johnmarkpainter Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 "Philosophers" by Steve Pyke. http://www.pyke-eye.com/ He shoots everything with Rollei TLR. His closeups (using Rolleinar) can get a bit strange but his stuff is VERY cool. Makes me want to sell 80% of my cameras. jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 If you can't produce pictures at least as good as his then you probably do want to sell your cameras. Many photographers were doing this sort of thing in the UK forty years ago - same lighting, same poses, same use of hard printing and big close-ups.... But of course, he's an 'artist' and has the right connections so he gets an MBE and a lot of arse-licking publicity. It would be sad if it wasn't so bloody funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Funny.... Take a look around at lots of Portrait guys right now...you don't see consistently interesting or engaging work like you see in Pyke's portfolio. It ain't about technique. It isn't an accident. He's got a 'thing' jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the tightwad Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Sigh.....Interesting stuff except.......I wish he'd do more landscapes and nature. Peoples faces this close up are........boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 "He's got a 'thing' " Indeed, it's called self promotion. If you really think his stuff is unusual you haven't seen nearly enough pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Sour Grapes? It's not like he's a rock star. :) Unusual doesn't equal quality. jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Walt, He has some Landscapes...I thought they were boring :0 jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m. Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 I think he is a very interesting photographer who consistently takes some great images. Yes, nothing revolutionary, but does it have to be? It was seeing a some of his images on T.V. when I was younger that made me realise what was possible with black and white film and simple gear. This helped start my long-term love of Rollei TLRs Okay there's nothing new about simple black and white portraits. People have been doing it for years, but not everyone does it equally well ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 "Sour Grapes?" You're obviously dazzled by his brilliance. I was merely pointing out that he's not that brilliant. It's called having a different opinion. <grin> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Actually you did it by suggesting that if my images weren't as good as his then I should quit...and that I must have never seen any 'real' photos. That's not a difference of opinion...that's inferiority complex. Thanks for the grin though :) jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd l. wilson Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 I think it was pretty harsh to suggest getting rid of your cameras if you couldn't produce work like that, but I would agree that his work is quite lame. If the photos were not of famous people, they would really have nothing going for them. I like the WWII veterans collection but every shot is exactly the same, saying nothing of who the subjects actually were as people. I bought a book a couple months back of portraits taken strictly on a Rollei TLR, black & white by Milton Rogovin called "The Forgotten Ones". http://www.miltonrogovin.com/ Incredible documentarian, portaitist (if that's a word) and photographer. Check out his "Quartets" - series of 4 photos each spanning 30 years of the subjects' lives. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim obrien Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Actually, a quite accomplished photographer... if you like that black background one main, one fill three stops down, with heavy make up, on some ortho type film sort of look. He does what he does and if you like it fine. I get bored with it pretty easy but then again, my studio stuff is not as good, wait, my studio stuff is non-existant. Can't we all just get along? tim in san jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 <i>I bought a book a couple months back of portraits taken strictly on a Rollei TLR, black & white by Milton Rogovin called "The Forgotten Ones". </i><p> Now this is one great book. Actually, it's two great books - I have an older Rogovin book with the same title, but it's a completely different book. I guess he liked the title and the other went out of print. He is an incredibly good portrait photographer, and the web site doesn't do him justice. The book is fairly inexpensive, however.<p> I think he shoots mostly with large format though. Could be wrong, but he even talks about this in the (newer) Forgotten Ones. Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Rogovin? That's nothing original....Black&White shots of poor people? Dorothea Lange and Margaret Bourke-White were doing that stuff when he was in Diapers! (you do know I'm kidding right? I really like his work). As to whether Pyke's work is interesting just because the subjects are famous....I think I recognized maybe two people in the Philosophers book. I'm not a Philospher groupie (though I am certain that they exist). jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliot_n Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 I love Pyke's Philosophers book. The photography is technically simple (emulating early Avedon), but it's executed with great confidence. And I like the idea of photographing (in tight close-up) the heads of a group of people who have dedicated themselves to the life of the mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Rogovin did shoot with a Rollei, I was incorrect above. <p> Although Mr. Painter was kidding about Rogovin, it's worth noting that his work is very different from that of Lange and Evans. Much of his photography is portraiture and of people he knows. He has also done documentary work, with miners and in Mexico, Chile and Europe, but even then, much of it is portraiture. He's almost a hundred years old and still being published. There aren't that many photographers whose work will live on as Rogovin's has. <p> An interesting story about Rogovin - he sold off his equipment when he developed cataracts. At the age of 88, he had cataract surgery and bought back his original equipment and began photographing again. Some of the photos in the (new) <i>Forgotten Ones</i> are from after the surgery.<p> One other fact of interest - he worked as an optician, just as Meatyard did. Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd l. wilson Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Sorry, I may have misspoken above. I never saw the book. I was really judging his website. Which is, I'm sure, top-heavy with famous people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 "that's inferiority complex" And that's just plain rude. Not being impressed by someone's work simply indicates that you're not impressed by someone's work. What exactly is so hard to grasp in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic_. Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 <I>"... a lot of arse-licking publicity ..."</I> <P>The best kind!!! You cannot buy this for any kind of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h._p. Posted April 22, 2004 Share Posted April 22, 2004 Indeed, but it gets the seat of your pants rather wet..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_munch Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 NPR had an interesting piece on Rogovin about a year ago. You can find it archived on www.npr.org --tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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