Blog Post #79

I Just Dont Get It!

A number of years ago a new subscriber-only magazine came on the market called “Frames”. Membership entitles you to a quarterly publication and loads of digital content including a regular “Photosnack” email where someone recommends an other photographers work for you to explore. When it came out at first I thought it sounded a great idea but then I quickly lost interest in it. The reason I lost interest was down to one type of photography in particular that, in the main, it caters for. It is very much in the “creatives” market and includes what they call “thought provoking” photography, but personally I just don’t get it.

I look at a lot of photography on-line every week. I also go to exhibitions and look at books. Photography has the power to grip our minds in a way that other things can’t and very often an image will stick in my mind and I find myself going back to it (or the photographer) from time to time. This is where, for me anyway why “Frames”, and other publications like it, on most instances don’t achieve that. They promote the unusual and bizarre at times which is not my thing. I believe that there is a cabal or culture in the “fine-art” side of photography that will only accept you if you are pushing boundaries that can often verge on the ridiculous in my opinion. Coincidentally, after I put this blog post together the weekly email from Anthony Morganti arrived, also talking about fine art photography. He states that fine art photography “ is a creative endeavour in which photographers use their technical skills, personal interpretation, and artistic vision to capture images that can evoke emotions, tell stories, or convey a unique perspective. Unlike documentary photography, which more often strives to report reality, fine art photography prioritizes aesthetics, creative vision, and the photographer's subjective interpretation of reality”.

I have no doubt that there is a place for this type of work but I don’t think its something that I aspire to, so to that end I will be happy to stay on the outside. I have no doubt that publications like “Frames” are very good products and that many people find the works they contain as thought provoking and of high quality. This just my personal opinion and for me though as I said, I just don’t get it at times. It’s one of the reasons I think competitions and some photographers these days are in a race to see who can be the more ridiculous. Here are a couple of shots taken from recent “Frames” emails, which they present as thought provoking, or meriting publication. It is for you to make your mind up if this is your type of photography.

---

I thought I would have a bit of fun with this theme and create my own ridiculous image using Canva AI software. The brief was, create me a picture of a man in a bath of baked beans with a baked bean lampshade on his head. It turned out not bad, now where is that competition entry form?…..

---

What I have learned recently

Over the past few months I have visited two exhibitions that have left an impression on me. The first was “Govanhill” by Simon Murphy and the other was “Rescued Time” by David Gleave. Both of these taught me the importance of people and portraits in street photography. Years ago when having work judged at camera clubs, judges would say things like, “if only you had waited until that person was out of the shot”. I obviously heeded that advice because if I look at some of my early work it is devoid of people and are therefore basically record shots of a given scene. Sometimes it works, but what I have learned is that for street photography it’s people that matter. To take street portraits requires some courage and charm, as well as being able to work fast. I have taken some good street portraits but if I am honest they are mostly grab shots, with little or no interaction with the subject. That is something I want to rectify going forward. I watched a recent you tube video by Zeno Watson explaining his street portrait approach on the streets of Glasgow. You can watch it at this LINK . In the video Zeno shows his approach to dealing with people and not so much on the technical side. I think I can do that. Here are some recent examples I have taken on the streets concentrating on people.

---

Some New Acquisitions

When I am out and about I am always scouring the landscape for charity shops and antique shops in the hope that I will find something photography related. I am always on the lookout for books or old cameras to add to my collection. Last weekend we headed over to the 17th century Melbourne Hall Tearooms for breakfast which is only about 15 mins from where I live. As well as the tearooms they have a few small businesses and shops in the main courtyard. After breakfast I headed into the charity shop, perusing the book selection for any gems and I found one book that interested me, “The Sixties in Pictures”. It is a great book, documenting a time when I was growing up so I can remember most of the content of the book. It has some great documentary photos in it so well worth the £1 !

I then headed across the courtyard to Millpond Antiques. It is a great little shop and I know they have a cabinet with photography related items in it as I purchased a Leica film copier from there a few weeks ago. Straight away my eye was drawn to a pristine and fully working Russian Zorki 4K camera with a 50mm/f2 Jupiter 8 lens, yellow filter and original case. At the start of my photography journey I was shooting with a Russian Zenith-E camera and always wanted a Zorki-4K. This camera is not for the feint hearted as it is 100% manual and very solid and heavy, like most Russian cameras. I just had to have it for my collection and given the great asking price it was an easy decision to make.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and thank you for reading it. If you want to comment on this blog post please do so below or you can contact me by using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.

Pete