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Digital BW, The Print

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Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-11 by Editor P.O.V. Image Service

Very apt commentary...

Welcome to the REAL world of art..

The world where tool is simply that, a "tool"..

Look at the images of  Pollock, Warhol, and others who used non-archival 
tools to produce gorgeous yet ephemeral (in the sense of non-archival)  
images..  Too much focus on the tool, as opposed to the art you produce 
IMHO is a danger of art..  It tends to make one an expert on a 
particular tool, but rarely produces outstanding and inspiring imagery...

I am sure that some here will be offended, but look at the VAST VAST 
majority of wedding photographers.. They tend to be overgrown snapshot, 
grip and grin, specialists who have simply moved up to medium format.. 
 The images they produce document an event and capture a moment -- which 
is a worthy task -- but I would hardly call it inspiring, imaginative, 
or  unique art..  Most of it's just a high-priced version of the travel 
pics that vendors sell at resorts...  The photography is generally 
formulaic enough that videos abound to teach the lighting, poses, etc. 
needed to take the shots in a rote manner..  (I'll leave photo-j style 
wedding shots out of this -- since I find them less constricted by 
pre-conception and rigid form)..

The average man or woman can use a chisel and hammer to open a window 
that has been painted shut..

The average carpenter can use the same to trim a decorative molding, or 
even add flourishes..

Only a competent artist can take those very same tools and create a 
lasting image of beauty..

For that, proficiency with the tool at hand is not axiomatically 
necessary (although it helps a LOT) while a lack of vision and supreme 
mastery of tool will give one only uninspired copies of the vision of 
others..

[Keith]
 
 

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

RE: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-11 by tom%fors.net@fors.net

Kevin, 

This is excellent advice!  I too suffer from a very dominant left brain.  

I'd like to forward your message to our photo department mailing list at school with your permission.

Thanks
--Tom


Original Message:
-----------------
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: Kevin Gulstene kevin@...
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 10:30:22 -0700
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation


I hope this personal missive is not OT for everyone -- bear with me if it is
an obvious thing.  It has certainly helped me create much more satisfying
images by subduing my dominant rational, analytical (and often frustrated)
left brain.

For some time I had thought I had reached the limit of my equipment's
ability to produce the best images I could.  I struggled with minute details
and received increasingly small benefits.  The prints were getting
technically better and better but _meant_ no more to me.

This led me to ask in a previous post what other people felt contributed
most to the 'quality' of their images.  Among the good advice there was some
great advice: that I may be focusing too much on equipment.  Instead of
buying a LF camera I bought a Holga and relaxed.

There was something about holding that simple plastic camera with one
shutter speed and one aperture that let me relax and focus on _seeing_
things.  It is a much more holistic process than the formulae I used before
and the images have much more meaning for me.  Some days I now go out to try
and capture a feeling instead of a preconceived arrangement of things. It is
almost like a state of mind - a kind of relaxed attentiveness, if that makes
any sense.

Perhaps these are natural steps in an evolving skill.  Perhaps craft
improves incrementally until a quantum change in seeing/interpreting is
needed, then incremental changes is craft can resume.  Perhaps my head has
softened irreparably <g>

Kevin Gulstene










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Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-11 by Kevin Gulstene

Tom,

Please feel free.  Thank you for asking.

Kevin
Show quoted textHide quoted text
On 6/11/02 11:44 AM, "tom%fors.net@..." <tom@...> wrote:

> 
> Kevin, 
> 
> This is excellent advice!  I too suffer from a very dominant left brain.
> 
> I'd like to forward your message to our photo department mailing list at
> school with your permission.
> 
> Thanks
> --Tom
> 
> 
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: Kevin Gulstene kevin@...
> Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 10:30:22 -0700
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation
> 
> 
> I hope this personal missive is not OT for everyone -- bear with me if it is
> an obvious thing.  It has certainly helped me create much more satisfying
> images by subduing my dominant rational, analytical (and often frustrated)
> left brain.
> 
> For some time I had thought I had reached the limit of my equipment's
> ability to produce the best images I could.  I struggled with minute details
> and received increasingly small benefits.  The prints were getting
> technically better and better but _meant_ no more to me.
> 
> This led me to ask in a previous post what other people felt contributed
> most to the 'quality' of their images.  Among the good advice there was some
> great advice: that I may be focusing too much on equipment.  Instead of
> buying a LF camera I bought a Holga and relaxed.
> 
> There was something about holding that simple plastic camera with one
> shutter speed and one aperture that let me relax and focus on _seeing_
> things.  It is a much more holistic process than the formulae I used before
> and the images have much more meaning for me.  Some days I now go out to try
> and capture a feeling instead of a preconceived arrangement of things. It is
> almost like a state of mind - a kind of relaxed attentiveness, if that makes
> any sense.
> 
> Perhaps these are natural steps in an evolving skill.  Perhaps craft
> improves incrementally until a quantum change in seeing/interpreting is
> needed, then incremental changes is craft can resume.  Perhaps my head has
> softened irreparably <g>
> 
> Kevin Gulstene
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and other
> resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> 
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - Include your full name with your message.
> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep
> them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or "flames."
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the various
> resources on the homepage.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> 
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> mail2web - Check your email from the web at
> http://mail2web.com/ .
> 
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls and other
> resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
> 
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - Include your full name with your message.
> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep
> them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or
> "flames."
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the various
> resources on the homepage.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> 
> 
>

Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-12 by Truman Prevatt

I remember when I took my first photography course at MD Institute of 
Art. The first thing they did was take our cameras away from us and give 
us a 6x6 twin lens reflex camera to use. A very simple camera. The 
camera as focussed by looking on a ground glass at the image upside down 
and backwards.  This took your mind off the gadgets and put it on the 
subject.

I have a very old tlr and from time to time I go back to using it. It 
does rekindle the sprits and it does allow you to see the subject not 
just look at it and tweak the settings.

Truman
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> >I hope this personal missive is not OT for everyone -- bear with me 
> if it is
> >an obvious thing.  It has certainly helped me create much more satisfying
> >images by subduing my dominant rational, analytical (and often 
> frustrated)
> >left brain.
> >
> >For some time I had thought I had reached the limit of my equipment's
> >ability to produce the best images I could.  I struggled with minute 
> details
> >and received increasingly small benefits.  The prints were getting
> >technically better and better but _meant_ no more to me.
> >
> >This led me to ask in a previous post what other people felt contributed
> >most to the 'quality' of their images.  Among the good advice there 
> was some
> >great advice: that I may be focusing too much on equipment.  Instead of
> >buying a LF camera I bought a Holga and relaxed.
> >
> >There was something about holding that simple plastic camera with one
> >shutter speed and one aperture that let me relax and focus on _seeing_
> >things.  It is a much more holistic process than the formulae I used 
> before
> >and the images have much more meaning for me.  Some days I now go out 
> to try
> >and capture a feeling instead of a preconceived arrangement of 
> things. It is
> >almost like a state of mind - a kind of relaxed attentiveness, if 
> that makes
> >any sense.
> >
> >Perhaps these are natural steps in an evolving skill.  Perhaps craft
> >improves incrementally until a quantum change in seeing/interpreting is
> >needed, then incremental changes is craft can resume.  Perhaps my 
> head has
> >softened irreparably <g>
> >
> >Kevin Gulstene
> >
> >
>

Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-12 by Kevin Gulstene

> 
> Keven,
> 
> I look at a lot of art in museums to sensitize my mind. Have you ever
> noticed how alert you are to form and color when you step out of a gallery?
> Everything becomes art.  Even inside a gallery, I've caught myself gazing
> with rapt attention at the exit sign:  "Red and sliver and textual... cool
> man!"
> 
> AZ

I know exactly what you mean! Some European movies do the same.

Kevin

Re: [Digital BW] Right brain rehabilitation

2002-06-12 by Alan Zinn

At 10:30 AM 6/11/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I hope this personal missive is not OT for everyone -- bear with me if it is
>an obvious thing.  It has certainly helped me create much more satisfying
>images by subduing my dominant rational, analytical (and often frustrated)
>left brain.
>
>For some time I had thought I had reached the limit of my equipment's
>ability to produce the best images I could.  I struggled with minute details
>and received increasingly small benefits.  The prints were getting
>technically better and better but _meant_ no more to me.
>
>This led me to ask in a previous post what other people felt contributed
>most to the 'quality' of their images.  Among the good advice there was some
>great advice: that I may be focusing too much on equipment.  Instead of
>buying a LF camera I bought a Holga and relaxed.
>
>There was something about holding that simple plastic camera with one
>shutter speed and one aperture that let me relax and focus on _seeing_
>things.  It is a much more holistic process than the formulae I used before
>and the images have much more meaning for me.  Some days I now go out to try
>and capture a feeling instead of a preconceived arrangement of things. It is
>almost like a state of mind - a kind of relaxed attentiveness, if that makes
>any sense.
>
>Perhaps these are natural steps in an evolving skill.  Perhaps craft
>improves incrementally until a quantum change in seeing/interpreting is
>needed, then incremental changes is craft can resume.  Perhaps my head has
>softened irreparably <g>
>
>Kevin Gulstene
>
>

Keven,

I look at a lot of art in museums to sensitize my mind. Have you ever
noticed how alert you are to form and color when you step out of a gallery?
Everything becomes art.  Even inside a gallery, I've caught myself gazing
with rapt attention at the exit sign:  "Red and sliver and textual... cool man!"

AZ

Maker of Lookaround panoramic camera.
http://www.panoramacamera.us
         or
keyword.com lookaround

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