One of the most compelling things about photography, as an art form, is that photographers are limited to the single image. A single moment of time captured, hopefully aesthetically, by a person who’s vision and clarity provide a window into a still moment in time.
As a painter I had the ability to create any atmosphere I wanted with whatever tools and techniques were at my disposal.
That’s taken away from photographers when you think of the photograph in it’s purest form.
This isn’t to say that “pure photography” is the end all be all. I do enjoy looking at digitally manipulated, as well as dark room manipulated, works from stellar artists.
I’m not a photojournalist.
But I think it’s the challenge of working within those limitations that draws me to photography as an art form. Perhaps that’s why I’ve moved away from pixel punishing in the past few years.
The eye's have it
The potential for an image to hold it’s audience is flailing.
We are inundated with a barrage of imagery in every facet of our lives, and as a visual artist, this presents a challenge.
No longer can we accept that our artwork will “stand on it’s own” without the aid of some sort of digital media representation.
I’m troubled as I try to present my work to the general public. How do I get my work seen by as many eyeballs as I can?
I present these thoughts because I’m in the mental process of changing how and where I present my thoughts on photography and art, as well as where I place my artwork to be seen.
Perhaps a “personal” blog isn’t the best answer. Perhaps it’s a matter of presenting these thoughts on art in community based platform that will have more potential to reach more readers, thereby driving more traffic to my artwork that is for sale.
Once again, I’m just rambling…
Fan’s of the hit NBC television show The Office undoubtably know of Dwight Schrute’s shrewd demeanor. I love the show and have always found his character quite compelling.
I happened upon his blog (yes it’s a television character written blog) and found an article posted yesterday about digital photography Careless Power For The Masses. It’s rather funny.
Like any good satire, there are truths behind the curtain.
Traditional film cameras at least have a built-in limit. You can only take photos as long as you have film. When the film is used up, you’re out of luck. On top of that, film is fairly expensive, as is photo development. These costs made liberal camera use cost-prohibitive. Not the case with digital cameras.
I couldn’t agree more. I, myself a digital photographer, have reverted back to using film in an effort to hone my craft (and my compositional eye) by limiting the powers of digital photography.
The biggest problem that I see with digital cameras is that they cause people to place so much less significance on a single image.
I don’t know if that’s necessarily true, but I can see where he’s coming from. Sometimes, as photographers (this includes everyone from pros to hobbyists) we can let that shutter trigger really fly. I think it is time to slow things down and take it all in.
In this day and age we are bombarded by too much… well, everything. From advertising to news, we receive way to much information on a daily (some of us even more so) basis.
It’s time to shut out some of the noise!
