Andrew having starting photographing when I was to young to
remember getting a 620 camera and getting my first SLR at age 9. I
will quote Picasso. Good artist borrow great artist steal. With the
exposure to other works and their knowledge you will stagnate with
the limited education you can get by just shooting. I worked for
Arnold Newman joyce tenneson, Ryzard Horowitz, Michelle
Tcherevkoff, and a boat load of other photographers. with that
knowledge I learned Much more then I could have ever learned by
just shootings. By that note I learned more/different things from
them then I learned at RIT. Although having gone to RIT is was got
me those gigs back in the day. Now I have been working in Feature
Films for the past decade after my studio in NYC was closed by
9/11. Now I am shooting a new book my work is being hung already in
a very prestigious show and I have returned to Photo Forum after
many years away. Jan is still Jan and I still take what wisdom he
has and I take ALL comments. I also know when comments are ill
informed. I can deal with that. Cause I deal with clients all day
every day since I started working in Photography studios in 1989
while still in High School. Only the Journey matters sounds like
something Minor white would say has he cut out the 1 in square of a
students work and comment "I like this part."
Randy S. Little
http://www.rslittle.com <http://reel.rslittle.com/>
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2325729/
On Sun, Mar 17, 2013 at 8:31 PM, <asharpe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:asharpe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<mailto:asharpe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Jan,
I agree with some of this, and disagreee with some of this. Yoram's
opinion, is, well, his opinion, and you cannot take that away
from him.
And believe it or not, many viewers of our work will only make
simplistic
(but sometimes insightful) remarks on our work.
We do not make our work solely for photographers; indeed, we
shouldn't
make it for others, either, unless we are doing commerial work.
Rather, we
do the work for ourselves. Since we put so much of ourselves into our
work, of course it hurts a bit to have short, direct -- seemingly
shallow,
but not necessarily -- criticism of it. But that is reality.
Having worked with so many names in photography (there was a bit
too much
name-dropping in your email, but I do understand -- and respect
-- that
you have worked with many photographers, and have many years of
experience), you obviously have seen much of their work treated
the same
way as Yoram did. It doesn't lessen the photographers, nor does
it lessen
you. In fact, this RIT forum is specifically *not* to show your
best work,
or to "educate", as you put it. Andy's statement for this forum
states
that it is a friendly place to put out perhaps experimental work,
in hopes
of getting feedback. Well, you did.
With respect to your advice that Yoram goes to a photography
workshop,
I'll leave you with a quote from the photographer Harry Callahan
(I didn't
see him in your list, but perhaps you worked with him as well),
who says
(emphasis is Mr. Callahan's, based on a copy of this I've seen,
written in
his own hand):
"To be a photographer, one must PHOTOGRAPH. No amount of book
learning, no
checklist of seminars attended, can substitute for the SIMPLE ACT OF
MAKING PICTURES. Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that,
there is no guarantee that one will become an artist. ONLY THE
JOURNEY
MATTERS."
Andrew
On Sun, March 17, 2013 10:18 am, Jan Faul wrote:
>
> Yoram’s dissection of this week’s photographs is his slapdash
opinion. To
> me it appears that he is making simplistic statements about a
field he is
> currently studying. According to his website, he hasn’t been doing
> photography all that long, and yet here he is trying to analyze the
> vision of others.
>
> It has been my experience that good photographers dissemble
their views
> of the world around them. Most hold their best conversations
through
> their images. Through the Photoforum Gallery there is an
opportunity to
> read a photographer’s real intentions as there is no jurying
here. I feel
> that submitting work here has the potential for educating
others and
> displaying my shifting passions in photography. Some members here
> steadfastly refuse to see anything other than the obvious in
any of the
> images displayed, often including their own. Photography is
still an art
> where one has to read a photograph to discover the intention of its
> maker.
>
> During my life I have watched various photographers work in
their studios
> or on location and to be in the presence of art being created
is always a
> joy to behold even if the photographer is shooting something I
wouldn’t
> shoot. To whom am I referring? This is a partial list: Ansel
Adams, Dick
> Avedon, Arnold Newman, Steve Szabo, Eliot Erwitt, Andrew Davidhazy,
> Walker Evans, David Plowden, Jodi Cobb, Palma Allen, Ken Regan,
Howard
> Baker, Dvid Hume Kennerly, Dirck Halstead, David Burnett, Larry
Fink,
> John Eley, Len Rizzi, Patrice Gilbert, Dennis Brack, Paul
Conklin, Neil
> Liefer, and others too numerous to mention. I am no longer
young and what
> do I have to show for it? I have a certain vision of the world
and being
> a photographer has definitely widened my horizons.
>
> Rather than let Yoram slice up photographs he may not
understand, my
> suggestion would be that he save up some dough and take a trip
to Maine
> this summer for a workshop in photography on the topic of his
choice. The
> same is true for the others here who hack away at the
photographs like
> bad golfers. Learn more and think about what you’re going to
criticize
> before you do so. I rarely give a flying fig about criticism
and that is
> mostly because as noted I am no longer young and my skin is now
very
> thick. Before you begin a criticism with “Sorry, it is just
another...”
> try a little harder to imagine what creating something from
within takes,
> and then apply that thought to your own vision. I think Randy’s
shot this
> week shows incredible perception and great skill in just seeing
that
> scene with enough foresight to record it in all its glory. It’s
the kind
> of shot I’d like to see on LF film and also the kind of shot which
> diminishes the power of a NEX 7. It’s an image worthy of a
painter named
> Alfred Bierstadt.
>
>
> Jan
>
>
>
> On Mar 17, 2013, at 12:51 AM, YGelmanPhoto wrote:
>
>
>> This week's collection is much more eclectic than usual --
probably due
>> to the scramble to get something in after being told than
Nothing was
>> in the pot! Anyway, here's my take. -yoram
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 16, 2013, at 1:24 PM, Andrew Davidhazy wrote:
>>
>>
>>> The PhotoForum members' gallery/exhibit space was updated
March 16,
>>> 2013. Authors with work now on display at:
>>> http://people.rit.edu/andpph/gallery.html include:
>>>
>>>
>>> Andrew Sharpe - Bixby Park, Palo Alto, California
>>>
>> I don't understand what I'm looking at.
>>
>>
>>> Emily L. Ferguson - Reaching
>>>
>> The tree is strong but it's just standing there -- not
participating in
>> anything. . . like a sailboat race perhaps??
>>
>>> Yoram Gelman - Tracks Over Hill
>>>
>> My own . . . I see I overdid the vignetting in the sky.
>>
>>
>>> Art Faul -
>>>
>> Sorry, to me it is another car with a composited pattern.
>>
>>
>>> John Palcewski - Round Two
>>>
>> At first, it's an interesting dynamic with the sparse audience
staring
>> at the woman while the trainer seems to be looking for help.
But the
>> graphic behind the number '2' on the sign makes it a junk
photo for me.
>> And don't try telling me it's a silhouette of a boxing glove.
>>
>>
>>> Allan Rosen-Ducat -
>>>
>> I guess you could call it an abstract image. Saying that the
straight
>> line is a contrail does not add.
>>
>>> Randy Little -
>>>
>> The image is what it is. To me there had to be a lot of
"retouching".
>> The claim of "ZERO retouching only dodge and burn and and some
minor
>> CC" is self-contradictory.
>>
>>
>>> Christopher Strevens - my other hobby
>>>
>> This could be the only honest photo in the whole bunch this
week. My
>> eye is drawn to every device on the table, trying to figure it
out.
>> Extreme simplicity with complex overtones. (Sounds like I'm
trying to
>> describe some wine.)
>>
>>
>
>
> Art Faul
>
>
> The Artist Formerly Known as Prints
> ------
> Stills That Move: http://www.artfaul.com <http://www.artfaul.com/>
> Greens: http://www.inkjetprince.com <http://www.inkjetprince.com/>
> Camera Works - The Washington Post
>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/battlefieldparks/front_qt.htm
> ArtNet: http://www.artnet.com/artists/jan+w.-faul/
> art for cars: panowraps.com <http://panowraps.com>
<http://panowraps.com/> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
