Pure photography & Impure photography
I've been playing around with my photos (like the above one) in photoshop. I was meant to have been hard at work at my business, but no, I've created about 20 "photos" like the above (including a couple family portraits). Oh well, rather happy and bankrupt than depressed and flush. Yeah, right...
Creating these "Art photos" put me in a little dilemma, because I landed slap bang in the middle of a huge rift in the photography world. On the one side are the purists and the other, the Manipulators. Most of the purists have been excellent photograhers for years (usually pre-digital days) and are less than happy of how photographers can now "cheat" using photoshop manipulation. The manipulators on the other hand are much more playful and see the manipulated photography as Art.
So I've been submitting some of my "pure" photos to some really good flickr groups. Some groups eve require apllication for membership. So far I've had success. BUT: when the group administrator decides if you're worthy or not, they go look at your portfolio. Any sign of Manipulated pictures, and some of them (by my judgement anyways) will bar you there and then.
Only solution: Do what any schizophrenic would do and Open 2 flickr accounts, one for Manipulated photos and one for "pure" photos. That's what I done. YeeHaa!
PS: Tai Chi update - no, I haven't dragged my sorry arse off to classes yet. But I've got a good excuse and anyway, I'm hoping to go 2morro or Friday.
you know... however silly this may sound to you... all this creative stuff you're into, why not turn it into a business??? seriously, the market is open for ideas and don't tell me you haven't thought about it yourself....
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that these photos are BEAUTIFUL. Your are gifted (even if BPD crazy like me).
ReplyDeleteRegarding manipulated photos, I guess you could say I'm a purist. Having grown up surrounded by my father's and grandfather's watercolour landscapes, I feel if you're going to be messing around with an image you might as well start painting (or drawing it) from scratch. It's so easy for me to identify manipulation in photos or even CGI in films (the general chromatic scheme is subdued and gray). Don't stop fiddling with your photos on account of my opinion, though. It's definitely your prerogative, but I still prefer your unsullied images.
ReplyDeleteGreat manipulation of cool photography!
ReplyDeleteI have a text file to keep track of all the accounts now. (Yes, I know...a plain text file, my paranoia must be slipping.)
The purists are a bunch of hypocrites! Just try to find a black and white photographer who hasn't toned one of their images sepia or gold. And, anyway, what counts as manipulation: polarizing filters? double exposure? zooming exposures? infrared film? My guess is that the original photographers were shunned by "real" artists. They must have said a thousand times, "I'm just an artist using all the new tools available to me."
ReplyDeleteI think we are talking about an art form with a wide range of processing techniques, the most recent of which is digital manipulation. Purists prefer not to use Photoshop; Manipulators prefer to use it; Black and White photographers prefer not to use color; ... and on and on it goes.