priorities…sequencing….what comes first, what comes second, what can wait for later….priorities in life and career and priorities in the sequencing of photographs….what applies to one, may quite apply to the other…the decisions we all make are as important as the actions we take…and it is the decision making process and the prioritizing of actions in fluid sequence that often seems oh so painful to achieve…
as i work with my students at home now, it is quite easy to see that these factors are the single dominant hurdle towards the building of a photographic essay…and the single dominant hurdle for me in life and in my work….maybe some of you feel the same….once the decisions are made and once the priorities are sequenced, then the "actions" are easy by comparison….
many of you have asked about the importance of sequencing the photographs in your essays….i will not judge you on this, because there are no rules….no formula…..nevertheless, the sequencing is so so important, as is the rhythm in a musical score or the juxtaposition of words in a poem…all a part of "visual literacy"….all a part of the "medium is the message"….however, in the case of your essays here, do not worry too much…i well know that few have confidence in sequencing….i will work with you on the final edit and sequencing, so when your work is shown it will be a collaboration between thee and me….
in the meantime, see how others do it….look carefully at the photographic books you admire most….watch carefully the editing in fine films you enjoy ….listen to classical music and feel the "blues"…..be instinctive, be yourself….make small prints of your work and carry them around with you…spread them around…play with the sequence….tack them on a wall…play with the sequence…this is very difficult to do on a computer screen regardless of the program…be tactile with your work…touching your photographs makes a difference…
if you have specific questions, now is the time to ask….
my oh my what have we all done..
will i ever feel the morning sun?
david
Now the blog seems to resemble the work of Christian Morgenstern. Much better. :-) 15 words – done.
if a shrink sees this we will be analyzed,
and this forum surely be prized!!
david
Im working TKD but also trying to line up other ideas. Ive got one idea to photograph a Korean opera tenor. One of my students is his cousin, so there might be hope to getting access to him. As far as tkd, Im pretty much starting from scratch due to the july 15th limit (all of it was shot before) but its forcing me to keep at it. So thats good. And dont be surprised if you see some dress cafe shots…havent decided to go there yet but I might.
Here comes the sun
ol’ George did say
and as for Paul
sunshine, good day
(OK, really…I’ve got to get moving. Thanks David! Truly love this place! Catch ya later.)
coffee, not a single cup
shouldn’t attempt this ’til I fully wake up
blah!
Edge of a gaping maw
Epistle stuck in my craw–
(Whoops!….) Amy laid down the Law!
Am I funny, I have to wonder
To hang her undies grouped by color? Michael
this blog has certainly suffered no attrition
but will Harvey ever comment on my submission?
my oh my;
what a line,
Amy’s got us all to rhyme…
The apparition of faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet black bough.
Ezra Pound
Michael
i know, only 12 – -damn–
on the subject of influences, i’ve always liked the idea that photographers wear their’s on their coatsleeve so to speak..i’d love to think there’s some Evans, Eggleston, HCB, frank, Klein, DAH, Webb and Bill Allard all together stewing in me, like a good ol’ ‘potjiekos’… and the result is what comes forth…it’s important to find your own voice, but equally so to find solace in the work of kindred spirits..especially on those dark days when i think it’s all for naught and I just ‘push a button for a living’…
one of my fellow photographers who produces great work refuses to look at photography books. He doesn’t browse the net for other’s work. He does not want to think his own vision has been influenced by others. Once in a while he’ll go to an opening but that’s about it.
I’m just throwing these out in the open … it does not mean I fully subscribe to this.
dang. I wanted to say Leicadot is red, my pee is yellow, why don’t I fix it with rapsberry jello?
Rene – not that I’m making excuses for not having a well rounded study of the masters, but I can relate to that somewhat—especially when I hear of people needing to “unlearn” certain things.
I agree, although I think it applies more in photography where one has control over their environment and not in street photography where a photograph is a result of a split second decision.
ah, rene; the tender subject of history and it’s impact on the construction of the self|identity and the ideology of a personal lifeworld…some embrace it and hope to learn and, as Alec Soth put it;
“mine the same idiom”
so that there are small but marked differences; I like the idea of being a small part of a tradition in photography — it took me a long time to find what that tradition could be described as — humanistic street reportage — but, once found, it fit like a glove made for my own self;
other’s, on the other hand feel sullied by the mere thought of an influence — yet’– I do believe art as social discourse are the way in which I attempt to find my own place in this world I have been born into and through it, make sense and give it meaning — in this; it is important to me to learn from what has come before in order to understand what it is that they have all learned in this endeavor…
it’s cool, Jakob. I don’t dwell on understanding these things too much as I think I know where I want to go and where I want to improve and I know that there are many rudimentary improvements that I need to adress before I get overly technical. – I’ll probably never get to that stage. it’s just not my style. I tend to think that preoccupation with rules steers my mind away from the creative process and ’seeing’.
If I could focus that energy more on getting out there and shoot I would be probably better off.
Rafal, David, Anyone–
Rafal in S. Korea keeps mentioning ‘TKD’ and its meaning is a mystery to me- ‘Taekwondo’ perhaps?
Annyonghi kyesipsio.
Sidney
rene :)
couplet1:
the conceit of “original” is so hum-drum
I’d tell that dude: yo, u r so autumn.
;))
couplet 2:
what’s more cliched nowadays than lugging cameras,
to “uninfluenced dude”:
how about everyday camera-less arbaracadabra?
Photography is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one’s own originality. It’s a way of life.
HCB
Michael
michael: :))
that’s it exactly,
succinct, beautiful and abracadabra-tactly ;))
“Uninfluenced” have no need for allard, abell and harvey.
Will they ever evolve beyond larvae?
On the other hand, art is the appreciation of the old with a little new added. There’s an Ezra Pound quotation about it somewhere.
Michael
We’re getting crazy! What’s next, a haiku contest?? A koan competition??? :)
Photography is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one’s own originality. It’s a way of life.
————————–
Coule be applied to anything a free spirit does. Henri could shoot a blank sometimes, or as we say in France: defoncer une porte ouverte (force entry into an open door).
I always had a problem with rhyme poetry. We had to learn so much of it at school (the great Prevert sometimes, but not enough), and I am always reminded the scolding the teacher gave us, asking us why did the poet choose these words. And of course, we answered “because it rhymed”, probably thinking about being done with it, looking out in the street and not in the class.
The older I get, the more I think it was actually the right answer.
Maybe the teacher eventually got the lesson too. I hope he did.
So since that day, I do only prose, like Mr Jourdain.
roses are red
violets are blue
herve, we’re just having a little fun
and you could…as well!
(hey, at least it didn’t ryhm! rhym? rhyhm? Damn how do you spell that word?)
and you could…as well!
—————————-
stepping out of the class into the street, at this minute, Michael! ;-)
roses are red
violets are blue
herve, we’re just having a little fun
and so should you!!!
:)
BB.
Bresson was nothing if not precise.
Michael
Tis a good Time for “cropping” long posts into thoughtful Rhyme.
With arrangements of “vertical” as a substitute for level straight. This is looking GREAT!
[I'm glad to see everyone joyfully practicing heavy cropping & vertical submissions today.] LOL
“Rhyme”! Whew. Note to self: R-H-Y-M-E!
Thank you Jason. ;^}
Herve: the link that you provide is inactive. i like the ryhmes folks..
Workshop is over
bloggers are waiting
For David’s comments
we’re anticipating.
CATHY…
do not blame me!! i was in on this whole thing for awhile, but my comments are so so far back now….the only way to stop this madness is for me to make a new post…right??
well, i cannot do it right now…i have to talk to lawyers etc… i would rather come out and play with everyone here, but i have no choice…
back with post soonest…
cheers, david
HELLO ALL…
the original rule was a 15 word rhyme….some of you slipped on that a bit…but it was not MY rule..just go back and read amy’s little epistle which triggered cowboy bob and then me at 7am this morning!!
a little game playing is always good for the soul…enjoy…
david
Since David is probably going to start a new post soon, I thought I’d extend the offer to join “Photo Friday” if anyone missed that. Basically it’s an email list I’m building from this community for the purpose of everyone sharing one current photo per week—no major critiques, just a light-hearted and current look at our personalities as photographers.
Since I’m keeping the list, I’ll start off sending my shot on Friday, then everyone will have the current list and you all likewise can share a shot with everyone else. A handful of us had a dry run last week and I thought it was really great.
I don’t plan on compiling the shots for a Flickr site or anything like that—email just seems a little more personal for this community as long as it’s not a huge problem for anyone. For everyone benefit it’s best to keep the shots under 100kb or send a link to a shot.
David, let me know if you’d like to be included in the list or if you’d prefer not—you might not want a flood of emails on Friday, but then again…???
If you want to be added to the list, email me at david@humanfiles.com.
dizzy and blood stroking 102 here
with a gasp, my portfolios arrived not so dear
beware the sequencing on the screen
for it may reveal in print quite mean
DAVID M
for me to do a good job with all of the material coming into me already from all of you, i think i should stay off of this list..my e-mail is daunting as it is…if there were some way i could sneak a peak whenever i had a break, that would be fine, but i know you do not want to go to a photo sharing site…if you can think of a way that i could slip in and out , then let me know…
i am totally committed to the readers of this forum and because of this, i think i should stick with posting here as often as i can and reviewing all of the essays coming in…i am sure you understand…
david
Yeah I suspected that but wanted to extend the offer.
Best o’ luck,
David M
oops-missed the post that explained the rules;
but the day’s so nice, crispy, cool.
Michael
ha, ha, ha…
this is funny! ha!
Martin :)
“john fulton who writes here knew me back when i was about 23 i think..john and i worked together only a short time, but he has tracked me fairly well i think…john if you are reading this, what would your answer be??? i can hear john laughing now…”
Geez, I’m so far behind on this thread. Sorry.
Dave and I worked together in Topeka in 1968 (I was a summer intern, he was on staff.). In Charlottesville I met Dave’s oldest son, Brian. I said to Brian that the last time I had seen him was when he was one year old. Lots of laughs. In the mid 80’s I ran into Ken Paik, who was working in Coffeeville, Kansas in 1968. First thing he did was start shouting about what a cheap sob harvey was for having a cookout at his apartment that summer of 1968 and making the summer intern bring his own steak. I’d forgotten about that. Heh.
Uh, what was the question?
Sidney,
TKD is taekwondo:)
JOHN….
is that true???
david
Ciao David,
sorry but I do not succeed to upload the images on your serveur.
It indicates to me that the pasword it is mistaken…
I dont know why… I m terrible informatic! :)
Abbracci
Igor
Hi everybody,
Sorry I have not managed to check the forum earlier, but I am busy preparing a little photo-exebition in Brussels. Never thought this could be so complicated, but it will be in the EU-Parliament and it is pure politics. Trying to save what is possible… including my nerves.
David
thanks for your invitation to show you some slideshows in NY. I’ll be glad to respond to that. It could take me a while though, until I get a chance to get to NY again. Last time I was there it was to see Christo’s & Jeanne-Claude’s Gates in the Central Park. A quick over-the-weekend trip. Now my weekends are packed until spring 2008 … But after that I’ll be glad to come over. You just provided the reason and excuse for it. Thank you a lot for that.
Sidney
Many thanks for the compliment as to my English. Good to hear that and thankfully you cannot see how long I need for these few sentences ;-)
Und ich gebe das Kompliment zurück – alleine schon wegen der Umlaute, die Sie sich heraussuchen mussten… ;-)
My English is ok to transport facts & numbers. Unfortunately not good enough for the poetic aspects and depths of a language, that really make the difference and embed the meaning … So I understand perfectly what Martin was helpless about. A lot of posts here are way beyond my horizont, too.
So please ask, if I write nonsense … I do not always have a dictionary at hand and sometimes start to make up my very own version of the English-language.
David
the project you are developping ist wonderful! I am looking forward to see the probably overwhelming results! Thanks for the time you are investing… It means a lot.
I’ll have to print this article out now in order to read it on my way to work and be up to date again.
Until then …
Bye from Germany,
Lassal