Photo of the Week 2020-02-24

"It looks like a painting" - Compliment or not ?

Windswept Winter I

The comment "It looks like a painting" is one I see made on photographs from time to time. In fact one of my recent photos, the one featured above in this post, received it a number of times. As the photographer, I'm not sure whether to be flattered or a little offended.

Presumably the viewers making the comment intend it to be a compliment, but let's briefly question their choice to use a painting as the comparator. Is it that they are recognizing the artistic talent required to create a painting and are making the comparison with that in mind? Are they judging that the photograph is over processed and crossed the line losing connection to the original capture. Do they see painting as a "higher" form of art than photography and mean to suggest that the photograph is approaching that level? Do they really like it and not know what else to say? All are possibilities.

Then there is the debate around whether photography is truly an art form, one which I think you can guess which side I'm on. It's a debate that goes back to the very invention of photography. While there has been greater and greater acceptance of photography as an art form over the years, there are still those who say nay. And here in lies the 'niggle' with me. The comment "it looks like a painting" almost comes across as saying "it's nearly there" or "not quite" or "good try but it will never be an actual painting".

You might want to check out this link to an interesting bit on Photos That Look Like Paintings.

Here is a collage of several images I made on the outing that produced the one above. Quite a productive outing I might add. It's a bit unusual for me to get several 'keepers' from a single outing or more precisely a single spot during an outing. They've all been posted to my social media streams over the past few days and yes, more than one received the comment "it looks like a paining".

As to me being "a little offended" at the comment, I'm not really ... well, maybe just a little.

Edit: Here is another link that may readers may find interesting "The Bastard Art".

DJE

10 Years of Blog Posts ... Reflecting

Reflecting on a 10-Year Milestone ...

' a photographic journey ', this blog, has played no small role in my photographic life these past 10 years. Approaching this milestone post, reflecting on those years has opened up a flood of memories, thoughts and questions.

Memories of people, places, experiences and family have stirred. Alan, Grant, Andrew, Emma, Bruce and others. Some subjects, many friends for life. Rome, Florence ... ahhhh Florence, Ucluelet, Algonquin, Montreal, Albion Falls, Cathedral Grove, The Bruce. So many places. Out of my comfort zone at 'Help Portrait' - twice, a frigidly cold, dark, silent night on a back-road in Algonquin and that night sky, 'The Crack'. Dad ... and Mom. A wonderful flood of memories.

And some thoughts, of photographs yet to be made, a life without photography, life with photography, taking a hiatus, simply continuing, even calling it quits.

Then the questions ... ohhhh the questions. The silent kind that pop up while driving, having dinner, walking into the grocery store making you forget what you came for, lifting you up, bringing you down. As always, more questions than answers.

Have I made my "best" image? What if I have? Do I have better in me yet?

If I stop this blog how will it affect my photography? Will it continue? What would I do without photography?

Is the blog format even relevant for photography anymore? With the popularity of Facebook and Instagram attention spans have become minuscule. Who actually reads a blog these days? Does anyone read my blog?

Do I really have to come up with a photo and post every week? Oh shit ! I have to come up with something for this week ! 

Hold on ...

morning aspen

Why do I blog? My posts receive very few comments, over the years just a handful … so why even bother? Is anybody out there? Who is this for?

Weekly posts have motivated me to continue shooting regularly. The blog is sort of a journal for my photographic life ... slowly I realize, I do it for me !

Will I continue?

Photographing ... you bet !

The blog ... I think so.

See ya next week ... maybe.

DJE

Photo of the Week 2014-05-19

Finding Inspiriation: A day-trip this weekend, to Toronto, the AGO and Contact Photography Festival, left me with more questions than answers.

The Contact Photography Festival runs through the month of May each year, spread over much of Toronto at a wide variety of sites. I have made the trek a few of times in recent years and it always involves a lot of walking and searching to find the exhibits. 

This year, Alan, Patrick and I decided to throw in a stop at the AGO to see the Bacon-Moore exhibit and it's a good thing we did. The short story is that I have drawn more of my inspiration from the work of other photographers than from artists in other media. The Contact exhibits that we visited, did very little to inspire me. They served more to show me where I did not want my photographic journey to lead. Some of the work presented was no better than random snapshots that feign artistic vision. Artists / photographers are free to create what they want, to each, their own. But what I saw of this year's Contact was out of touch, a big disappointment in my eyes.

Thankfully there was the time at the AGO. I'm still pondering my first exposure to the work of Bacon and Moore. It was the work by Canadian artist Evan Penny in the "art as therapy" exhibit that caught my eye, and in particular when I read what was written about the work ...

Stretch #1 - by Evan Penny

"He Could be anyone. It is a portrait of the normal anxiety of adult life - the daily background stress around money (among other things), of how it feels  having to compete year after year to keep your head above water ..."

DJE

Photo of the Week 2013-04-29

The story behind this weeks photo is not so much about how or when it was taken but rather about balance and how getting away from an activity one enjoys can ultimately enhance the enjoyment of it's pursuit.

Photography has been a part of my life for many years and there was a period when my children were growing up that photography was placed on the back burner. Unfortunately this means that I did not make any "serious" portraits or "quality" images of them as they were growing up. Oh there are plenty of snapshots taken by Lynn, myself or others when the boys were young but nothing from me that I would consider a serious attempt to craft well lit and composed images.

Fast forward to the last several years when my passion for photography was rekindled and I dove headfirst into converting from film to the digital process. I began with a point 'n shoot, then acquired an entry level DSLR back in the early 2000's. I first played around with jpegs and then switched to the RAW format that allowed me to work on learning post processing in the digital darkroom (i.e. on the computer). I then tried printing on an entry level home photo printer without satisfaction and as of the last few years I print my own images on a professional quality EPSON printer using high quality, archival, ink-jet and Fine Art papers.

Along the way, I became so focused on photography that I lost touch with something else that had brought much enjoyment over the years. This past weekend, I decided to reconnect with golf and that passion was quickly rekindled. The skills are understanably a bit "rusty" and I will need to work to get back close to where my game was when photography lured me away. It was good to be on the course again.

As you might have guessed, there was no photo outing for me to create new images over the weekend ... so here is one from not long ago. 

woodland morning

... oh, the part about getting away from something helping me to enjoy it even more ? I'm not giving up photography, although I may get away from it here and there when there isn't time in life for both it and golf. My break from either has made me realize that I need to find the balance that will allow me to make time for both and enjoy ... boy how I've missed playing golf seriously over the past few years ... just like I missed photography for those years too.

I'm looking forward to finding the balance between two activities that I enjoy so much.

DJE