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andy e

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Posts posted by andy e

    After the Reaper

    in Classic Manual Film Cameras

    Posted

    The idea of a book, or several, is a good one. I was at a magnificent exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London of the work of Jacques Henri Lartigue. They had on display his photo albums, in which he kept all his meaningful photos, not to mention his great masterpieces. In 80 years he did 130 volumes of gorgeous photo books which he used as both a visual and written journal of his photographic life. Something like that has given me some ideas of my own on how to preserve my photos, such as they are for posterity.

    Using the system...

    in PhotoNet Site Help

    Posted

    I think its fair to say that the system, no matter what form it takes, is an utter abortion. Brian, Jeremy and others should be credited for their efforts to try and work up something useful and fair, but at the end of the day they basically look like the Sisyphus brothers. These are the simple facts of life on here:

     

    1) The TRP is a crock that's festooned by a bunch of images (but not all) that are there for the plain and simple reason that people have traded ratings or used other mechanisms to elevate their images on the ratings pages. You're right. Its not about legitimacy, its about politics and some feeble need to feel some success.

     

    2) There is a sector on here that seems dedicated to the proposition that anything and everything should be rated, no matter how empty-headed the rationale is for the numbers they smear on people's pictures. Often, you will find that these people are either not members or post none of their own pictures or both. Again, I'd say its a manifestation of the aforementioned fragile ego syndrome.

     

    3) For those of us who are still dedicated to the art of the print, this is a poor substitute for the things we propagate in our art. No offense to the digital folks out there, but this is a limited visual experience. Anybody who tells you that this is as good an experience as seeing real silver and color prints (or other photo processes) in real life is dreaming. Quit worrying about the pixels and the PS and find a living, breathing audience for your work. The jollies you might get out of this Photo.net stuff is nothing compared to the sense of satisfaction you can get from presenting your hard work in print to people who really understand the struggle and the effort. The people who live for covering the TRP with their "fine" images will never understand that. Get thee to a darkroom and rediscover what its like to make real images.

     

    As for me, I'll keep looking around and seeing whats happening here and there, but I've solved my Photo.net problems for good...no goddamn way I'm ever gonna subject my work to this place ever again. To do that now would feel like walking over my silver prints in shoes covered with dogcrap. Good luck to the rest of you trying to solve this "system" problem, but I'm afraid its a waste of effort. The "system", simply put, is a horse that needs to be shot and put out of its misery.

     

    So endeth the rant...

    impossible ratings?

    in PhotoNet Site Help

    Posted

    Yeah, Kent, that's true but the fact is that I got a bunch of unsolicited ratings on my images too. And frankly, I found it annoying enough that pulled all my images. And it seemed to be the same names over and over, at least one of whom appears on the image Mike linked us to. Frankly, I don't need some low-rent pinhead giving me feedback on my stuff in the form of a number and I'm bloody tired of watching my images get anchored to the bottom by a bunch of morons who understand little if anything of what I do or how I do it.

     

    Jeez, give someone a camera and a copy of "Photography for Dummies" and they think they know it all.

    Old vs New Tri-X

    in Black & White Practice

    Posted

    What little change I can see is for the better. I've noticed that the new Tri-X is even more wonderfully responsive to Rodinal than before. In a 1:50 bath for around 12 1/2 or 13 minutes at 68F, the contrast and tones are about as nice as anything I've ever seen. The film is simply awesome.

    Opinions on the folder of photos

    in Leica and Rangefinders

    Posted

    Wow, the temperature is rising in the room.

     

    Let me try to answer your questions, Heather.

     

    1)Are they that bad? Only if you think they are that bad and can't be reconciled to your relationship with the camera and the thing that you're photographing. My opinions is that they are OK but that has nothing to do with whether they are good or bad.

     

    2)Am I blowing smoke up my own arse thinking that there could be something to work on here? Maybe not with these, but with future tries? The only person who can blow smoke up your arse in this instance is you. Its up to you whether you think that they can further your own photographic sense and vision by further work. There will be people, no matter what, who will view it either as a worthwhile exercise or a total waste of time. The whole thing is up to you.

     

    Funny I kinda sound like Grant, only without using the word "ur".

     

    Allen, is there anything you want to share with us?

     

    Piss on a corner? To quote Balaji, "whatever..."

    Feedback on Leica MP

    in Leica and Rangefinders

    Posted

    Personally I find my MP to be a lot smoother and less fussy than my M6. I say "fussy" because I frankly found myself pulling my hair out dealing with the quirks of the M6 viewfinder (primarily flaring). Also, I like the "built-like-a-brick-s***house" quality of the MP. Cosmetics aside about the black paint, I feel like I got a solid camera in my hands that can take the bumps and bruises I routinely put my cameras through.

     

    The MP has its pain-in-the-ass qualities too, such as the annoyance of the film rewind knob, but I don't know of any Leica model that someone doesn't have a whine about. All in all, I'd say I have a camera that will keep me pretty damn happy for a long time to come. I like my M6, but I love my MP.

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