Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 6/26/07 11:57:06 AM, jnhugo@... writes:


> I'm thinking of starting with "why take pictures at all?"
> One of the best explanations I've heard over the years is by Pedro
> Meyer: "I photograph to
> remember"
> 

Thats one major vein of photography, and with "I shoot photographs to tell a 
story" it covers a lot, including: I shoot to in hopes of making change, or 
educating others, of making the world a smaller place, etc...

The other major vein is "I shoot to see, and to share with others how I see". 
Here the key word is "how", not "what"... I was struck by this anew recently 
while I sat on the terrace at a botanical garden. There were people all around 
me, taking photos of flowers. The patterns that the shadows of the metal 
chairs made on the terrace caught my eye, and my "art shot" of the day is of a 
chair shadow, virtually no color, and definately no flowers or butterflys in it. 
When I showed it to the people that were with me that day, it was something 
they had seen (they could identify what it was, and where it had been taken) but 
something they had not "seen"... they had not found the art in it that I had. 


This aesthetic view of photography explains a number of factors not really 
covered by the other side. Yes, I am telling a story about a chair, in the sun, 
on a summer day, and in a more abstract sense about line and form and shadow. 
But also, I'm challenging others to see: to see what I saw, to understand why 
I shot it, and bothered to process and print it in just this way, to see how 
it relates to a larger aesthetic, my body of work perhaps (if they know it), 
the other works on display around it, past concepts of art, current trends in 
art. 

I think those areas: photo as memory, photo as story, and photo as art, cover 
a good deal of it; sharing your memories, sharing your stories, sharing your 
vision.

C. David Tobie
Product Technology Manager
ColorVision Business Unit
Datacolor Inc.
CDTobie@...
www.colorvision.com


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In a message dated 6/26/07 12:12:02 PM, james@... writes:


> That's easy.  I take pictures to have negatives to print  :  )
> 

The printmaker's view of photography. Similarly, I take photos to have sample 
images for demoing color management... but I know James' work, and clearly 
thats not the ONLY reason for either of us! <G>

C. David Tobie
Product Technology Manager
ColorVision Business Unit
Datacolor Inc.
CDTobie@colorvision.com
www.colorvision.com


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--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, CDTobie@... wrote:
>
> 
> In a message dated 6/26/07 11:57:06 AM, jnhugo@... writes:
> 
> 
> > I'm thinking of starting with "why take pictures at all?"
> > One of the best explanations I've heard over the years is by Pedro
> > Meyer: "I photograph to
> > remember"
> > 
> 
> Thats one major vein of photography, and with "I shoot photographs 
to tell a 
> story" it covers a lot, including: I shoot to in hopes of making 
change, or 

Wow, thank you for the thoughtful response, lot's of good ideas!
Jack

On Jun 26, 2007, at 11:26 AM, CDTobie@... wrote:

>
> In a message dated 6/26/07 12:12:02 PM, james@... writes:
>
> > That's easy.  I take pictures to have negatives to print  :  )
> >
>
> The printmaker's view of photography. Similarly, I take photos to  
> have sample
> images for demoing color management... but I know James' work, and  
> clearly
> thats not the ONLY reason for either of us! <G>
>
> C. David Tobie










David,

Thanks, and you're right, of course.  My answer was glib, but I meant  
it, too, in this way:  I  became hooked on photography the first time  
I saw an image coming up in the developer.  When I would make a nice  
print, my reaction has always been an amazed "look at THAT!" I spent  
countless hours, days, in the darkroom, as I'm sure we all have,  
trying to get those delicately separated highs, those luminous mids,  
those open yet rich shadows, flashing graded papers, bleaching, lith  
printing, Oriental VC head, calibrating film, read every book I could  
find, hung out with any printer in San Diego who would talk to me,  
learned a lot from Gene Nocon, who is a wonderful printer and  
generous teacher.  And so as a result, my printing skills got ahead  
of my photographic skills.  I have indeed always been a printer  
first.  I know this when I see fantastic shots and think "how did he  
get THAT shot??"  :  )  And so, to answer the question more  
thoroughly, because I find excellent prints to be beautiful objects,  
and wish to make them for that reason, it follows that beautiful  
subjects are most appropriate for the beautiful medium in which I  
choose to work.  Therefore, I would say that I make pictures to  
capture and present primarily the beauty that I see.  I also make  
pictures of things that I find simply interesting, others that may  
have some sort of expository content, others that may be funny or be  
visual puns, others that capture the moment or share the view of the  
street photographer.  Photography is like music in its range of  
possible use; anyone can use it at any level, from the happy snap  
shooter to the serious fine artist.  But my primary interest in it  
stems from that early realization that beauty could be captured and  
represented in a beautiful medium.

Now.  Which of these buttons do you push again???

James Irelan

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--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, James Irelan 
<james@...> wrote:
>
> 
> On Jun 26, 2007, at 11:26 AM, CDTobie@... wrote:
> 
> >
> >  
> .  Therefore, I would say that I make pictures to  
> capture and present primarily the beauty that I see.  

I particulary like this.
Jack

On response to "why do you take pictures".   I teach photography at several 
locations in Los Angeles. My classes are about working in B&W in both digital 
and silver. I can make superb prints both silver and digitally. I dont teach 
people how to use a camera, I expect that my students already know that and 
sometimes they know a lot more then I do. I do answer many questions about how to 
make a good print both in silver and digital. I also help people find answers 
to problems using photoshop and the printing process. The digital revolution 
has made the photographic process exciting and wonderful. Many of my students 
combine digital and silver to realize wonderful images. I even know people 
using the Colloidal process for image capture on glass plates. I am now teaching 
people how to use printing out paper to form images and transfer them to film 
or scan on a flatbed scanner.   

 The most difficult thing is to teach people how to think and get in touch 
with the creative side of themselves.   One of the first questions I ask on my 
first day of class is " why are you here?" What motivates you to pick up a 
camera in the first place? Well, why does a painter pick up a paintbrush, why does 
a poet make poems, what does a sculptor see in a piece of wood or stone? The 
simple answer for me is that if I dont create the images I make I would be an 
empty person. I would probably go crazy in a short amount of time. I can't 
help doing what I do. It makes me whole. I love bieng involved in the "process of 
creating".   Having a camera on my hands feels like it belongs there. I love 
getting to know my vision.

I   have an old house out in the desert that I have been photographing for 
years. I keep going back to this house over and over again over the years and I 
now feel that this house is a part of my visual bieng. It changes and falls 
apart more and more over the years and soon it will fall over. I love seeing the 
changes and finding new ways to make images of it. When I am out in the 
middle of the desert by myself photographing the old house I feel alive and 
excited. I am visiting an old friend. My visual bieng is alive and well. I am happy. 

This all fits in with the visual and creative process. I love the creative 
process. The hard part is getting in touch with your creative vision, learning 
to trust it and working with it and recognizing it. I have students that have 
never thought about this aspect of the creative process. Why do I do it? I   
have to. SILVERWORKS IMAGING   Enjoy   Steve



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--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, deandadin@... 
wrote:
>
> On response to "why do you take pictures".   I teach photography at 
several 
> locations in Los Angeles. > 
> I   have an old house out in the desert that I have been 
photographing for 
> years. I keep going back to this house over and over again over the 
years and I 
> now feel that this house is a part of my visual bieng. It changes 
and falls 
> apart more and more over the years and soon it will fall over. 

That's a good description, I saw the house on your website, I can't 
help thinking that your description probably describes us (as humans) 
as well! Thanks for the response.
Jack

I photograph for many reasons, but the most important is simply that I 
enjoy doing so.  I'm not sure why exactly, just as I'm not sure why I 
prefer Eduardo's stuffed pizza to Giordano's.

Someone (I wish it was me, or at least that I remembered who) said  
that we photograph to learn how to see.

Harry

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--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Harry Saddler 
<hsaddler@...> wrote:
>
> Someone (I wish it was me, or at least that I remembered who) said  
> that we photograph to learn how to see.
> 
> Harry
> 

Thank you, Harry,