the print is the performance The American master of photography, Ansel Adams, said "The negative is comparable to the composer's score, and the print to its performance." That holds true today as much as it did when first uttered. Although in the digital age the discussion about the print generates more heat than light. more |
lights, action, camera The adrenalin is pumping, a thousand butterflies have taken up residence in a hundred stomachs, tonight is the night. In a few minutes the curtain will rise and the performers will strut their stuff before the assembled throng. It's show time. more |
collecting art The headline reads "Undiscovered masterpiece sells for millions at Auction". The family was overjoyed to discover that a picture that had hung on their grandfather's wall for years attracted a six figure price at auction. Grandson and heir said "The whole family knew he collected odds and ends but we never envisaged it would amount to anything." more |
abstract photography The invention of the camera liberated painting from its reportage role. Gone was the need to produce a likeness, detail the events of the story, painting was free to express emotions. True what had gone before contained an emotional content but now painting could experiment and through imaginative interpretation allow the emotional content to predominate. Freed from this constraint the painter was able to create a new language and explore the motivations of their art. more |
is it art Henri Cartier-Bresson is reported to have said after he had given up photography. "All I care about these days is painting - photography has never been more than a way into painting, a sort of instant drawing." No one disagrees that painting is art, albeit the quality may vary but it is always considered art. Why isn't this the case with photography? more |
photographers rights We have all seen the scene of the photographer being surrounded by the heavies, the camera being confiscated and the film being thrown on the ground. Makes for great dramatic footage but in most jurisdictions such behaviour is illegal unless accompanied with a court order. more |
in the zone This is a term used by street photographers when they are tuned into their surroundings and the pictures are coming easily. It isn't unique to street photography, it can happen in any field of endeavour. You are in the zone when you are so engrossed in an activity that space and time seem to stand still. more |
making photographs I The plethora of modern digital cameras has made the taking of photographs so much easier, but the making of a photograph is still as time consuming and as difficult an exercise as it has always been, albeit a very rewarding one. At that point in time when you press the shutter a snap shot is taken what happens before and especially after that action is what makes for the breath taking photograph. more |
making photographs II In part I of Making Photographs I discussed the need for developing your visual literacy. This is an ongoing process which once undertaken will continue for the rest of your life. In this essay I will discuss some hints for taking snap shots that will have the potential to be made into photographs and a couple of tips to make the process a bit easier. more |
A collection of thoughts about art and photography written in an essay format. |
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street photography Street photography is an approach to photography rather than a location, although the streets are the usual place that it happens. "When I saw the photograph of Munkacsi of the black kids running in a wave I couldn't believe such a thing could be caught with the camera. I said damn it, I took my camera and went out into the street." Henri Cartier-Bresson more |