There was another thread where in passing the nature of how we create photographs was discussed, and someone (I think it was
@nandbytes) posted this link:
Photography isn’t just about taking pictures of things. Very often you’re trying to capture something deeper, like a metaphor or an emotion or simply a graphically satisfying image. The trouble is that what you see isn’t necessarily what other people see.
www.lifeafterphotoshop.com
Which got me considering. When I re-started taking pictures seriously again I was definitely literal with some graphic stirred in - I think you need some graphical to give a shot compositional sense, else without that you have nothing more than a record shot. I also remember at the time seeing the work of another photographer who had chosen what was high end Fx kit to produce some very 'soft' images, and asken myself why he would take a sharp picture and then sod it up with all that softness.
And so to this evening.
On the Sony thread we were discussing various lenses, with some being sharp and neutral - 'very capable but boring' was one description by someone else, 'sharp but uninteresting. Great for detailed landscape, social gatherings, record shots.' was my view.
This brought me back to the link above. I have realised that when it comes to my own work I now 'sod up' a perfectly good picture by making it a bit soft, blocking up shadows, changing tonal response and particularly changing to monochrome because colour is so often too complicated and too busy. It's in pursuit of emotion in the picture, trying to escape the literalness that I find so uninteresting now, but preserving graphical qualities. My photography has changed.
I could post some examples, but would prefer not to because I'm trying to talk about how
we feel about photography, rather than how
you feel abut
my photography.
