Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Wolz" <wolzphoto@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 5:05 PM
Subject: RE: [Digital BW] The perfect print


> But you DO work with a set of rules (some try to avoid being pigeonhole
> into rule-following by calling them "guidelines", etc.).  They may be
> rather subconscious, but when you view a potential image, you try to
> achieve a sort of balance that pleases you.  You look for symmetry - or
> maybe a bit of tension.  You know how you want your potential image to
> be exposed, etc.  These and others are your rules, and it is your
> decision as to whether to break them.
>
> Karl Wolz
>
>  I couldn't imagine trying to work with a set of rules.
>
Karl,

Me either. I made a decision in my youth to never take any photography or
art classes and I held to that until recent years when I took some workshops
to meet  photographers I admired. My thought was that I wanted my vision to
develop on its own. I used technical books and magazines to help me in the
craft side and I looked at a lot of B&W photos in books and galleries for
inspiration. I refused to read anything on composition or art history. In
retrospect I don't know if this was the best choice and I do not advocate
it. I have missed a lot but I am not unhappy with where my solo search has
lead me. No doubt I have my own standards but they get applied on a
subconscious level.

In all honesty though, most of my stuff would fall within Jerry's rules.

In the end the one thing that I think is essential is to try to please
yourself. If you don't please yourself, you are not likely to please anyone
else, and you need to consider why you are making photographs.

Martin Wesley

http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html