„I think of a photograph as a receiver of sensations. Sensations are intangible. I try to organise them through the act of photography.“ Tom Wood (via wayneford)
Tomorrow: Off to New York, then on to Austin.
All posts filed under “ways of working”
Todd Hido
„To me it is no mystery that we can only photograph effectively what we are truly interested in or – maybe more importantly – are grappling with. Often unconsciously. Otherwise the photographs are merely about an idea or a concept – that stuff eventually falls flat for me – there must be something more, some emotional hook for it to really work for me“.
– Todd Hido interviewed by Darius Himes
How good is your work?
Some questions to ask yourself about your work by Photolucida pre-screening panelist Joni Kabana:
What were you thinking when you came up with this concept? Did you clearly state this in your artist statement?
If you’ve seen it before, are these images similar?
Does your work look strikingly like (blatantly derivative of) someone else’s work that you admire?
What are you really trying to tell your audience?
Do all photos form a song?
Do any of the images feel insincere?
Who is more prominently in focus: your content or your self?
How are these photos surprising?
Is your artist statement descriptive, and not overbearing or self-righteous?
How is your point of view different from others we have seen?
Did you take risks with the subject matter, execution of imagery, post processing?
Does one weak image take the others down?
Even though you captured important subject matter (cancer, crime, death), are the images interesting and different?
Have you gone too far just to be considered “different”?
Is the group of images cohesive?
Is the group of images repetitive?
Have you told anyone to blankly stare into the lens?
Are you trying too hard to solicit emotions from the viewer?
Were you engaged with your subject matter? How so?
Are you trying to please someone?
Have you taken a photo of a photo (or painting, or design) and if so, how have you made this your own image?
Do the images tell us something without having to read the artist statement?
Joel Meyerowitz – Taking my time
Joel Meyerowitz on his practice and on his upcoming monograph with Phaidon.
Anders Petersen
„I’m a kind of diary photographer. I try not to take pictures as I see them, but as I feel them. I’m interested in imperfection.“ Anders Petersen
In no great hurry – Saul Leiter
Jessica Backhaus
Jessica Backhaus gives an insight into her working practice in this video on Foam For You (via LPV magazine).
More on photobook making
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Joerg Colberg published a piece on photobook making on Conscientious extended, starting off with this essential thought:
„Most photographers spend literally thousands of dollars on their work – expensive cameras and materials. Add to that the countless hours that go into producing the images (taking them, processing them, etc.). When making a book is there any reason for doing it cheaply and quickly? What would be the point of that? If the photographs are the result of a long, arduous process, the end result should reflect that. You (literally) owe it to yourself (and not just the people who, you hope, will buy your book). Imagine taking a cheaply and quickly made book out of your bookshelf years later: Is that really how you would want to remember all the hard work?“
Read the whole article HERE.
On sequencing
Harvey Benge just published a great post on editing and sequencing a book HERE.
We arrived in Kuching (Malaysian Borneo) yesterday and are slowly trying to adapt to the heat and the different timezone. I hope I can post some pictures in the next few days.
Work
„The best advice I could possibly give you, and forgive me if this seems glib, is to work. Work. Work. Work. Every day. At the same time every day. For as long as you can take it every day, work, work, work. Understand? Talent is for shit. I’ve taught school for nearly thirty years and never met a student who did not have some talent. It is as common as house dust or kudzu vine in Alabama and is just about as valuable. Nothing is as valuable as the habit of work, and work has to become a habit.“ Barry Moser
(via LPV magazine)