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Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

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Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#51

Post by scott_s »

rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

I wonder if your ability to not think about the technical details of photography comes from the fact that in the beginning, you did think about them, and now you have a completely intuitive understanding of them.

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#52

Post by pizza »

rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

Can you show us your photos?

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#53

Post by reeses »

keithpeter wrote: post #47
rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

I agree with looking at photographs, especially curated collections (published books, exhibitions). "It shouldn't take you more than a day to figure out how aperture, exposure and ISO work." I disagree with this from the perspective of teaching this stuff to teenagers (some decades ago now I admit). Probably easier with digital cameras.

The stellar thing about manual controls on digital cameras is that you can get a "feel" for the compromises and advantages of various combinations of settings very quickly. What took a big chunk of every project during semester with a K1000, limited exposures, and darkroom time (where you had yet another chance to make a dog's breakfast of your photo) can now be "taught" in a day and internalized in a week or two of appropriate exercises with fast feedback loops.

Sure, almost all of the work will be boring, derivative, and pedestrian, but the teacher's job (and how they will be judged) then becomes one of improving the quality of the artwork.

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#54

Post by engtech »

danso wrote: post #21
Cd00d wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I used to take a lot of macro shots of flowers as I traveled and did a lot of hiking in varying ecosystems. Playing with focal depth and framing was a great pleasure, and my shots were frequently something I was really proud of. Then I had a roommate say in a pseudo off-hand passive aggressive way that she didn't understand nature photography - "I mean, it's not like the photographer made the flower, it was a…

It's obviously not worth dwelling now, many years later, but I think you should've dismissed her comment based on her premise ("it's not like the photographer made the flower..."). It is a hard balance between pursuing what you think is art and appealing to others; but if a critic's reasoning is flawed, then you're justified in having an air of superiority.

"It's not like the DJ is doing anything but playing other people's songs"

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#55

Post by checoivan »

rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

Spoken like a boss. Look up an awesome photographer, like Sam Abell from Natgeo. Until recently he used 2 olympus film cameras, and 2 fixed lenses. No zooms. Which btw cost around 150 bucks on ebay each.

Some dig into the "technical" details like it was a computer, forgetting It's about making an image that looks good and people like.

I'd recommend 1x.com instead for tutorials.

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#56

Post by wallflower »

rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

If you don't mind me asking, who are a few of your favorite photographers?

Also, what do you think of Vivian Maier?

http://www.vivianmaier.com/

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#57

Post by rorrr »

scott_s wrote: post #51
rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

I wonder if your ability to not think about the technical details of photography comes from the fact that in the beginning, you did think about them, and now you have a completely intuitive understanding of them.

You may be right, but most "photographers" get stuck at that phase forever. Photo companies convinced most people that buying an expensive DSLR will make them a good photographer. Or if you carry a tripod, that automatically makes you a pro.

While knowing your technical side is nice, it is completely unnecessary to take good photos. I know of a brilliant wedding photographer who shoots with cheap disposable cameras from your local gas station. He is booked months ahead.

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#58

Post by rorrr »

wallflower wrote: post #56
rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

If you don't mind me asking, who are a few of your favorite photographers? Also, what do you think of Vivian Maier? http://www.vivianmaier.com/

She's a good classical street photographer. I'm sure her photos look way better in print than the tiny versions on her website.

I wouldn't say she is my favorite, but pretty solid.

There are truly many photographers that I like (and many that I only remember by the images, I'm horrible at remembering names).

Classic street photographers: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt

Modern street photographers: Joseph Koudelka

There are tons of good ones at magnumphotos.com

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#59

Post by rorrr »

pizza wrote: post #52
rorrr wrote: post #45

WARNING: negative feedback ahead. Disclaimer: I'm a pro photographer (as in I get paid for taking photos), and I had a few exhibitions. A few important points, if you want to become a good photographer: 1) My philosophy with most art teachers/book writers is - unless your art makes me say "wow", you can't teach me much. There are many truly great photographers out there. Dan Nguyen is not one of them. I look at his p…

Can you show us your photos?

Sorry, I'm trying to remain anonymous.

I don't even consider myself great. I have a couple of shots that I've made in the last 10 years that I think are OK.

Most of this advice doesn't really come from me, it's mostly passed generation-to-generation. I was told pretty much this when I started learning photography, and it got reiterated by a few professionals that I respect.

Re: Show HN: The Bastards Book of Photography

#60

Post by keithpeter »

reeses wrote: post #53
keithpeter wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with looking at photographs, especially curated collections (published books, exhibitions). "It shouldn't take you more than a day to figure out how aperture, exposure and ISO work." I disagree with this from the perspective of teaching this stuff to teenagers (some decades ago now I admit). Probably easier with digital cameras.

The stellar thing about manual controls on digital cameras is that you can get a "feel" for the compromises and advantages of various combinations of settings very quickly. What took a big chunk of every project during semester with a K1000, limited exposures, and darkroom time (where you had yet another chance to make a dog's breakfast of your photo) can now be "taught" in a day and internalized in a week or two of…

Yes, certainly. I've seen the Photoshop 'curves' tool used to explain film characteristic curves and shadow placement before now - and it saves time when still using the K1000s! Students in UK Colleges learn film as well as digital.
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