tonmestrom

February 12, 2012

Excellent news. I see no downside...

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I do actually and it's a big one. A "citizen" has no business at the scene of a traffic accident or a crime scene, none whatsoever. It will probably mean even more A-holes will get in the way of emergency personel. And it's not just those with camera's. There is an increasing amount of violence towards emergency personel trying nothing more than to do their job.

<a href="

/> (the posed question inbetween states the following: "if we protect our emergency personel in war time why not then in peacetime" On any such scene pro's are needed. Everyone else (and I do mean everyone) should be kept at a safe distance!

Similarly, videos and still photos recorded by witnesses or bystanders may, at worst, be the lesser of two evils.

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I have no problem with pro's, who actually know how to do their job without getting in the way, being on scene. Every other Tom, Dick or Harry should be kept at a safe distance. Believe me, you don't want every adrenaline junkie there because in too many cases they turn Neanderthal.

At best, they're simply exercising 1st Amendment rights.

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Here we go again, the mantra of everyone wanting an excuse. Rights imply responsability. If you've got no business there you should be responsible enough (and held accountable to that effect) to stay the hell out of there.

February 4, 2012

merci Anthony

February 3, 2012

you only see what you want to see. It's like buying a car, once you've got a certain type you see them all around. That's all.

February 2, 2012

no doubt to a lot of people it will be blasphemous what I'm about to say but nowadays I think inkjet prints are as good as normal wet prints. In fact in some respects I find them even better. Bear in mind that a traditional inkjet was always meant to emulate its wet counterpart. In the end however it's the same chicken or egg discussion all over again of what is best. Some people seem to find that more important than how the print actually looks.

In no way however does or can this extend to old procede's. Sure, there are lots of retail filters on the market that promiss us to emulate the look of old procede's. I think I checked most of them out and have yet to find the first one that does even a half-decent job. Most in fact are quite useless and a far cry from the original.

As for tin types, I do admire the technique and its results but have never done it myself.

February 1, 2012

but would it matter to you how a print was produced in this day and age

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it depends I think. The problem however is that when you want to discuss this you should include the so-called old procede's like albumen, bromoil and salt prints for instance or cyanotypes/argyrotypes in which case the printing technique is (even more) integral to the endresult. If you just narrow it down to silver vs inkjet you leave too much out. Especially since there are still people who use these printing techniques.

January 27, 2012

hey Fi, such a photo together with Dean Martin. You're a romantic ;-)

January 21, 2012

now there's an idea...;-)

January 21, 2012

"...and looking ahead to the coming election cycle"

Same here

January 17, 2012

I've always used Delta 100 which some find to technical for portraits. But I've also used TriX a lot both developed in ID-11 1+3

January 17, 2012

Sometimes it's nice to just do the disassociation and look at the photograph just as a single photograph

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Barry, absolutely. You've put it better than I could. As for the rest I know you long enough by know to know that your views are anything but dimly informed and skewed.

January 17, 2012

Even 50% of surgeons were in the bottom half of their class, but at least their qualifications go beyond ownership of a scalpel.

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Way beyond, it's a ludicrous analogy

Some of that is appreciated, most is ignored.

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basic human nature at work

January 16, 2012

great idea Anders. Not in need of a membership myself but as far as any ideas are concerned why not a photocontest based on one or several poems given beforehand. In other words translate a poem into a visual presentation.

January 15, 2012

Gordon Parks is a hero to me, and a rather cold photographer to many of you all

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I wonder why you say that Elmo. Personally I'm neither here nor there in this case. But if you mean by "cold" that there is a kind of perfection (and a classical one at that) in his photos I would agree. It's something in fact I do admire about his work. It's very deliberate, studied and yet there's often a kind of seemingly informality to it, all of which I do admire in his work. I think he was a far greater photographer than he got credit for.

As for politics, sure there are cultural differences. Perhaps that explains why I see his work a bit more with European eyes. While not being blind to the historical context it's more a kind of emphasis that's at play here I think.

January 15, 2012

Starvy yes, it creates context because after all, it's a paperboy but Stefan, Marc, I'm not sure about the political angle, if any, of this photo. No doubt Parks was politically motivated in a lot of what he did but I myself am a bit hesitant to project too much into this.

The trouble is that if we know (about) the photographers who've shot the photo we look at we tend to translate that knowledge into any given photo and for all the wrong reasons. It's a trap I've fallen into myself on occassion. What I see here is a portrait of a young kid and a damned fine portrait at that but that's about it.

Yes Fred, it's as much a document as a street portrait but the question is, given the passage of time, if that doesn't happen automatically. In other words, haven't the social and historical context of this photo become more prominant as time went by. I think they did.

And oh yes, there's that beautifull light or as you put it so aptly "The light isn't just good for a photo. It belongs to the boy. And there's also a light that emanates from him."

"a blending of content and style, a visual harmony that shows a sensitivity to the moment and the narrative." I like that.

I appreciate your take on it Allen but I do wonder what you mean with "I just find a coldness in his work" You mean his work in general or this photo in particular? Furthermore I find this an interesting observation: "Well, he has got very close to the subjects, which in someways is good, but in others leaves a story behind" because it raises the question if a portrait (shot on the street or elsewhere) has to always tell a story? I ask because given its title and the includedbackground it certainly provides environmental context.

"I also like how Parks has gotten down to the boys level, this should be photo 101..."

You're right Marc, in most cases it should.

Thanks all for contributing.

January 14, 2012

Without any doubt Gordon Parks can be called one of the most notable photographers in American history. Multitalented as he was his star as a photographer has perhaps not risen as high as perhaps it should have.

When you look at <a href="http://www.theknightlynews.com/storage/harlemnewsboy-757412.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1256031156863">this photo</a> of his it shows a scene few of us would walk by. Indeed, I think it's fair to say that many here have comparable photos in their portfolio but perhaps not of the same quality. Personally I like it because it brings across many of the elements a good portrait needs (and in many cases lacks).

There's openess, directness, even a sense of joy and optimism all caught in an informal way. There's an immediate appeal and for whatever reason a portrait of a boy which you will remember.

Your thoughts?

January 11, 2012

As favourites (or stand-out if you prefer) go this is surely one of them because it's among the first real iPhoto's I shot after fooling around a bit with my iTouch. Shot in January in a very cold Paris it was one of many murals who's origins seemed to be unknown. Part of the fun of shooting with the iTouch is that it's a lot more low-res than my iPhone, the iTouch is 0,7 Mp to be precise. I've a lot of experience with 8x10 pinhole photography and developing the negatives in direct sunlight as Cyanotypes. Despite the immediacy of digital it somewhat reminds me of that.

January 11, 2012

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January 8, 2012

I'd prefer to stay closer at home. I've been in many great places and sure, there are a lot yet I would like to visit, but I've always gladly come back to the Netherlands only to realise how great the place/country is where I live. I really have to shoot a lot more close to home.

January 7, 2012

when I tried to download your photo all I got was a 39 kb gif file so I took a screenshot which I saved as a JPEG.

January 7, 2012

What am I doing wrong ?

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it's a very low-res gif Anders. I copied it down as a JPEG and did a test upload under your original photo which works fine. Since it's only a testupload you can easily remove it.

January 5, 2012

sure Luis but I've always sensed something flip about it as well.

January 5, 2012

perhaps I'm a bit more prosaic than some of you but nevertheless I'm going to give you my 2 cents. Whether I'm shooting a portrait or something else I've a pretty good idea of how it is going to look like (intent/purpose if you like) so for me the final product is by far the most important. Since I'm a photographer I should understand process, I mean (even on the risk of sounding arrogant) I take that as a given (for any photographer worth his/her salt).

"I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed."

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I've always seen this merely as a quote from a seasoned photographer who exactly knew what he was doing (although yes, he experimented a lot as well). A fun quote sure but something alike the lines of a photographer stating that technique isn't important at all which is easy to state when you are extremely good at what you so easily dismiss.

I think we learn from every photo we shoot and yet we shouldn't make it bigger than it is.

January 3, 2012

Picture making for me is both an enabler and byproduct, almost a consequence, of experiencing life on the street.

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I like that!

December 31, 2011

I've never seen photography as a competition where I look at the work of others out of frustration. Instead I look at it for inspiration and/or admiration (I'm an avid student of photographic history). A few years ago I started an extensive behind the scenes series which in this form was a first for me. As a result I got/get to shoot and even more importantly get to know a great many interesting people. THAT is satisfying. This series is coming to an end and if nothing else this experience will lead me to the next one. That also is satisfying. Nothing more is needed.

December 29, 2011

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Posts posted by tonmestrom