Digital BW, The Print

I one course I had, I took a very good photograph, it was extremely well 
composed, the exposure was correct and the lighting was wonderful.  I 
took it with a 6x7 so had good tonality to work with and spend hours 
making a fantistic 8x10 print. I also took some other stuff, some really 
off the wall stuff. Some stuff I really thought was cool. I worked up 
one of those but not as hard.

Then I hang both on the wall in class and the instructor looks at my 
waterfall and says - that's not yours. Someone else took that. If you 
want to retake the photos of others, you need to show or say something 
unique - otherwise you are wasting your time. He looked at my off the 
wall photograph and said this showed more emotion and expression than I 
could ever get out of the waterfall because it was mine and it showed it 
was mine. 

The harderst thing in art may be to become your own person, express 
yourself - not express what you think is safe. Retaking AA or Weston is 
safe - moving out on our owns is scary.

Truman

Clayton Jones wrote:

>
>I recently came across a photo web site filled with the most gorgeous
>work, yet I had almost a feeling of dispair as I looked because it was
>the same old acceptable subject matter
>
>- Falls and mountains in Yosmite and other Sierra areas  
>- Dunes at Death Valley
>- Wagon wheel at Bodie
>- Old church doors
>- White clapboard siding in stark sunlight
>- rivers winding into the sunset with Tetons in background
>
>I understand it.  You can be so in love with a style that you,
>consciously or unconsciously, try to emulate it.  It doesn't mean
>you're evil.  But there's other life out there...
>  
>



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