Describe your photography

<p>My question is this: Define your photography.</p>

<ul>

<li>What is it about your photographs that makes them special?</li>

<li>What concepts do they explore, if any?</li>

<li>What purpose do they have?</li>

</ul>

<p>I ask this simply to know how many have an answer to this question, or have at least given it thought.</p>

<p>As for me I see my photography as an analysis. My series of photographs attempt to explore a single idea and show as many aspects to it as I can conceive. I attempt to lay out my thinking of the idea and try spark some thoughts in the viewer. As for what makes them special: I don't know yet.</p>

<p>Any thoughts?</p>

<p>-Barry Hennessy.</p>

<p>These are challenging questions for me, Barry. I don't believe I've explored my concepts, purpose, and individuality within my photography. This is partially because I am emotionally driven - and the camera is my tool to capture images which I find to be inspiring.</p>

<p>So, with that being said - I think the purpose of my personal photography is to convey thoughts and feelings of which I was inspired to capture. I have been told that my photographs demonstrate beauty in every-day life that would otherwise go unseen--which perhaps is what makes them special.</p>

<p>I'm having an ultra difficult time trying to discern what concepts my photography explores. I'll have to let that stew for a bit. Perhaps introducing concepts into my photography is something that I should strive for.</p>

<p>Attached is an example of an image I captured, to demonstrate my self described "emotional photography".</p><div></div>

<blockquote>

<p>What is it about your photographs that makes them special?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Nothing I can think of.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>What concepts do they explore, if any?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>See above.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>What purpose do they have?</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />See above again.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>What is it about your photographs that makes them special?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'm the only one bent in that particular way needed to make them.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote>

<p>What concepts do they explore, if any?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That pictorial samples of things in the real world can echo, via the devices of metaphor and simile, aspects of the human condition.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>What purpose do they have?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>As a ransom against eternity.</p>

 

<p>Hi Barry,</p>

<p> For the first point, I have sought to capture the moment as good as I can with the minor equipment I have. Some of it is documentary such the photos of the construction of the third Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I came into it the last year of the work just before they started hanging the road deck. So I sought out images from shooting points everywhere. This was to get shots the average shooter was not striving for. And I was told to leave a few areas where they did not want me. I got a lot of just for panoramic stitching. I am in the final stage of this work since getting a more powerful computer earlier in the year.</p>

<p> Last year I added a Canon 10D converted to IR recording. It was that unworldly look to the images I liked. Just yesterday I used it and my normal camera to shoot scenes of the Glines Canyon Dam in Port Angeles. It and the Lower Elwha Dam will be torn down next year to rehab the river and restore the original fish runs. Again single shots and stitched panoramas are being assembled. It would be fun to take shots fo the dams as the water is lowered and the demolotion taking place.</p>

<p> Point two - To find the beauty within the moment. Also to record a scene that will never be seen again. I guess an artistic document of the moment before it is gone. It is all fleeting like the thirty day life of a bee or the flowers in late summer. I marvel at what other photographers capture using much better equipment and the knowledge to create it. I am not impressed with web imagery due to its limitations. Hence my belief that it only matters once it is going to be printed on paper or another preservational medium. But I am realistic to face the fact that my finished images may only survive 100 years if I am lucky. They are not going to survive the time length of the pyramids.</p>

<p> Point three - It includes some of the above thoughts plus it is an creative and artistic outlet for me. It only gets pricey with some of the printing and the framing. So it is a low cost endevour that I can take to when I have the urge, the right subject, or the time. Then I ponder my belly button while working out the best quality of an image to make it worth printing.</p>

<p> Below is a rough working image of the Glines Canyon Dam. Eight photos taken in IR with some corrections before stitching. It is only about 100 feet wide and 200 feet tall. However, I am standing on the edge of the cliff at an angle, and nothing to grab onto if I slipped in my smooth sole shoes. It definately was a very dangerous position to be taking for my art.</p>

<p>CHEERS...Mathew</p><div></div>

<p><em>Describe my photography?</em></p>

<p>Crisp and refreshing with no bitter aftertaste.</p>

<p><em>What makes them special? </em> They don't feel the need to be special. They are just moments from my life, things that I have observed along the way.</p>

<p><em>What concepts do they explore?</em> None. They're experiential, not conceptual. Concepts make my brain hurt. Photos make my brain happy.</p>

<p><em>What purpose do they have?</em> To entertain me after the fact. If someone else likes them, that's a bonus.</p>

<div></div>

<p>Oh, I should add that a second purpose of my photos is to entertain me while I'm out shooting them. The experience of making photographs, even when it's harsh, dangerous, difficult, frustrating, or bitterly cold is at least as important to me as the images that I bring home at the end of the day.</p>

<p>When I am not photographing, I am snug in my own personal, tastefully decorated submarine oblivious to the river of cross-chatter between my eyes and my visual cortex in which I'm submerged.</p>

<p>When I am photographing, I pop the hatch and go for a swim. (Tastefully attired in my Canon swimsuit and my Canon flippers and my Canon nose-plug and my Canon zinc oxide sunscreen, of course.)</p>

 

<p>Ok, a lot of interesting responses here.</p>

<p>@Matthew T: I'm glad to hear it's a challenging question! Easy questions are so boring :). And I can appreciate the need to capture inspiration when it comes to you. As for the concept, let us know what comes of that stew! </p>

<p>@Steve: Fair enough. Is this to say you don't know or that you don't care to know?</p>

<p>@Marius: So you shoot your own point of view, so it doesn't get lost in eternity. Ok. Better start making backups tho ;)</p>

<p>@Mathew H: You photograph to document beauty as you see it before it disappears, and also for yourself to satisfy 'the Urge'. Good reasons, I was tempted to do a similar series a while ago, but it didn't fit my style.</p>

<p>@Dan: It's good to see the polar opposite of my approach. Doing it for yourself, recording experiences to keep you happy.</p>

 

 

<p>@Julie: Interesting... You photograph to open your eyes. I like your series "Equilateral" by the way. (And I never knew canon did swimsuits!)</p>

<p>anyone else?<br>

-Barry Hennessy</p>

<p>Barry, I don't feel the need to define my photography. Have you tried the 'Philosophy of Photography' forum? They love definitions there.</p>

<p>:) it's where this was originally posted actually.</p>

<p>Would it be safe to say that since you don't feel the need to define your photography that you simply do it for pleasure and no purpose beyond that?</p>

<p>Additionally I've got to make it clear that I don't believe that people <em>need </em>to define their photography. I simply wish to know how many have considered the question and what answers they've found, if any.</p>

<p>-Barry Hennessy.</p>

<p><em>What purpose do they have?</em><br>

<em> </em></p>

<ul>

<li>To provide me with something interesting and enjoyable to do</li>

<li>To provide something of an income</li>

<li>To look attractive and appropriate on a wall</li>

<li>If I'm lucky, to get a bit of positive response and recognition from others.</li>

</ul>

<p><em>What makes them special?</em><br>

"Special" is a reaction, not something that the photographer can universally input. What is special for one person may well be commonplace or dull for another. If I'm lucky, some people might find my photography special though others won't. Those that do will do so because it touches their senses in a way particular to them, their circumstances and their experiences. Unless you're happy with relatively slack terminology like "cooked in the chefs special Masala sauce" or "Today's special" ( note the apostrophe) ?<br>

<em> </em><br>

<em>What concepts do they explore?</em><br>

<em> </em><br>

Oh dear, do I have to have "concepts" to be a proper photographer then? Does there always have to have a meaning over and above "that looks nice" , and should I be perpetually agonising over what emotional reactions are triggered by my work? If I don't have any "concepts" does that mean that what i do is axiomatically worthless? ( I do understand that it could be worthless anyway, for other reasons) I have portfolios that are quite different in subject matter, and dealt with in very different ways. Is that the same thing? </p>

<p>David's comments pretty well sum it up for me:<br>

"To provide me with something interesting and enjoyable to do<br>

To provide something of an income<br>

To look attractive and appropriate on a wall<br>

If I'm lucky, to get a bit of positive response and recognition from others. "</p>

<p>Since I switched to digital photography, I do it a whole lot rather than occasionally. There are very few days that I don't take some photos. Probably most if not all aren't very "deep" and are probably more snapshots than high concept "photographs" - our 1 year old grandson, my wife's flower garden, squirrels I feed in the back yard, my model railroad subjects, pretty scenes, family and special events, etc. </p>

<p>While I derive very little income these days from photography, that's where I started as a hobbyist, taking photos at local car race tracks and selling prints to drivers and fans. Did wedding photography on the side for about 25 years, did a lot of photography in the 35 years in my "real" job, and have been fairly successful in having my model railroad photos published (30+ covers, over 800 photos publshed). All this helped fund my photography and other hobbies so related expenditures did not come out of the family budget.</p>

 

My Beer Bottle and Banana Peel photo was taken just a few yards from the entrance to King's College Chapel in

Cambridge. I have lovely photos of the chapel and could have posted one of these. However, I chose to post the beer

bottle because even though it's simple and not particularly beautiful it means as much to me as the grander images that I

captured that day. I'm sure that thousands of tourists photographed the chapel that day, but I was probably the only one

who thought to take this shot.

 

I suppose that there are concepts behind in my work. For instance, our interpretation of a subject means more than the

subject itself in some cases. Any subject can yield an interesting photograph if you approach it with the right combination

of technique and attitude. And finally, the experience of taking the photo can be as fulfilling as having the image itself.

 

Upon exiting the famed chapel I noticed the bottle at the side of the street and thought that it might make a funny picture. I

attached my 70-200 mm lens and lay down on the pavement to try to frame an effective composition. The position was

uncomfortable and my hands were shaking a bit. Despite the use of VR only two of my shots came out as sharply as I

had hoped. I didn't have a tripod as I didn't want to carry it in the chapel.

 

As I stood up and dusted myself off an older English gentleman approched me with a mischievous grin.

 

"What's the idea then taking a photograph of a banana on a beer bottle?" With his accent he added an R sound to the

end of banana: bananr. It was delightful to my American ears.

 

I told him that I thought it would be a nice photo of Cambridge to show my mom. We both had a good chuckle.

<blockquote>

<p>@Steve: Fair enough. Is this to say you don't know or that you don't care to know?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I just like taking pictures, processing the film then printing them with my enlarger. No more reasons or justifications are required.</p>

<p>Barry, this is a subject that interests me very much. I see this issue as somewhat like a business plan for an entrepreneur. I'm a very bad businessperson, because my business plan is something like, "... duh... to make money." However, something clicked with me about a couple of years ago, and I do seem to have a photography plan. I've been rather slow in implementing it, but I at least have some notion where I'm going. This represents a departure from my previous few decades as a photographer, during which I just took pictures that interested me.</p>

<p>The answers to your questions would make up a typical artists' statement, and artists' statements can sound rather big-headed. But with apologies, I'll take a stab at your questions. My answers do not apply to all of my photography, BTW, but rather to about half of it. The remaining half is just taking pictures that interest me, just like always:</p>

<p><em>What purpose do they have?</em> The purpose of my photography is to show the world I'm living in to people from other societies, other social stations, and future times. My purpose is to be a competent observer of extraordinary times in an ordinary place. The motivation behind my work is my extraordinary difficulty in understanding other cultures and times without the benefit of having lived them. I have come to realize that history is very much filtered through the eyes of the observer and that each observer has a slightly different reality. One can only start to understand another culture (including one's own people from a different time) by studying it through many channels -- through the eyes of many observers. One era that particularly fascinates me is the Great Depression, as lived in the US. It was my parents' generation, and yet I am very far removed from it, having been born in the early 60's. I am spell-bound by the documentary photography from that period, and I'm fascinated by the range of perspectives it portrays. My purpose is to contribute to a body of material that will help others to understand early 21st Century middle class America. My target audience is people from other times and places. However, it's also people from other social stations. It is mind boggling how little little we know about others in our contemporary society who are different from ourselves. Anyway, my purpose is to witness, to show, and to whatever extent possible, to explain.</p>

<p><em>What concepts do they explore, if any?</em> This is where history meets its first major filter. My photography seeks to portray the common person -- mostly the American working class -- the people next door -- within the context of daily life and daily life struggles. It seeks to explore current economic and political issues. Because I'm particularly interested in (and impacted by) social injustices, much of my work is focused on that subject. I am also close to issues of poverty, as many of the people I care about are downwardly mobile in this brutal economy. My work is a photographic record of the world I live in, as I live it and explore it. It is mostly about the people, of course. (Flowers and sunsets look pretty much the same anywhere and in any point in time.)</p>

<p><em>What is it about your photographs that makes them special? </em>My photographs are special only within the context of the intended viewer. I am not taking my photographs to be viewed by people such as I'm photographing. Rather, the intended viewers are from other cultures, other social stations, and future points in time. What makes them special is that I am a witness with a purpose of showing others what is around me. I do have a certain style that might be recognizeable to an astute observer, but that style is not what defines my photography.</p>

<p>Only a small amount of this recent work can be seen on my website. It's not the stuff that people are going to buy and hang on their walls, and for obvious reasons, most of the work I show IS the more meaningless work I hope will have some commercial value. I am currently working on a couple of documentary projects that "aren't ready for prime time." But stay tuned!</p>

<p>@David: I understand your point about 'special' meaning different things to different people and to a certain extent I agree with this. But surely there is a point at which it becomes impossible to say that an image is ordinary or generic? <a href="http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/we_are_all_gonna_die/slider.html">this for example</a> - anyway, this is definitely a question for another thread.</p>

<p>As for my question regarding 'concepts': I make no assumption that people do or should have concepts in their photography. My question was "What concepts do they explore, <strong>if any</strong>?". My purpose in asking this question is simply to see what attitude other photographers out there have toward their own photography. Whether they do see a need for a conceptual basis or not, and if they do, what concepts are they partial to.</p>

<p>Either way your answers have given me food for thought.<br>

Thanks.</p>

<p>@Bob: Good to know that you can make an income without 'high concept photographs'.<br>

Thanks.</p>

<p>-Barry Hennessy.</p>

<p>For some reason this reminds me of when the college professor asked his students which is worse, ignorance or apathy. A student answered, "I don't know, and I don't care". These are interesting questions, but we can easily overthink the answers.</p>

<p>What purpose to they serve? 1. I enjoy them and my friends and family enjoy them. 2. When I'm taking pictures, I see things that I may have otherwise missed. 3. Some show viewers things and places they never saw before, or show them in a way they haven't seen them. 4. Taking them makes me look at things more carefully and see them in a way that I may not have seen them before.</p>

<p>What makes them special? I don't know if they are special photographically. They're special to me and to my friends and family because I took them. They're also special to me because I photograph things that interest me.</p>

<p>Concepts explored? Every picture is an Ink Blot that means different things to different people. I'm happy if my photos make people think or feel something.</p>

<p>@Dan: :) that sounds quite like something I'd do. Why be the 101th photographer on the same small piece of red carpet, eh?</p>

<p>@Steve: fair enough, that's as good a reason as any.</p>

<p>@Sarah: That sounds very like a point I reached a few years ago.</p>

<p>I was having a good look through my catalogue, picking out my best photos. I came across some very good photos, very well shot. But they were all so similar. Tree after tree, paint flake after paint flake etc. I was sick. There was no direction or focus, nothing I could bring <em>near </em>a gallery. That's what put me on the road of needing a 'concept' to drive my photography, or an artists statement, although I've never thought of it that way.</p>

<p>Anyway, enough about me. </p>

<p>That's an impressively well worked out 'photography plan', as you put it. I have to admit mine are not nearly as well fleshed out. I wish you the best in achieving them, and just ask that you show us sometime.</p>

<p>-Barry Hennessy.</p>

<p>A photograph is only but the interpretation of what one see's is it not:<br>

We do our best to our level of skills to get it to look the way we saw it or viewed it at the moment in time, If I am able to please others with my type of work Great but self satisfaction is my goal and the rest is gravy in my mind:<br>

Its like this foto on the Boston,Ma. Bridge which I took and finalized it the way it is posted, to me I saw all the lines telling a story of everything is working together doing its job and then we have how the sun light can add to the picture , of course some would say that the cables on the right have to much light But that's how all those cables come into a point of looking like one flat piece of steel:<br>

So its a matter of taste and vision that makes one's photograph that they have taken:</p><div></div>

<p>My photography is about using a camera to see in a way our eyes cannot. This is usually done by using slow shutter speeds when taking a photo.</p>

<p>The concepts they currently explore is the structure and details in waves.</p>

<p>Provide the opportunity for people to look and explore the nature of waves and mayvbe sell a few prints at the same time.</p>

<p>Mine is about preserving something - a special ray of light falling on a flower or something - whose exact circumstances may never again be duplicated. Sure, the same flower will be there for a while and the sun may be out tomorrow but that does not guarantee that I'd be able to get the same photo. I learned a long time ago that if you see something special you want to photograph, DO IT NOW (which is why I carry a camera with me 95% of the time) because in two minutes, the light may have changed or something else may have changed. So I guess I'm trying to preserve moments - moments that are attractive to me - and as David says, maybe sell a few prints as well.</p>

<p><em>My question is this: Define your photography.</em></p>

<ul>

<li><em>What is it about your photographs that makes them special?</em></li>

<li><em>What concepts do they explore, if any?</em></li>

<li><em>What purpose do they have?</em></li>

</ul>

<p>1. My photographs are unique to me -- time/place, location, equipment. However, many copy prior masters' works. Also, my photos are special because they are 100% from my POV -- I choose when & what to capture.<br>

2. Concepts likely include nature's beauty; industrialization; documentary; cycling; beer & wine appreciation; day-to-day including family & friends...<br>

3. Purpose and concept are so similar to me. However, photography's purpose to me is to self having found a creative outlet with which I can share with the world and make my parents and parents-in-law even happier.</p>

<ul>

</ul>

 

<blockquote>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=6106598">Barry Hennessy</a> , Aug 23, 2010; 06:04 a.m.</p>

<p> Ok, a lot of interesting responses here.<br>

@Marius: So you shoot your own point of view, so it doesn't get lost in eternity. Ok. Better start making backups tho ;)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>No problems with backups, it's all shot on 8x10 film and finished as contacts on gelatin-silver paper. Eternity is a very long time and I suspect it always wins no matter what photographs I put up as ransom against its claims.</p>

<p>The photographs I make that I care about are mostly from movies that never got filmed because I invented them. Otherwise, sex and violence, that's something that seems to work. And occasionally ecstasy(see footnote). Maybe all at once, if I can put it all together.</p>

<p>Footnote - Not the drug, the experience.<br><p><center>

<img src="http://spirer.com/images/partybang.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /><br>

<em>The End of Berlin</em></p></center></p>