

 

There are those that are really focused. I just like to capture images that interest me. Although there seem to be a few solid themes--funerary art, people being, found objects, etcetera--I never know until I press the shutter release.

 

So, from that dreaded artist's statement, I leave others with this from that aforementioned, lofty, and bloviating statement:

 

"The vision should not be constrained to any one interpretation or genre. In this, I do not limit my practice to buildings, people, events, or a singular artistic philosophy. Rather those elements of interest—things planned or in the serendipitous moment–that call attention to themselves within the larger canvas of the world. True, there are thematic narratives that emerge in my body of work—the interpretation of that element, or certain sorts of places."

 

“The art of photography is capturing a small slice of four-dimensional reality–then crystallizing it into two dimensions–thereby creating something new and meaningful for the viewer to experience…”

Edited April 18, 2022 by PapaTango

• I've taken on different self-created projects over the years. Each has a different purpose and sense of relevance, so it would be hard to write an all-encompassing statement.
  
• Important to say that intent and purpose continues to change so any statement would be a moment in time.
  
• The overriding motivation for taking pics is to express myself by making something. I'm still excited by how what's in front of my camera can be transformed by being photographed, synthesizing the "outside" world with my "inner world."
  
• My overriding influence is movies. I've loved movies and watched them regularly since childhood and making photos seems my way of responding to what I've seen and felt over the years.
  
• Sharing. It's a way to be a little more intimate with people. Photos have led to some great conversations, some great insights of others regarding me and me of them. I only reach a small circle of people but that's fine because it's a way of giving and receiving something intangible, a way of sharing other than small talk or gossip. That can feel significant.
  

After quitting the gym two years ago I started walking, or trying to walk five miles a day to compensate. The camera gives me purpose, the move toward fixed focal length lenses is purely about weight. Can't explain the change from mostly color to mostly black and white.

Architecture, Nature, Wildlife, People, Weddings, Real-Estate, Macro, Flowers, Trees, Abstract etc, etc....

• I've taken on different self-created projects over the years. Each has a different purpose and sense of relevance, so it would be hard to write an all-encompassing statement.
  
• Important to say that intent and purpose continues to change so any statement would be a moment in time.
  
• The overriding motivation for taking pics is to express myself by making something. I'm still excited by how what's in front of my camera can be transformed by being photographed, synthesizing the "outside" world with my "inner world."
  
• My overriding influence is movies. I've loved movies and watched them regularly since childhood and making photos seems my way of responding to what I've seen and felt over the years.
  
• Sharing. It's a way to be a little more intimate with people. Photos have led to some great conversations, some great insights of others regarding me and me of them. I only reach a small circle of people but that's fine because it's a way of giving and receiving something intangible, a way of sharing other than small talk or gossip. That can feel significant.
  

+1

 

What I did not mention is that I believe that everybody has to find out for themselves.

Obviously intent and purpose have to change as we change and as our relationships with the others and our environment change. As I may have said already sometime, we photograph what we are and what we are determines our photography. And at the same time we need to be aware of the fact that others see what they know and they behold and react on the basis of what they are.

What I would like to emphasise, watching my experience, that I would like to avoid sticking to charted paths, of sticking to the approaches I have always started from. My idea is to seek inspiration from what interests me in life and make an effort to translate it into pictures, sequences of - possibly - connected pictures. It's not about looking at what other photographers do, that's what they do, their vision, their ability to transform perceptions and experiences into photographs.

It is very interesting to hear about the "overriding influence", it's an extremely interesting approach to identifying the "main direction" where inspiration may come from. And everybody may know for themselves. The goal, the purpose, the significance and the path towards the goal, the purpose and the significance.

And the last point: sharing.

Personally, I think it is extremely enriching to share. Sharing stimuli, ideas, ways to look at what I experience.

And sharing the result. Lots of unexpected feelings, insights and knowledge may come my way.

I just like to capture images that interest me. Although there seem to be a few solid themes--funerary art, people being, found objects, etcetera--I never know until I press the shutter release.

It seems that this is really the key: capturing images that interest. And there are themes: people being, I find wonderful.

 

With reference to the quoted statement, I somehow have the feeling that is more an attempt to develop an all-encompassing definition, rather than the description of a path towards a goal. But I may be wrong.

It seems that this is really the key: capturing images that interest. And there are themes: people being, I find wonderful.

 

With reference to the quoted statement, I somehow have the feeling that is more an attempt to develop an all-encompassing definition, rather than the description of a path towards a goal. But I may be wrong.

 

I have never been good with goals--rather choose the path and see what the reward was. Serendipity has played a strong role as well. Let's just say that this leads to some interesting conclusions in life...

 

Aside from the Kodak literature, the first 'thought' pieces on photography I ever read were Ansel Adam's three-part set--The Lens, The Negative, and The Print. It resonated that capturing images of things other than personal documentary was a multipart process--in which the content and the process could be manipulated at each stage--and each stage could radically change the outcome of the presented image. It hit me that the image I was seeing (that 'thing in itself') was not what I saw in the viewfinder--rather what I wanted to see when the print came out of the tray.

 

Those that have never been in a real wet chemistry darkroom will never understand the totality of the rewards garnered through it. The tactile experience in the dark, the smells, the tech which one controls every iota of. And then the print--dodged, burned, warmed in spots by our fingers for faster dev--I miss that. But the digital lets me do things that I never dreamed possible--and a voyage of discovery and learning that I feel is integral to being a photographer of one's own soul.

 

There are some things that I simply am not good at. As to personal documentary, Uncle Charlie with his Ansco took better family photos than I. My general landscape kind of sucks--as do most flower studies. I am a total mechanic at portraiture--even having done it for a living once. But "Bresson Moments" in the wild stir my senses and reflexes. Oh, and I cannot pass up an old cemetery for a number of reasons!

 

None of this means that one's images become popular or valued. I sell a small number of prints. But for the most part, I don't care about that. What matters is the internal craving to go out and photograph SOMETHING. The feelings and enjoyment of being out and about whilst doing so. And the end happiness of "imagineering" what the print should show and look like--gives me a photogasm. :cool:

 

Although my heart is simply a muscle bundle--it's the joy of the process that drives me on and feeds my spiritual heart.

 

In the end, I do it for me. That is the value. Others may appreciate it as well, but 'at the end of the day, it's all about and for me...

Edited April 18, 2022 by PapaTango

I once did a 'one-evening-a-week' beginners course in photography. The basics of exposure and post-processing I already knew. But I learned a lot from the weekly assignments in different genres of photography. Including street, portraits, architecture, staged, products, etc.

 

Although I still photograph anything that catches my eye and that I find ''visually interesting, I discovered early on that my main interest was 'people'. Especially capturing fleeting moments of expression or emotion.'

 

I'm a musician and I enjoy capturing the expressions of other musicians (and the audience). For the last couple of years, I've been a volunteer photographer for a number of organizations, photographing people and groups. My photos visually support articles in a local rag.

 

So I have no 'artistic statement'. I've just developed a preference for photographing people - mainly to support articles in print or on websites as best I can. So I consider myself much more of a photographic 'technician' than an 'artist'.

 

Why does it matter, to whom does it matter and why is it relevant?

I still believe that people (consumers) of articles/websites are drawn first to the ''header' and secondly by the visual images. If both the 'header' and the visual image(s) attract the consumer's attention, then the consumer is more likely to read (at least a part of) the text,

At (LINK) Instant artist statement there is a facility for generating artistic statements.

 

Here is one generated for me:

 

Artist Statement

My work explores the relationship between the Military-Industrial Complex and vegetarian ethics.

With influences as diverse as Wittgenstein and Miles Davis,new variations are created from both traditional and modern

textures.

Ever since I was a pre-adolescent I have been fascinated bythe unrelenting divergence of relationships. What starts out

as vision soon becomes corroded into a carnival of futility, leaving only a sense of dread and the prospect of a new

order.

As shifting replicas become clarified through frantic and academic practice, the viewer is left with a summary of the

corners of our era.

Edited April 19, 2022 by JDMvW

Critique of artist statement (or maybe there was a software glitch):

 

Wittgenstein and Miles Davis weren’t really so far apart. Wittgenstein was anything but traditional in his most influential years.

 

The last line, for reasons of nostalgia and free association, reminds me of a college Independent Film course I took. One of the films we saw was Owen Land’s The Film That Rises to the Top of Clarified Butter.

 

But, kudos to the photographer who is able to shoot “the corners of our era.”* [Words painting a picture.]

____________________

*Maybe Robert Frank :)

@JDMvW :D.

 

Why does my question evoke “artists”? And “artists’ statements”, I wonder?

Who is an artist? What is art? (That may be, and has been, a topic for the philosophy forum).

 

Being on photo.net since well over a decade I have noticed that art and artists are referred to very frequently. Of the zillions who take photographs, who can really be labelled an artist with some ground? With the talent, drive, creativity, craft?

 

My question’s intent was much simpler: what drives us to photograph beyond snapping at scenes which impress us and which we want to keep memory of?

 

To what extent is our photography the expression of our intent to create and communicate? Just that.

 

Ps the “artist statement generator” can certainly be fun, but follows repetitive logical patterns recognisable after a few hits.

but follows repetitive logical patterns recognisable after a few hits.

 

I have seen a lot of real "statements" in applications for entry into our programs, and the "repetitive patterns" are legion. :rolleyes:

My photography serves two closely related purposes: First, a memory aid to help me remember those moments in time and the people who have most shaped my view of the world and my place in it. Second, a feeble attempt to capture those memories in a way that I can share with anyone who might care, but most importantly my friends and my family. I hope my grandchildren will not be too terribly annoyed when Papa wants to share his pictures with them...

• What do you photograph?
  
• To whom does it matter?
  
• Why is it relevant?
  

1. That's a difficult question to answer. It's like any calling, or preference, or taste.

 

2. It matters to me, but it also matters to me that it matters to others. If nobody can see or utilise my photographs, there is zero point to any of it.

 

3. If my photographs have no practical or aesthetic value, then they are not relevant.

 

Good questions, but not easy ones to answer.

• I like to photograph people
  

• It seems to matter to the people who look at my photos, generating comments like this one: Sorry I am coming back to this again :) this is my favourite out of your pics Steve, just so amazing..when I look at it I am completely taken in to it...the mood of the person...you are taken there and left there ...
  

• Perhaps this is what makes it relevant
  

My photography serves two closely related purposes: First, a memory aid to help me remember those moments in time and the people who have most shaped my view of the world and my place in it. Second, a feeble attempt to capture those memories in a way that I can share with anyone who might care, but most importantly my friends and my family. I hope my grandchildren will not be too terribly annoyed when Papa wants to share his pictures with them...

Maybe you feel that my three questions are of less relevance to you, all of us are free to express ourselves as we wish. Maybe it's just food for thought, that's it.

Good questions, but not easy ones to answer.

Thank you, good points! I realise that to me personally it is just important to ask these questions. I agree, I don't have a definite answer for myself, I have to recognise that it's a process and that there are variations in awareness and recognitions. Maybe it's just important to ask them.

I realise that to me personally it is just important to ask these questions. I agree, I don't have a definite answer for myself, I have to recognise that it's a process and that there are variations in awareness and recognitions. Maybe it's just important to ask them.

Asking questions is a good start. Writing answers publicly can be hard. My own answers don’t have to come verbally and don’t have to be in complete sentences. But I’ve found it worthwhile to explore my motivations, influences, and reasons in a variety of ways.

 

I think, for me, it’s similar to critique. A lot of people consider critique of benefit to the photographer and it can be. It can also be of great benefit to the critic, who may learn from critiques to look carefully and articulate what is seen. That articulation can be a means of discovery, where non-articulation can often be an avoidance or downright denial.

 

As always, the balance and counterpoint I achieve between directly considering my reasons and just letting photography flow will fluctuate. But the wildest rivers still rage (floods excepted) within banks. So those riverbanks may contain some significant secrets.

For me, it's simple.

 

What do I photograph? Whatever I want which comes down to visually interesting, most recently ranging from a nest of newly hatched baby spiders to huge industrial equipment in a local shipyard. Then there's wetlands, water reflections, birds, etc.

 

To whom does it matter? Me.

 

Why is it relevant? Who says it's relevant or that it needs to be? Except for the joy I derive from it I'm not sure it is relevant.

For me, it's simple.

 

What do I photograph? Whatever I want which comes down to visually interesting, most recently ranging from a nest of newly hatched baby spiders to huge industrial equipment in a local shipyard. Then there's wetlands, water reflections, birds, etc.

 

To whom does it matter? Me.

 

Why is it relevant? Who says it's relevant or that it needs to be? Except for the joy I derive from it I'm not sure it is relevant.

Exactly, why not?