ANOTHER BACKSTAGE WITH THE SAME GHOST

...?

a great joyous image Mr. Sideris, and the loudest applause to the gorgeous model, if you would. It's also clear that you are an artist with a retro sensibility and i extend my applause for you as well. You and your partner accomplished something different here --- a celebration !

I don't agree. A blur is still a blur. We can't read your intent in this work so it has to stand on its own. I am glad you are happy and have others who like the approach. I have to be honest, even if I am a minority. Good luck with experimentation though...it is different I must say,but not appealing as you might wish.

Well, I will not enter into technicalities or semantics, however there are two reasons why this image rings very true to me.

 

The first is that I am familiar with Sweid's style and, whereas I might question the motive and the outcome if someone else, unknown to me, had made it, I know Sweid's work to be filled with shadows and fleeting moments, both of which are exemplary in portraying the mood that he attempts to capture. Even his architectural shots are often reminiscent of this style.

 

The second reason is quite simply that I love backstage work in which true moments in life are captured and I indulge in such photography heavily myself whenever possible. Sometimes the lack of focus can be troubling, other times as in the case above it underlines for me the movement, the spontaneity and even the mystery of the passing moment. Had all been perfect from the point of view of technicality, the smile, the gesture of the hand, the shadowy props to the right would have considerably less impact than they do now. Wow, you live the moment here in real time!  

 

I have great respect for Gerry's often poignant critiques. In this case, I absolutely love the image and disagree. That, needless to say, is what art is all about .. : -)

Beautiful model.  I would imagine that the image is more of a happy accident than anything else, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I'm flattered with your expressive writing, you know, sometimes certain moods and emotional values are perceived only by the author, so, I am happy because you share my feelings in front of this image. Thank you again.

 

Gerry

You are honest even being minority (an accident, believe me) and this fact shouldn't be relevant. This image is just what you see, not a pretentious one, reasons are obvious. Thank you very much for your comments, I hope to see you very often in my pages!

 

John

I remember the hundreds of times that we discussed about photography, our rich exchange of opinions come from years, through the net and personally in H as well, and I always remember a statement from you:

"In photography, like in others expressions of art, rules are done to be broken"

And I like this way of thinking/doing. Here I have destroyed several rules with just one "click", and I'm happy with the result. The session was almost ending, the other photographer to my left was joking with her and she started to laugh. So, just miliseconds to react, low speed, bad light, handheld, and perhaps too close, then... voilà! C'est la femme! Emulating your perfect backstages!

Mercy beaucoup mon ami!

 

Michael

I find your words an accurate definition of the context where this photo was taken. A happy accident, photographers and model having fun, laughing after an exhausting session. I'm glad really, thanks a lot.

Just another word on what you wrote Sweid that I find interesting on "certains moods and emotional values being perceived only by the author". 

 

In a way, photography can be somewhat egoist, because we capture what we identify with personally and are sometimes in awe when others do not see it .. : -). In portraiture however, this takes on a special meaning because there is interaction, though once again only we really know what is going on. Pictures, like certain smells and tastes sometimes bring back extraordinary memories.

"...photography can be somewhat egoist..." And sometimes absolutely egoist, I should say. And you're right in a particular point, in portraiture there is interaction, it is fundamental, without this interaction nothing has value.

 

You know, we take photos for pleasure, of course that many other people take photographies for more reasons, thousands of different reasons indeed, but basically the pleasure is hidden behind those intentions. It's like the breath, we need it to survive.

 

What is a photo? I mean, beyond the technical stuffs, what is a photo personally? 

 

Emotions, feelings, in the most wide arch of meanings, from the tears to the laughters, from the old memory to the last discovery. Just infinite kinds of emotions.

If a photo don't lead you to watch twice, if this photo don't touch some inner fiber, if this photo don't provokes you to make a question... well, bad news my friend.

 

Then, I am not running towards the academic purity, or the perfect focus, or the pro lightning, neither the most sophisticated equipment. I just use it when I consider it is pertinent, no more, nor less (always struggling against my lack of skills and my ignorance, of course).

At last, I am not looking for a job in Magnum. :-)

 

I am running behind the feelings, the emotional impact, something valuable for me in first place. I try to say something, always, I try to transmit what I feel in this exact second, sometimes I have success, few times indeed, mostly my images are empty frames.

 

How do you explain a passion? If you can, then it is not a passion. Just like love.

Thanks for the comments of your vision Seid. I was not reflecting or reacting so much to a body of work, nor a style ,but just a single image in the daily dozen or so. It does convey joy of expression and is like the shadow images on old lantern slide shows in a way. I could not grasp the meaning of ghost and backstage vs upstage so I am a minority and learner in that sense. Okeedokee. I will give this all some thought and stir my rusty brain and look at more things on line from MOMA even. I have done a few oof items and never much liked them myself.

 

Like this one of mine, but I keep it because has a certain sensibility that perhaps is not my usual style of sharp as a samurai sideburn :-).

 

John, you know I kind of beginning to see your distinction a la upstage and backstage. So a dialogue is born and it beats " great capture." Which is also nice but leads nowhere special. I am flexible yet, must be my yoga. aloha Seid, and thanks for the response to comments. It helps.

Looking at her body of work. And work of bodies, I see that she also has some images that taken alone would be strange, but in a sequence are interesting. Zoe Wiseman was also a nude model who posed for the late actor Leonard Neimoy.

 

I like what she has done over a long period of time. And she understands her subject. I thought you and others who work in this category would be interested so I now share a link to her gallery: Hope it gives some pleasure or strikes a spark or two. ( and if not you can still come to my birthday party,,:-))

 

 

http://www.zoewiseman.com/ZW/

 

 

PS. What is broken in PN that a link is no longer accepted, stranger all the time.

Don't worry, you can (you should) reflect your opinion or react as much as you think it's necessary to express your point of view on my work or the work of anybody.

 

We, the people who uploads our photographs for critiques, should be aware that those critiques never will be as flattering as we would like, on the opposite, we must be prepared for the harsh critique, or, as in your case, pointing those details that you think are wrong, or aesthetically disappointing, even awful.

 

About your oof photo, let me say that I like it, it has a certain dynamic, a kind of motion layered between the foreground blurred girls with no face, and the dramatic expression that I can perceive on the background girls faces with less blur effect. Something happen, all of them in one well defined direction, running to the right, then this fact deserves a question, ¿why?¿what's going on there? ¿Why that girl in the background is screaming? More than one question, this image has a particular value then.

 

You know, sometimes the high technique level is not necessary to convey a feeling, even a deep emotional impact. Perhaps your "ghosts" never will be hanging on a MoMA wall, but your work has a value on your own walls. Try it.

 

So, welcome to my work Gerry, welcome to my world, as I told you a couple of days ago, I hope to see you visiting/commenting/criticizing my pages as often as possible.

 

On the other hand, I was taking a ride on the Zoe site you've recommended, let me tell you that her collection of images fits almost perfectly with my vision/concept about photography, extraordinary work she do. Thanks for the clue.

 

P.S. please forgive my criminal grammar.

 

Great motion nude work!! Fantastic tones!!