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tonmestrom

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Posts posted by tonmestrom

    Salton Sea - documentary photography

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <p>different photographers, different approaches. The goal seems mainly to be to create aesthetic beauty out of decay. Hardly a new approach (hence the comparison to Scott London's work I suspect) but expertly done. It indeed results in fine art photos as Brad point out rightly. But whatever that means, for me personally they are mostly pretty pictures. Very good ones yes, but still. The problem is always finding a new angle to a deadbeat subject. Barry's approach I see as more conceptual and as a result as far more interesting.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>Seems no one wants to go deep with a fresh perspective though...</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>or perhaps not that many are able to</p>

    <p>As for the short video, too much text and not enough photos</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>It's not that hard to track them down, Misrach is quite famous, Stringfellow is published.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>True Jeff. But then not all of us are as knowledgeable about (contemporary) American photography/photographers. I suspect, generally speaking, that the same is true of the knowledge most Americans posess about European photography/photographers. That's one of the nice things about a site like this, it brings you in contact with the work of photographers whose work you may never have seen before.</p>

    Film Vs Digital compact test

    in Casual Photo Conversations

    Posted

    <p>as any pinhole photographer can tell you gear is largely overrated. It's the stuff between your ears that gets you there and not what you hold in your hands. It's a frightfull cliche, I know but since it's obvious this fact is lost on many people it won't do harm to repeat it every now and then.</p>

    Why do I like the work of Neil Buchan Grant so much??

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <p>true Fred</p>

    <p>that's too general a question Allen but I will say this. Apart from the fact that some (commercial) assignments are required to have a certain look it seems to me that some people think good (or perfect if one wants, a word I didn't use) technique is at odds with good streetphotography. I'm of the school that while good technique isn't in all cases intrumental it's still one of the fundaments of good photography in general.</p>

     

    <blockquote>

    <p>For my tastes they are overcooked and don't really speak to me of anything really</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>it's described as travel photography. I think they are well suited to be published in some travel magazines.</p>

    Why do I like the work of Neil Buchan Grant so much??

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <blockquote>

    <p>These seem much more about making "good" photographs than about exploring a subject or scene or telling a story.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>yes, but then this was his brief, at least as I understand from the text.</p>

    <p>As for the rest I personally think "perfect technique" isn't at odds with good streetphotography (which this is not presented as such). anything but in fact.</p>

    Why do I like the work of Neil Buchan Grant so much??

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <blockquote>

    <p>So what is it that makes his work so special? Does his use of Leica differentiate his work to such a degree...</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>of course. Buy a M9 as well, a set of lenses and you're there</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>...sharpness and perfect composition (how he does that with mid distance lenses puzzles me)</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>me too, it's ludicrous</p>

     

    <blockquote>

    <p>apply more grain/film effect in post processing to achieve better realism</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>absolutely. Grain, HDR, grad filters and all of that are intrumental to get all of that</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>but is that really what separates the ordinary shooter from achieving work of this caliber?</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>of course not. There's talent from someone who knows exactly what he wants and presents it in highly stylized photos. It's probably that which appeals to you.</p>

    <p> </p>

    What camera do you use?

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <p>You're going about this the wtong way I think. Whatever other people use isn't going to tell you much as should be clear by now. I did a 2,5 hour lecture on streetphotography in Belgium yesterday where I told people that camera's don't matter and frankly, they don't. It's a message that has to sink in though. You can see it here as well as it ranges from an iPhone to a RZ67. Instead think about what lens you should use and save a lot of money. The best advice I or anyone else can give you is to buy a single prime, in your case a 28 or 35 mm. Stick to that and you are going to benifit a lot. It's small, fast, relatively cheap and sharp but above all your compositions will improve if you stick to a single prime. There's virtually nothing you can't shoot with such a lens.<br /> Good luck.</p>

    iPhone street shooting video by Koci Hernandez

    in Street & Documentary

    Posted

    <p>Well Leslie the way I see it you keep making this bigger than it is or deserves.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>The photos should speak for themselves.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>yes, and either they do or they don't. No label is going to change that. I judge contests and some people keep hammering on about a black frame would be so much better than a white frame on any given photo. What they actually should concentrate on is the actual photo. It's just one example of people distracted by inconsequential stuff.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>Does Bruce Gilden has a section called leica flash photography on his site? Does Alex Soth have a LF label on his site? Nevermind Magnum shooters, let's talk PN folks now. Does Jeff S. have Iphoneography on his site, he uses an Iphone I heard. How about Mike D.? He used (or still does) an M3, does he specify anything RF/leica photography on his site?</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Why would I care or anyone else for that matter? Again it's inconsequential. I look at their photography, not inconsequential things surrounding it. Presentation is important but only so much. Of course, in Alec Soth's case the fact that he shoots some of his series with a 8x10 is intrumental in these results.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>Immediacy maybe god send, if you are working for reuters or even working an event but street photography, really?</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>yes, really.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>Great arts need not to be judged by what museum they exhibited in...</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>it should tell you something though</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>whether it's via camphone in a minute or a month, say, Clive France's art film prints. Time matters little here...</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>these are two different things though. Post work, whether in a darkroom or behind a computer is quite different from shooting work. Any idea how long it takes to create a salt print for instance? Does it automatically follow that a cam shot gets printed without any form of post? Mine don't and time matters very much if you want your resulting photos to be as good as they can be, camshots just the same as all other ones. I do postwork for some other photographers as well. They wouldn't like it one bit if they thought I rushed it or took shortcuts. Believe you me, time does matter and you take as much as is needed.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>But I think that by just labeling photography "Iphoneography" is a bit silly.</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>Whether you like it or not and regardless of its importance, if any at all, it's what people do and often not without reason or merit. You only have to look at the history of photography to discover that. Ever heard of Typography, Appropiation, Image Construction to name just a few. All labels.</p>

    <blockquote>

    <p>I think many so called street shooters should take a beginning composition photo course...</p>

    </blockquote>

    <p>there's no doubt that composition is the single most instrument in photography as a whole and SP in particular, at least not in my mind.</p>

    <p> </p>

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