Guest stnami Posted November 12, 2006 Share #161 Posted November 12, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Wayne I moved the last two responses to Customer forum...A change of pace Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 12, 2006 Posted November 12, 2006 Hi Guest stnami, Take a look here sean reid and street photography. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
smokysun Posted November 12, 2006 Author Share #162 Posted November 12, 2006 the task, as always, is to transcend time... ah the time givers return Wayne I am not sure about the colour cast of the Fuji it is a bit bland. I tried out the GRD mounted on the D2, worked in raw with both, it was OK but I may try side by side. Write time was not a problem. ps Wayne I have a GRD gallery now Wayne along with the D2 and Leica ones Santu Mofokeng Santu Mofokeng artist and art...the-artists.org hi imants, alas, hardly anybody looks at the customer forum (14 right now while 112 are looking at this one!). might we be giving a change of pace? this temporary madness is necessary to get leica users into the digital ballgame. once that happens, a lot of equipment talk will calm down. used the polaroid x530 on the street last night and at a theater performance. it definitely has great color possibilities. the fuji f30 is rather ordinary that way, but when i have it with me i figure i will never lose a shot cause of low-light or working speed. the battery life incredible. with the polaroid you can shut off the lcd and use the viewfinder, the only reason i could shoot from the audience during an actual theater performance (the first time i've done it - lcd's are too bright in the audience) it's obviously not great in low-light but you get some very interesting pics. you can, by the way, set it on aperture or shutter priority, etc. battery almost made it through the evening, on during most of the two hour performance as well as the walk. i'm still hoping leica will pick these points up from other cameras and give us a great compact. hi john, glad you're enjoying the thread. i see it as relief from all the hardware talk. as i've said above, i hope things settle down. yes, it would be great to have a forum for discussions like this. i'm personally interested in how digital can work, it's possibilities, and general aesthetic questions. the focus is not on a single photo, but on defining one's task, finding one's voice (as they say in the poetry world). the right equipment is part of this, however look at the fototorst book on miroslav tichy. he made his own telephoto lenses from paper cones, abused his photos terribly, which gives them a fascinating patina (again, overcoming time). as imants has said of the grd, sometimes you need specific limits to force your own view of things to the fore. thanks again, wayne Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/1447-sean-reid-and-street-photography/?do=findComment&comment=91758'>More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 13, 2006 Share #163 Posted November 13, 2006 Kunsthaus Zürich | Miroslav Tichy | 15.07. - 18.09.2005 Someone who is willing to walk that fine line....ah the world of the obsessed and their trinkets you gotta love it Yep that sensor colour is... what about green spots and some red splotchiness in the shadows ....... hmmmm sigma will be out sooner or later Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share #164 Posted November 13, 2006 hi imants, looked at the original. yes, lots of splochiness. difficult conditions. some tele extended, 3.4, minus 2 thirds ev, 25th of a second, 100iso. i looked for the green spots in the original and couldn't find them. hand-held. i think i could do better with improved technique. remember: this camera 200 dollars at circuit city right now!! let's see how much the dp1 costs. i'd like to find a cheap sd9 and use my canon lenses. here's another. same night. still difficult conditions, shot through a window. can't blame the camera for my short-comings. boy, what a firestorm on the m8. but every new camera has had issues. and this seems like a software problem? of course, for 5000 dollars you expect something perfect. do you know of francesca woodman: francesca woodman @ Metasearch.com new book at barnes and noble yesterday. a child prodigy. i was looking at the first pictures and thinking, 'this is a lonely girl' and 'i wonder what her mature work is like?' turns out she jumped from a ny window at 23 and we'll never know. what do you think of her work. she's in a lot of anthologies and on book covers. here's a recent favorite quote from the portugese poet fernando pessoa: "In truth as in falsehood, in pleasure and boredom be your own self. You can only achieve this by dreaming, since your real-life, your human life is that which, far from belonging to you, belongs to others. So, you shall substitute dreams for life and only care about dreaming perfectly." wayne Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/1447-sean-reid-and-street-photography/?do=findComment&comment=92572'>More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 14, 2006 Share #165 Posted November 14, 2006 Francesca Woodman she seemed to be a bit preoccupied and it shows in her work. A lot of what has been said is post and because of I am a bird ( scuicide). In a way she seems to have run out of ways and ideas how to depict herself physically as well as conceptually. Depite this it is pretty haunting suff and indicative of art of that era, that was my art school days and there was lots off stuff going on where you wouldn't want to go again. The adolescent mind does wonderfull things. An example of her work Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic vic Posted November 14, 2006 Share #166 Posted November 14, 2006 hi all.. here i join u again... missed a little of your talks but heres the oprtunity to get back... wayene... u r so rite about the equipment issues... and ya imants.... the limitations of the equipment are aprt of it... i would rather see a question of equpment without positive/negative thinking.. i thinnk it is better to look at it as what is the character of particular peice of equipment and what it radiates it to your mind (through the way u use your eyes and your hands)... let me be a little poetic for a moment... for example... i see leica camera as a little window into the scene..... of course there are other uses of it, but this is one of the main charcteristics of leica m.... the 50mm for me is a focused look at what i see and how i see things, while 28mm for me is a big opened window into the reality/scene.... so i dont even think that using one or another is a limitation. it depends on the way i feel.... im not one of those who is concenrend about how and what lens should be used for particular subject.... for example, portrait with 28mm is just as good as with 90 or 75. if i felt i want the widely "opened window" then 28 can be perfect even for portraits. for example... i see rollei 80 as a little box where i put and arrange things. the 80mm (which is normal lens on 6x6) is just perfect for it, and i have never had a feeling for something different with it... just a box where i put things or capture what is already arranged for me by a matter of chance and oprtunity. totally different mentality.... i feel linitation with this camera only when i dont feel (mentally) the desire to work with that little box... u know what i mean?? by the way.. rollei 6008 or for tat matter hassy 501 is also 6x6 and also works with that weist level finder, but it feels totally different.. i dont know.. cannot explain why... there is a shift in mentality.... big camera on ground glass is very much like canvas (like painters work) where u draw things and control the capture in different way..... etc etc........ about francesca woodman...... i loved it very much.. thanks..... i do agree with imants generally..... i will also add, persoanlly, i always look at this kind of works with some facination... the use of your own body as a main motive to depict the self and the mental conditions.... im not sure i can do it with myself.. tried, but i loose something..... i loose my way... if i make something "ugly" with my physical body then i feel it is not truthfull to me or to my mental conditions... if i make something beautiful with my body, i also feel not conected to it in terms of mental condition and rather fall into stylizm and some cliches.... i dont know.. photographing myself, i never cold find the suficient balance between the physical expression and the mental conditions.... i can do it with other people but not with myself as yet.... it is intresting, cause aming my fave works are those who deal with those issues.... take an example of egon scheile for instance (my fave painter). yes imants... very true... the school of art and the attitude of that time plays a big role, and she (francessca woodman) is not the only one who made it...... but i think that this issue and facination from this kind of works goes far beyound its place in history of art or the context.... it is facnating cause in this kind of works one examines (conscious or unconscious) the "miroring" of ones metal state of mind..... "miroring" through physical substance.... it is intresting cause we can talk alot about metal state of mind verbally.. the talks can reflect the essense and the content of mental conditions in various levels of sucess.... but talks are not "mirors" as much as physical expression can be...... when u talk, what u do actually is that u stay within the "circyle of the mind"... but when u try to find the physical expressions u actually give it another point of view... substentially different point of view.... this is "miror" cause u find the representation of "metal conditions" in the "external feild of the mind"... that is really intresting.... i mean u do it with some other people all the time.. u actually have no other way but to "miror". but doing it with your own-self is rather facinating......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share #167 Posted November 15, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) hi vic, good to have you back. and your observations go the heart of the matter. how the equipment/limitations interact with our mental state/subject matter, that's where we find out who we are, what we really believe, even if our conscious mind doesn't approve of it. (or our socialized morality.) schiele a case in point. this is a beautiful book: Amazon.com: Egon Schiele: Drawings and Watercolors: Books: Jane Kallir,Ivan Vartanian which i read this summer. it's all about schiele's approach to the body, how it shifted in the few short years he lived. it's amazing to me when people realize themselves so young. and i wonder how schiele would have done had he lived beyond 28. i've been trying to find the name of a swedish-american who takes beautiful and unusual pictures of his body in all kinds of settings. his name is something like minniken and water is in the title of his book. i'll have to look it up at the library again. you probably know the very famous work of john coplans: john coplans @ Metasearch.com click on the top line image gallery. i think using oneself is very difficult. thanks for the thoughts, wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 15, 2006 Share #168 Posted November 15, 2006 Vic I did a lot of performance work related to self and community in the 70's and into the 80's, it was error ridden, and naive, spontaneous and on a ever changing playing field. I still do some from time to time and the best part about self and art is having the opportunity to participate in bullshit. Australian artist Mike Parr is a great journeyman of the balance between the physical self and the mental conditions imposed upon oneself by oneself. The positive/negative of equipment is a joy, as you can start doing something and the camera/lens says not possible so you shift your parameters and explore other avenues Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share #169 Posted November 15, 2006 hi vic, i found the right name of the other body artist. i think you might like his work: arno raphael minnkinen @ Metasearch.com unique! hi imants, aren't you too hard on performance art? i've been at a bunch of fun evenings. true, self-indulgence is the danger. on the other hand, when it's fresh, humorous, imagistic it can have resonance, tho perhaps not beyond the present moment. it needs an audience. books never do it justice. was vic talking about the positive/negative attitudes while discussing equipment? i thought he was saying to going along with what each one presents, your point. i meant to mention i got a magnetic clip-on wide-angle for the fuji from hong kong (small and inexpensive). removes one of its drawbacks and works well. wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 16, 2006 Share #170 Posted November 16, 2006 aren't you too hard on performance art? not at all it is up there with Installation art (something you stub your toe on in the dark) ...... enjoy both immensely .....what each one presents, your point. nothing really but I do like the + and - aspects, .....three to four years ago I had a exhibition called 'Just a few hours', I literally exhibited in a gallery for a couple of hours. Someone came in as I was packing up and asked what happened I replied "Didn't you read the sign" and then left a note on the locked doors stating that the exhibition was over, though they were welcome to look through the window ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share #171 Posted November 16, 2006 hi imants, this brings up an issue which relates to the fraction of a second click: immortality. dante and shakespeare wanted it, and in human terms they got it. (mozart's rival wasn't so lucky. he had to settle for success in his own time.) i suspect many of us would like to emulate shake and dan. this is partly what is behind the desire for the perfect piece of equpment: if i just had that, i'd get the immortal picture. perhaps many held out this hope for the m8 and thus the disappointment. what i've discovered is that to become immortal takes lots of luck, plus an incredible obsessiveness. the latter gets left out of discussions of gary winograd, diane arbus, etc. however, what impresses me is their devotion to getting the shot. and boy, they took a lot of them. this goes for all the masters. all kinds of cameras have been used. of course, they developed an eye for the shot they wanted and that interested other people (ultimately). there is something of myth-making in all careers. for example, duchamp's urinal. he did it as a joke. but when it was voted later the most influential piece of art in the 20th century, this adulation came after he had devoted the last ten years of his life to creating his own legend. (and he re-created a lot of his jokes as serious endeavors.) most of us, alas, don't think far enough ahead! or we enjoy the passing moment too much. wayne d-lux 2 disturbed by marcel duchamp Photo Gallery by wayne pease at pbase.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic vic Posted November 17, 2006 Share #172 Posted November 17, 2006 wayene and imants hi.. how r u ? :-))) ok - step by step... wayene - thanks i had a look at mankinnen works.... i loved the concept very much generally... some of the images work very well for me in the atitude of hiding yourself behind something that is related to u, or if not hidding then expressing yourself through others.... i loved it cause it is a really good way to look at "SELF" this way sometimes, icluding in real life.... and the concept of "miroring" i was talking about comes with it comfortably i think...... but... i have some problme with this kind of photography that is too much driven by descursive concept in its aspect of visual elemnts (or visual solutions of the image). the photos are a little dull visually.. at least in my opinion. note, there are plenty of great photographers now and in history who in my opinion are a bit dull in visual terms, and this is the case with those photos too.... here is another great photographer... duane michels...... i have his book "the essentials of duane michels" for example, which is very good book. i will not talk at the moment about his works, since in the case that u r not femiliar with him, i wouldnot like to disturb your first impressions. but very recomended to take a look at him.. he is one the greatest in my opinion. talk to u later about him if u want.... ah by the way.. saw the link of your images..... again.. love what u do with the format and the way u devide the frame in graphical terms.... but there is not enough contrast in "THEMETIC" aspects...... but again... i see it as a very good visual concpet... imants..... u mean that the art about "self" can be sometimes like "dog that runs around himself, trying to catch his tail"??? :-))))) if so, yes... i can agree with u... i see so many works that the only discription i can give it is like that of the "dog tries to catch his tail"...... ya, in art schools it is so encouraged sometimes..... it is much eassier for professors to tell it to students then to try to develop them... develop thier taste, attitudes, intelegance and sesnsitivity... develop or at least support. the problem is that many artists as adults do it very seriously, and that gets really absurd sometimes..... it is very much like one who "blames his/her parents" because one has some problems with him/her self.... u know it is so modern way to recall parents cause one may have some discomfort with himself/herself as an adult.... the "psycho-analyzes-for-cent" supports it :-)))))) no man, im not official or qualified psycologist (shrink), but i do my phd in epistemology and cognitive psycology.... and in many cases i hear people that the first thing they do is to blame their parents.. it sounds to me like yeling and crying: "oohhoooohhooooooo, im not what i would like to be and that is because of my mother and father, ooohhhoohoooo".... sometimes i get very direct and tell those people stop yeling.. just take responsibility over yourslef, and leave parents out of your games, otherwise u r more like a child :-)))))))) the reactions are like waking with cold water on the face...... sorry, i prefer the attitude of "respect your parents"..... but ya, of course there are cases (sometimes very hard cases) of "bad parents"... but that doesnt mean that it should be a cheap excuse for every one :-)))))))) and yes.. art looks exactly that way many times, especially one that goes around "self" all the time..... if that was your meaning, or something like that - i agree with u..... this kind of art, in my opinion is like making archiological findings in one's own "peice of shit"... just smells worse :-))))))))))) that said... i think there are still amazing works that deal directly and obssesivly with "self", and that really facinates me... and those works are far from being bulshit in my opinion..... they usually go far beyound "self-ecentrizm" good examples are the same scheile... erica lennard, the same duane michels i told wayne now, and many many more.. wayene... about your recent comment... man im so much with u here generally at least...... u rise here so many questions and issues.. cannot comment all of them at once :-)))))))) oh ya.... m8 will make icon and cult images automatically:-))))))))) it has automatic exposure now:-))))) and u can imidiatly see on the monitor behind if the images is imortal or not.. :-)))))))))))) wayene, sorry, but u cannot put a doubt about it cause u dont have m8, so how do u know? :-)))))))))))))) this is a good psycological case...... people, wether in good or in bad, put too much weight on something external and many times irrelavant.... this is the hype now that runs in the "mind" - this must be the fulfilment and the solution for best photography :-))))))))) about luck... ya... luck playes more part than one my wish... but from the other hand.... u work and u try to go to the places where there are more oprtunites to get the gift of "luck".... and then u keep on working too of course..... sometimes it goes eassy, sometimes hard... :-))))) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 17, 2006 Share #173 Posted November 17, 2006 What I find facinating about art and self is how much one is willing to risk and mirror that art into real life. Not a very healthy situation but it lets you walk that fragile line with the opportunity to fall. One could die sooner than expecting but that is part of the risk but worth exploring, not much room for the blame game there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic vic Posted November 18, 2006 Share #174 Posted November 18, 2006 hi imants, how r u? oh, ya... the "miroring the art into the real life" is one step too much.. defenetly agree with u... obsessivness is very important in developing some "art project" but so is self control and orientation :-))))))))) sorry just a digi graphic.. the original is lith-print Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/1447-sean-reid-and-street-photography/?do=findComment&comment=97780'>More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share #175 Posted November 19, 2006 hi vic, dh lawrence said, "the self? which self? i'm many selves!" or the singer malvina reynolds sang, "the self is like an onion. you just keeping peeling." i like this discussion because photography has ultimately shown us how shadowy we are. it keeps showing up in our self-portraits. i tend to like the combination of blur and sharpness, there's a borderline that's crossed and re-crossed. in terms of the street, i'm sure there are many times we've felt unreal in relation to everyone around us. and times when we feel more solid than the bodies we pass. since i'm coming from theater i see us playing many roles. but one thing i've found by living long enough: each of us has a basic nature which remains (unless there's brain damage). hi imants, a friend once said, "there are poets who reach out and grab you. others give the impression the lamp of their spirit could blow out at any moment. you lean forward to help them and keep them safe." more and more i see b&w photography as a contest between the dark and the light, day and night, life and death. have you seen Amazon.com: Leros: Books: Alex Majoli i hesitated to buy it because it sounded so grim. but i've been interested in majoli ever since i heard he used digicams and not slr's. the book is a fantastically beautiful example of the photo essay. and a success story. people actually helped these insane back into the world with a prolonged effort. this is where the self gets very shaky... wayne let me add a 50's film still self. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/1447-sean-reid-and-street-photography/?do=findComment&comment=97903'>More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 19, 2006 Share #176 Posted November 19, 2006 Hi Vic and Wayne Having taught visual arts in a state prison and a mental hospital as well as spending a bit of time in a loony bin myself I may give the book a miss. There are some hard cases around especially the cocktail freaks, talk about brainfried paranoia coupled with unabating violence.I do have a lot of fond memories of the places and some enjoyable experiences, loved it at times. I actually see black and white photography having a great storytelling nature about it, a uncomplcated uplifting media, easily accessed by the audience. Love a smattering of colour though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share #177 Posted November 19, 2006 hi imants, yah, some things are too close to home! (i'm amazed at your amount of experience.) i am sure we have a consistent personality. however, what we call the self seems to me merely assuming our own authority. that's how i felt after reading a lot of zen stuff. the training suddenly snaps you out of subservience to masters and teachers. which goes to vic's point. it's difficult to get beyond being a student. to some it happens earlier, to some later, and to some never. but unless you finally assume your own authority, you can't make your mark, you work feels and looks derivative. and sometimes you have to trick yourself, cause it always feels safer to knuckle-under. helmut newton said, 'there's only surface. you can't photograph the soul.' perhaps that's why we need stories, a series, an exhibition, to get our point across. your students are lucky. wayne ps. vic, it seems to me duane michaels is always telling ghost stories! (he's said his work comes from being obsessed with death.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stnami Posted November 19, 2006 Share #178 Posted November 19, 2006 I have been lucky enough to do a variety of things as I never have had a real job, the stuff I am doing now doesn't go beyond the end of next year so I have to find something else do but that's then. Being a journeyman teacher also gives one a heap of flexability, hey it's all fun stuff, skills in sculpture can be used in stonemasonary, landscaping etc. Photography is a bit unpredictable, sure there is intent but one doesn't dictate the whole situation. Commercial areas are a bit more organised and mistakes are minimised, yet things just happen unfortunatly for me not often enough to retain my interest. Giving oneself the opportunity to create as well as to teach is something to treasure.......................well..... ok..... until something else crops up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic vic Posted November 20, 2006 Share #179 Posted November 20, 2006 hi wayene and imants... ya wayene... lucky students having imants as a teacher :-))) imants seems to me really impressive and interesting personality :-)) wayene... great statements about "slef in the dark" :-))) here is my philosophical statement.. but a little poetic and metophoric... "self" might be like "empty space".... all our conciousness about "self" comes from our cognitions that are originated from our confrontations with reality (something which seems to be external to our mind). and even the more INNER (in the mind) contents are very much like diversities that our free and flexible thought creates.... and where is the self , then ???? one of the main "functions" of our mind??? our "memory", that contains all our cognitive contents??? paradoxical... so paradoxical it is to talk about "self", at least philosophically and pragamtically... it can be everything in our mind... or it is our mind.... but from the other hand, nothing difines and identifies it as we usually think about "self" in common-sense.... imants.. photography un-predicatible, u say... this is one of things i love most of all in photography, especially when i have a leica camera with me and have nothing in my mind... i get sometimes inspired and start photographing... have "no real idea" what i do... just use my instincts and intuitions ( i have alot of those though).... it is one of the most fulfilling things... like the first times i was making photos :-)))))) about comecial.. ya, u minimize as much as possible the "un-predicted" aspects... although even there there is alot of place for real improvisations... but true.. it is totally different atitude to photography than doing your own personal projects.... ah wayene.. forgot to coment about the theater aspect... ya, this is very good analogy... using the body and expressing some other person with your body... just another indication how our body is flexible and how our mind is flexible with its cognitive contents and functionalities... faces in the dark!!!, may be we get this tendency cause the clear and realistic faces rendered in photo are simply not self-portraits at all... too much about the body.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokysun Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share #180 Posted November 20, 2006 hi vic and imants, odd you should mention going for one thing and getting another. i took the polaroid x530 to the theater last nite, thinking i'd get some interesting blurring color. well, got the blur but better in b&w to show the spirit of the show. (a touch of color left out of the raw processing. thanks, imants, for the tip. m8 users: i think the tint magenta!). not finished photos but i put them up for the cast. this camera silent and you can turn off the lcd and use the viewfinder. polaroid x530 bluebeard's last nite b&w Photo Gallery by wayne pease at pbase.com yes, you never get what you expect. and i like this kind of 'spirit' photography. especially for theater and dance. but it works in everyday life too. i agree. it's the unpredictability that adds the personal to any art. it's the chance for our unconscious to take over and show through in the spontaneous act. i'd like to recommend this edition of lenswork: LensWork Publishing Home Page cause they have a terrific cd catalogue in the back with lots of samples, video clips, a whole copy of a former issue, and so on. great to have even if you don't buy anything else. best to you both, wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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