Which One Is Best?
28/Jan/2013 20:15
Which of my children is the one I like most? What season is the best? What food is better than all the rest? Who was the best Beatle? Which commandment is the greatest? Those are all difficult questions to answer.
Similarly, I find it very difficult to answer the question “which photograph is the best?”. This blog entry contains my musings, after having that question posed to me today. Read More...
Similarly, I find it very difficult to answer the question “which photograph is the best?”. This blog entry contains my musings, after having that question posed to me today. Read More...
The Line Between Me and You
28/Jan/2013 14:30
Decisions about framing and presentation can be made by the photographer or by the person purchasing the photographer. In many cases, a collaboration between both people can be the best way to get the best results. Read More...
Beware of Hucksters
19/Jan/2013 19:47 Filed in: Entrepreneurship
While watching Lincoln last night, I noted the use of the word “huckster” in the dialog.
Wikipedia defines that word as “a person who sells small articles, either door-to-door or from a stall or small store, like a certain type of peddler or hawker. In the United States, there developed a connotation of trickery - the huckster might trick others into buying cheap imitation products as if they were the real thing”.
Yesterday, I examined some photographs taken of a good friend of mine, by a “professional” photographer. Several photographs of my friend appeared on that photographer’s web site. That photographer’s web site said great things about him and his natural and soulful approach to photography. There’s nothing wrong with natural and soulful, but those attributes seemed to imply quality in the work he does. His pricing page quoted rates that also seemed designed to put a high premium on his character and soul. Sadly, the quality of the images of my friend did not reflect the cost or the self-promotion apparent on the web site. Admittedly, some of the photographs on that “professional” photographer’s web site were very good, and he seemed to have a fair bit of credibility and accomplishments. Even though some of his work was good, I was surprised and disappointed to see blatant flaws in some of his work, including some of the photographs of my friend.
The lesson for those hiring photographers: Do not judge anyone’s talent at photography (including my own talent) by the person’s web site, or by the cost of his or her work. It is very easy to buy a camera and set up a web site these days: it is much more difficult to create a body of work that exhibits quality and sensitivity. The images of my friend were blown-out, blurred, stilted, contrived, and not at all reflective of the person she is.
The lesson for photographers: Don’t let up! Always do your best work, and don’t forget the basics: avoid slanted horizons, distracting elements, poor focus, and other basic mistakes.
Wikipedia defines that word as “a person who sells small articles, either door-to-door or from a stall or small store, like a certain type of peddler or hawker. In the United States, there developed a connotation of trickery - the huckster might trick others into buying cheap imitation products as if they were the real thing”.
Yesterday, I examined some photographs taken of a good friend of mine, by a “professional” photographer. Several photographs of my friend appeared on that photographer’s web site. That photographer’s web site said great things about him and his natural and soulful approach to photography. There’s nothing wrong with natural and soulful, but those attributes seemed to imply quality in the work he does. His pricing page quoted rates that also seemed designed to put a high premium on his character and soul. Sadly, the quality of the images of my friend did not reflect the cost or the self-promotion apparent on the web site. Admittedly, some of the photographs on that “professional” photographer’s web site were very good, and he seemed to have a fair bit of credibility and accomplishments. Even though some of his work was good, I was surprised and disappointed to see blatant flaws in some of his work, including some of the photographs of my friend.
The lesson for those hiring photographers: Do not judge anyone’s talent at photography (including my own talent) by the person’s web site, or by the cost of his or her work. It is very easy to buy a camera and set up a web site these days: it is much more difficult to create a body of work that exhibits quality and sensitivity. The images of my friend were blown-out, blurred, stilted, contrived, and not at all reflective of the person she is.
The lesson for photographers: Don’t let up! Always do your best work, and don’t forget the basics: avoid slanted horizons, distracting elements, poor focus, and other basic mistakes.
More Metaphors
17/Jan/2013 15:03
As with much of my photographic experience, there are metaphors in creating a web site. More on the life/photography metaphors later, but for now, a few comments on web site creation and photography. Yesterday’s beginnings were an inexperienced foray into RapidWeaver and its themes: shots in the dark, directed and exposed in the hopes that the results would be amazingly good. Today’s review of yesterday’s efforts (in particular, use of the Architect theme) made it clear that there was room for improvement. Now, with a different theme (mainly the “seyDesign Nuvem” theme, but also a few others that work well with it), and recognizing the increased versatility in how those themes can be enhanced and displayed, and admittedly a bit more time and expertise, the site looks better, and is easier to navigate. Perhaps the analogy (or metaphor) goes like this: the different equipment (theme) has helped a bit, but mainly the site has improved because of the chance to look at yesterday’s results, and spend time today creating a new image with a new perspective and new colours and new composition.
New Beginnings
16/Jan/2013 20:43
A new web site (LookingGlassGallery.ca), a new web development tool (RapidWeaver), a new RapidWeaver theme (Architect), and a new day (January 16, 2013). Things are always new, and always changing. The newest photograph will be the next one, and perhaps it will have that special “something” that will bring a special sense of achievement. For now, the site gets created, uploaded, displayed, and open to the world.