Comments on: Going deeper may require more abstract excursions

By: Blog archive: A kitty cat...

Blog archive: A kitty cat... — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:23:04 +0000

[...] a break from the online photography world. Then more digging into the why blog question. I wrote a post that generated a lot of reactions. Then I gave myself permission to shoot more and write less. The existential questions didn’t [...]

By: Alan Reinhart

Alan Reinhart — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:54:26 +0000

Hmm – too bad you missed it in Annie’s “Weasels”. It knocked me out of my chair the first time I read it many years ago and still takes some readings to get into it. Most people I show it to do “WTF?” So it goes.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:08:56 +0000

Hi Alan -

Perhaps you didn’t read closely. I have no problem with the righteousness of my images. And no, I don’t plan to give away work for free. And no, I haven’t gone beyond photography. And no, it’s not that I don’t appreciate sarcasm. And no, writing blog posts is not the answer, and neither is iStockPhoto. I’m not sure what weasels have to do with it either. But I’ve relaxed a bit since I wrote this post about 4 months ago and I’m finding my way with photography both inside and especially outside the blogosphere. Glad you found the post stimulating.

– JR

By: Alan Reinhart

Alan Reinhart — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:33:59 +0000

You have hit a major plateau and you have no known (to you) peers. It will be a MAJOR hill-climb to get to the next level. You are like a high-school grad going back to the 10th and 11th grade classrooms – hence nothing new. Maybe YOU have to write the new stuff.

Take a look at Annie Dillard’s Living Like Weasels.
Her “Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek” may be timely reading too.

Last thought: Let’s say you reach that next plateau, and Find the Light and begin taking/making the images you feel are Righteous. So – what will you DO with these images? You can’t sell them as you’ve discredited the “business” of photography. Will you make prints for free – hand them out on street corners? Maybe not print at all – just post them somewhere… maybe you’ve gone =beyond= the limitations of simple images and need a whole new form of expression.

Gotta go now – still looking for that cool Photoshop tip on better black and white stuff.

By: Rabbon James

Rabbon James — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:14:24 +0000

I guess the only way to really appreciate photography, after seeing all the visual drivel that’s plastered all over the Web, is to shoot for yourself. And yourself only.

Who gives a hoot if someone critiques it on exposure, cropping, megapixels and occasionally artistic merit? It’s about your memories, your own interpretation of the world, and anyone who disagrees can go post on Flickr.