I have the gear. What now?

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I have (possibly) everything I need to take good photographs apart from the imagination and the insight.

I want to see good photography and I mean GOOD photography but who's, and where?

I appreciate this question is a little bit silly and wide-ranging at first asking but I look at some pictures and I think ' I like that' and I look at others and think 'Meh, not so much'. What photographer's work should I be looking at for examples of really good images? I don't mean technically, I mean aesthetically pleasing pictures. They don't have to be modern, in fact a memorable picture taken on older equipment is probably more relevant as the impact has been provided by the photographer.

I have no particular genre in mind, just looking for other people's favourite professional tog.
 
"... just looking for other people's favourite professional tog"

Surely that's the problem - it's someone else's favourite. Like paintings, sculpture, etc, we all have different opinions.

I'd say you take the photos and decide what you like; never mind others opinions, it's yours that counts.
 
I found for me it was look more take less and make each one count.
I actually went back to film from digital.
 
John X: I appreciate that, but sometimes it's good to look at how other people do things. I play saxophone but it's good to hear others playing too.
 
Mr Bump said:
I found for me it was look more take less and make each one count.
I actually went back to film from digital.
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Yes, you're right there however I won't be going back to film as pratting about in the darkroom took a long time and was very expensive (in wasted paper!).
 
Find some photographs taken near you which you really like. Go there and try and take as good a photograph. After post processing has failed to bring your photo up to the standard you should be able to work out why yours wasn't so good. Go back and try again. If you get really stuck you could try writing to the photographer to ask some questions.

It's a good way of learning.
 
ShinySideUp said:
I want to see good photography and I mean GOOD photography but who's, and where?
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Great contemporary photography can be found here...

https://www.lensculture.com/



Want to look at the definitive photographers in each genre? Click here.....

http://www.americansuburbx.com/browse



If that doesn't do it for you... click here...

https://www.flickr.com/


Why are you waiting for people to give you something to inspire you? Just go and look. Millions upon millions of images out there to inspire you. :)
 
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ShinySideUp said:
What photographer's work should I be looking at for examples of really good images? I don't mean technically, I mean aesthetically pleasing pictures.
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That's an impossible question to answer but for now I'd say forget about other people's photos. You have a camera, go use it! Go for a drive or take the bus into town, wander round and take photos - lots of photos of as many different things as you can. The more you take the more you'll start seeing the kind of things that appeal to you, you'll soon know the kind of things you want to be shooting.

Don't sit there at the computer trying to find inspiration in other people while the camera sits gathering dust, that won't get you anywhere. Get out into the world and inspire yourself.
 
I think you've defined it for yourself. As you say, you look at some images and like them, and look at others and don't like them. Such is the case with all of us, I'd guess. Regardless of how "aesthetically pleasing" the image is, or is not, if you like it then it's good.

I'm sure I'm not alone in looking at work from many an acclaimed photographer, artist, sculptor or whatever and been left totally cold by their efforts.

The problem here is that there is no "one size fits all" definition of the term aesthetically pleasing.
 
Whilst there are lots of valid points above, and in Pookeys case a good direct answer to your question.

My view on this is different, I don't think we create great pictures until were engaged with the subject, I think a camera is a secondary interest for great photographers.

Shoot what you love, the inspiration will come from within you and drive you forward. Nothing could get me out of bed at 4 o'clock to wait for a sunrise and perfect cloud formation over a pretty landscape, or to trek for miles and sit in silence waiting for a lesser spotted nut warbler, because those things don't inspire me, in fact they don't interest me at all. I can only push myself to create images of things that interest me. If the subject isn't interesting, the photography is pointless.
 
ShinySideUp said:
Yes, you're right there however I won't be going back to film as pratting about in the darkroom took a long time and was very expensive (in wasted paper!).
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Perhaps, if you're only pratting about in there.

ShinySideUp said:
I play saxophone but it's good to hear others playing too.
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You wouldn't say that if you were a banjo player!


Steve.
 
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Phil V said:
My view on this is different, I don't think we create great pictures until were engaged with the subject, I think a camera is a secondary interest for great photographers.
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I can't agree with this more.

My advice really... honestly, is sit and decide what you want to say; what you want to show people. Without understanding that question, you're just making shiny things for no purpose except your own self-aggrandisement and the adoration of your peers. It's pointless, narcissistic and ultimately boring for everyone else.

  • Show people something interesting.
  • Show people something familiar in a new light
  • Tell a story
  • Tell someone else's story
  • Amaze people
  • Horrify people
  • Intrigue people.


All of that isn't really anything to do with gear, cameras or anything else hobbyist. It's about understanding what makes an engaging image engaging.
 
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Phil V said:
Whilst there are lots of valid points above, and in Pookeys case a good direct answer to your question.

My view on this is different, I don't think we create great pictures until were engaged with the subject, I think a camera is a secondary interest for great photographers.

Shoot what you love, the inspiration will come from within you and drive you forward. Nothing could get me out of bed at 4 o'clock to wait for a sunrise and perfect cloud formation over a pretty landscape, or to trek for miles and sit in silence waiting for a lesser spotted nut warbler, because those things don't inspire me, in fact they don't interest me at all. I can only push myself to create images of things that interest me. If the subject isn't interesting, the photography is pointless.
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I half agree with this.

If someone is passionate about steam trains... I'm sorry... now matter how passionate about them THEY are, pictures of steam trains won't be doing anything for me. Instead, MAKE me interested in them. Don't just shoot the trains just to show me a train.. I know what train looks like. Show me the people involved... show me their passion.. make me smell it, taste it, breathe it... draw me in. Tell the STORY of the steam enthusiast.

This to anyone other than a rail enthusiast is very boring.
west-somerset_1981531b.jpg



This isn't....

http://invisiblephotographer.asia/2014/08/05/railwaylongings-raselchowdhury/


Both are about trains. One is a photograph OF a train.... one is a series of photographs about trains.. AND the people along the journey, and the places... etc etc.

One is interesting to everyone, one is not.

If you disagree... don't bother asking what we think.. instead, just go and shoot what makes you happy. :)
 
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You may as well ask "give me an example of good music". The question will mean something different to each individual.

You need to explore for yourself. Decide what YOU like.
 
ShinySideUp said:
I want to see good photography and I mean GOOD photography but who's, and where?

I appreciate this question is a little bit silly and wide-ranging at first asking but I look at some pictures and I think ' I like that' and I look at others and think 'Meh, not so much'.
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C. H. Spurgeon (I think) once had a conversation with a lady who normally attended a church with a minister whose theology was, well, not quite conventional. He asked how she managed to gain any benefit from it, and she replied that all she had to do was insert a few "no"s and "not"s at approptiate places to hear a good sermon.

The same approach should pay when looking at photographs. Once you've decided that you like or don't like one, ask yourself "why?" and you should be able to learn from most if not all the photographs you view. You can then look at the ones you don't like, and put a few "no"s and "not"s of your own into to various lessons you can draw for your own photography. If you go on and ask "why?" in relation to the reason the photographer had for making the image in the first place, you'll gain even more.
 
Steve Smith said:
Perhaps, if you're only pratting about in there.
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Just an expression. I started prcoessing and printing my own B & W photographs in 1973 and have some good images over the years. It always took such a long time though and all that cleaning and smelly chemicals so I was glad when digital finally came to fruition as it meant I could start and stop when I wanted and instantly too; and I didn't have to do it in the dark.

Having said that and despite having a full-blown A3 printer with 9 ink cartridges in it I still think printed monochrome prints are not as good as film and paper.
 
juggler said:
The original question was 'who's and where?'

1x.com is an interesting subset of high quality non-commercial photography. I've no idea where the good commercial stuff tends to accumulate.
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1x.com hosts a lot of images that are so heavily manipulated that they arguably cross the line from photography into CGI.
 
Huge question really and so wide ranging that it's impossible to answer very helpfully. Really you need to do the initial work and I'd say just look at as many examples of photography as possible in as many different places. The ones you like then follow it up by googling who they photographer is interested in and then follow their influences in the same way. That way you can narrow down the styles you enjoy and find out who produces the best examples.

I like 1x.com and there are quite a few examples of different styles so there should be someone for most people there. Some are heavily processed but there's nothing wrong with enjoying them if that floats your boat.

Another site you might enjoy is photoclassical.com
 
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I thank you all for your replies. I have looked through all the sites mentioned—not all the way through or I'd still be there when hell froze over— and have got some good ideas as to the paths I would like to follow. The photoclassical site was interesting in another way because it showed how each photograph was tagged for later retrieval.

While going out and taking pictures is of course the best way to experiment, it is good to see the standards and methods achieved and employed by professional photographers, which was my aim in the original post. I can see, looking through all those pictures, that photography is about what one sees and not how one takes the picture and this is something I have always struggled with throughout my life in photography—for the most part, I am never happy with my work although others say some of it is good (some agree with me!).

As my seven years playing the saxophone taught me that I would never be a professional, so a lifetime trying to get 'that' image has taught me similarly in the taking of pictures. However, I am not down-hearted or less enthusiastic and after this little exercise I find myself even more motivated to try and take that elusive 'perfect' shot.
 
Yep, thats a problem that can happen, you find yourself with allot of gear and no idea what to do

Personally for me what was important to understand was "what" did I like to photograph ?, when you pick the camera, what excites you ? what is the subject you want to get a magical photo of ?

My own experience has been that I don't care to shoot people (with a camera or anything else ;) ), I prefer to capture landscapes and cityscapes, so my goal is to take that magical shot of rolling hills or a city from a viewpoint that nobody has found or bothered with before.

So with that in mind I started to tailor my lens collection on the wider side, and even got rid of my 100-400 (having said that, sometimes a long lens can be useful in landscape), and stopped reading about studio shots of models :)

I still love the human element, so for me the perfect shot would be a great landscape with a human for scale, this is not anything amazing, but goes towards what I am striving to become better at.


Reflecting by Carlos 'NullMind' Rego, on Flickr

So take the time to realise, what excites you ?!
 
While wondering what to photograph I find I can sometimes learn a surprising amount about unexplored capabilities (& sometimes unexpected defects) of my gear, and learn some useful skills, by going out to photograph something I'd not bothered with much before, such as insects, or sunsets, or bad weather.
 
Pookeyhead said:
I can't agree with this more.

My advice really... honestly, is sit and decide what you want to say; what you want to show people.
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Yes, very good, but, we don't have to show people :D

The vast majority of my pictures are taken for ME! :D and I very often don't care what other people think. Sure it's nice when someone likes my pictures and it's very nice and flattering and it gives me a nice warm glow when someone asks for one but ultimately my hobby is my hobby. It's for ME :D
 
Although I haven't go the right gear for this (yet :naughty:) I do fancy doing some insect photography. I took some nice pictures of a house spider (yes, I know, not an insect) a couple of years ago while she kindly posed for me halfway up a wall (the spider, not me). However something would have to give lens-wise if I wanted a decent Nikon Micro.
 
ShinySideUp said:
Although I haven't go the right gear for this (yet :naughty:) I do fancy doing some insect photography. I took some nice pictures of a house spider (yes, I know, not an insect) a couple of years ago while she kindly posed for me halfway up a wall (the spider, not me). However something would have to give lens-wise if I wanted a decent Nikon Micro.
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Don't let not having the right gear hold you back. You should probably start with trying to reverse your current lenses, or adding in some cheap extension tubes. Adapters are available for less than a tenner in most cases and even if that's out of your price range, you can always make your own. Those years of watching Blue Peter really do pay off when it comes to macro.

Word of warning though.. if you want to take up insect photography you will likely end up with two hobbies instead of one. Entomology is a fascinating subject and will send you off on another voyage of discovery ;)
 
Taking pictures of insects is one thing, taking good pictures of insects is a very different thing IMHO.

As for the original question, I'm in the 'photograph what interests you' camp. Unless of course you're taking photographs for someone else, then you have to shoot what interests them and hope that it interests you too.
 
TimmyG said:
Surely the same can be said for any subject matter?
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I guess so, though I was just thinking that entering the macro world is quite a departure from the one we all walk around in every day. Quite a different skill set needed for really good insect shots IMHO, though I am no expert at all I've only dabbled in this area.
 
Ah I see what you mean. I agree it probably requires a different skill set and certainly different techniques but they just need to be learned like anything else. I can't take a decent portrait to save my life, but I haven't invested any time and effort in trying to do it properly.
 
I'm in "the whatever moves" you camp. Don't go out and buy yet another lens because you think you might need it. Get out there with whatever gear you have and start using it.

Why not start with cacti........

You'll never take the perfect shot either. It'll seem perfect for about five minutes and then it'll start to be become more and more ordinary. It will encourage you to keep at it.
 
Shooting what interests you is great advice IMO.

However.... the best images are those with broader appeal. Pictures of planes at air shows are only really of interest to those who also like planes, so by all means take those to keep yourself happy, but if you're going to publish anything on-line to a wider audience, why not think about more project based work? Why not document an air show: The people running it, the visitors, the men and women running catering, the faces of people during displays. Talk to organisers if possible... who knows where it will get you: I've spent the last 4 weeks when not at my main job, dressed in HV walking along railway lines with full permission of Railtrack as part of documenting the efforts to re-open a closed branch line. I have no interest in trains whatsoever... but I bet the finished book will be of MASSIVE interest to those that do, AND those that don't, as the work is not really about trains, but the efforts of volunteers to re-open a closed branch line. My point is... if I did like trains, I'd be loving doing this even more... but the work will not just be pictures of trains, it's a story with much wider appeal: I've already got interest from Lancashire Archives and publishing interest.

It's about trains, rail enthusiasts, and local history.... but because it's not shots of trains, and it's more anthropological in nature, it will have broader appeal. The work is more satisfying too as I've had to negotiate access, and build relationships with people.. I've had to work hard to get what I want, so I appreciate it more.

Project based working is definitely the way to go. Just taking one picture at a time in a disconnected, unrelated way is what eventually makes you bored of photography.

Just a snippet of what I've been up to....

HqLq9Er.jpg

Ybi3Z8K.jpg

PJWMxrA.jpg

7gFqkKQ.jpg


It's a fascinating way to work, as you never know where it will lead, and the more you get involved the more you learn. Not necessarily about photography either - I've become almost expert in local branch lines, and the Beeching report of 1963 over the last few weeks :)

So look for interesting stories in your community. Local news items can lead to interesting things and interesting people.
 
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Yep.. seen the work before. I think the BBC did something on this project too if I recall.

Byker28i said:
As for local news, I know of someone who followed the path of a stream through the local area.
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Almost anything can make a great photo project if you think about it. Your skill as a photographer is to tell the story.
 
I absolutely 100% agree with the value of doing project-based photography and all that Pookeyhead says about it. The finished result will be of far more value than a collection of unrelated pictures and the value to oneself as a photographer is incalculable.

If anyone is interested to read about my current project they can click on this link.

http://wp.me/p2BFlt-kd

Although having been accused of "shameless blog pimping" yesterday when I posted a link to my blog, maybe I should keep quiet about it?
 
jerry12953 said:
Although having been accused of "shameless blog pimping" yesterday when I posted a link to my blog, maybe I should keep quiet about it?
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Don't. I followed yesterday's link and read back through a lot of your posts. :)

All I have to add to the concept of project work is that if you don't know where to start just go out and take photos of whatever takes your fancy - then look at what you shoot regularly and determine if there's a theme that might show you a way into a project. It might not suit everyone but it works for me.
 
It's true. I've started taking a second (smaller) camera with me to be able to take environmental/habitat shots as I find interesting bugs. Hopefully it will tell a better story when the bugs aren't viewed in isolation. I'd really like to take more behavioral shots but that tends to require more time and patience. Somethings I am lacking much of at the moment...
 
ShinySideUp said:
I want to see good photography and I mean GOOD photography but who's, and where?

... I mean aesthetically pleasing pictures ...
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It shouldn't be just about 'aesthetically pleasing', which on its own can be quite a shallow thing. It can also be about cultural relevance, tactility, gut feeling. Take your pick, go wild, look at everything. Forget about people who take photos of 'things'. Register what represents a rounded consciousness, what beguiles you, what grabs your gut. The world is endless. Choices can be blinding.

Go here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/sets/72157606886750595/
 
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