raywei

To me, spontaneity works like a prepared improvisation, which agrees with the saying that "a photo is made, not

taken".

 

Now I recall Szarkowski's remarks that in "the decisive moment", Cartier-Bresson is not referring to a dramatic

climax but a visual climax.

 

A visual climax has to be MADE by elements of design, even at a spontaneous moment of this POW! on the street.

Robert，

 

Fred Goldsmith said well. Many people who kindly share are the reasons that I visit here.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ray

Fred Goldsmith: And what a pompous and useless answer it would be.

 

lol. Agreed, Fred.

 

If I had a perception of world's things, which is a primary function of art, I might need some kind of validation, I won't be a comment whore, but other people's opinions do count for me. I am not a god, for God's sakes.

I don't think a photo has to tell a story, sometimes it can rest just on the beauty for the form, like Bach's fugue. Aaron Copland actually critized in his "What To Listen For In Music" those less sophisticated listerns who have to find a story in a piece of music.

 

So is photography, an piece of fine art abstract photo doesn't have to be narrative -- the concept rests in forms, shapes and colors. Jsut my two cents.

 

btw, I disagree with Bruce Cahn -- I believe music is art, even it has to be performed; a negative has to be developed and printed too. Aha, Ansel Adams famous quote comes to mind. :D

If we take the forms apart from the ideas they convey, they differ. But how, I am not sure.

 

Eager to see insightful answers here, as I wrote music for years before switching to photography I ponder the same thing. Then again, sometimes I also found myself asking: why do I care?

"We don't make a photograph just with a camera; we bring to the act of photography all the books we have read, the movies we have seen, the music we have heard, the people we have loved."

 

-- Ansel Adams

 

To me, there is this Philosophy of Photography.

Ah, I see that third essence being discussed here, if we take the risk to talk about the essence of a photo, could that be:

 

essence of the subject + essence of the photographer + essence of the viewer? I use the term essence losely.

 

Let's imagine a matchmaker took Steve McCurry's photo to an afghan boy, what does the young man see? Same essence as seen by those living in North America?

Interesting question, can we capture it? YES.

 

But defining what is the essence actually defines the photographer, and we see something like that happening right here. :D

Martin,

 

I am glad you posted the question. Yes, I only asked privately.

Technical question, how does slide show count?

 

Well, I am not asking because of a big ego, I ask because the counts actually tell me which photo of mine grabs eyeballs. Yes, I do have over 25 million views and I found out that difference of a batched photos in view count is as helpful as the comments.

 

Ray

Try 28-70mm/f2.8, AFS, if you are going to be serious on portrait. I've mounted about 2 dozen lenses -- prime or pro-zooms -- on my Nikon for over 100 shots, that lens is the best, indoor or outdoor.

 

Good luck. -- Ray

9000 ED, about 21,000 RMB in Beijing.

 

http://product.pcpop.com/000019480/Price.html

I found a few, but can you surf in Chinese? Do you need to own one, rather than send the negative for scanning services?

 

Good luck.

I concur with others regarding shooting color and convert to BW later.

 

In your question on Ia and IIIa, I think that "a" stands for Adobe RGB, so if you intend to use PS later, try that.

 

For me the BW mode is for scenes that I intend to shoot in Bresson style, and I need a preview.

 

Should you shoot in BW or Color? It may help if we ask: do you compose in BW or color? or do you respond more to light contrast or color contrast?

Pod, you wrote: "of course, its kind of lame comparing 2 mediums, each having different means of communication."

 

Agreed.

I was about to write down: "It all depends..." then I saw Anthony Amorteguy's reply, and realized that I could not put it a better way than what Anthony already did.

 

There are a lot questions in photography that need more than a simple answer. :D

Weekends.

I love this lens, and I agree with Steve Levine. Go get another one might be a cheaper solution.

Some of these photographers on PN are also real pros, but for PN, they also have a chance to upload the fashion photos of their own personal vision, but the client's vision. There is a difference. Those photos don't look like what you see in magazines, but that fact doesn't necessarily mean that they are not taken by the pros.

Good luck and thank you Brian.

Calvin,

 

Did you compare the Bokeh? I bought the Hassy-Nikon adapter as well for my D2x, not that I am interested in sharpness, but I like the Bokeh and contrast of a Carl Zeiss. Of course, Nikon 80-200mm has beautiful Bokeh too.

 

An observation of what you said: "but remember that the Hasselblad photo was shot wide-open whereas the Nikon lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.8." Good point, but also remember Hassy 150mm is a prime and Nikon 80-200mm is zoom with more glass elements. :D

 

Warm regards,

 

Ray

Terry,

 

Whatever your camera tells you is what you get under Aperture Priority. The trouble is, as stated above, that you have to focus wide open and then close down to get the proper aperture, shutter will change accordingly, due to TTL metering capability on 645AF/AFD body.

 

This is how I use my 120mm F4 macro MF lens.

 

Hope it helps, regards.

f-stop is derived by dividing the focal length of a lens by the diameter of the lens opening. F-stop = SQRT(2) ^ Stop Number, that's square root of 2 to the power of stop number. It starts with 1 and the next is 1.4 (sqrt(2)^1=1.414). Just remember these two numbers and then double each number you will have the whole series of f-stops, such as, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 1.4, 2.8, 5.6, 11, etc. Pretty simple to remember. Have fun.

By looking at the photos you've uploaded here, I would say go with Nikon. IMHO, we should let the subject choose a camera, not the other way around. I have an F100 and a D70 for fun, a Contax for weddings, a Mamiya 645 portraiture and a Sinar 4x5 for landscape.

 

If you love landscape and architecture, stay with Nikon, which is stronger in wider lenses, such as your 17-35mm -- a great lens.

 

When we make an equipment choice, we first not to choose the equipment, but a subject or subjects. Then the right lens, then the right camera, then the flash, etc. Let's no lose our focus on small technical differences.

 

However, there is one thing about Canon EOS digital, with an adaptor one can use Carl Zeiss Y/C lenses. Now we are talking. :D

 

Ray

I'll be interested in trading up my 645 AF for AFD, if I can save on the back compared to the complete ZD. Any more updates? :D

If you are a journalist, get D70 for speed, you could miss some decisive moment shots on 300D. I have D70 and I tried 300D. A split of second matters in photojournalism.

 

By the way, I don't understand the reference of third world country's trash stuff. China happens to have technology to put a man into space, and US has produced a lot trash as well. :D