mea culpa, mea culpa, ~ the things we do for money
Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 10:24AM 
Pumpkin and leaves on the front step
mea maxima culpa - Oh, the ignominious irony of it all. Perhaps, in some form of karma, it's all coming back to haunt me -
As I was reading from The Art of the American Snapshot, I came across this; "In addition to camera manuals, Kodak published guides such as Picture Making and Picture Taking (c.1900), The Modern Way to Picture Making (c. 1905), How to Make Good Pictures (from 1912), and Kodakery: A Journal for Amateur photographers (from 1913). Each of these publications provided examples of 'good' photographs, which emphasized images of innocent, carefree, and pretty children as well as leisure pursuits, attractive landscapes, and portraits ... Kodakery included two-page spreads in each issue that showed photographs of these preferred subjects ..."
The well-meaning intent of all of this 'advice' was to "aid the ambitious beginner, and enable him to avoid the most common mistakes incident to the first stages of this interesting study". The actual unintended result of all these rote prescriptions was "'good' photographs [which] are, not surprisingly, stiff, bland, and boring. Not only do they possess none of the humor of the 'bad' photographs, but they have none of their immediacy or authenticity."
So, it appears that right from the very beginning of photography by the masses - and continuing right to this day, photographers were advised to stick to the 'rules' in order to make 'good' photographs.
Most here know what I think about the 'rules' - one-size fits all, cookie-cutter patterns for those who can't think on their own, but, I have a confession to make - for quite a number of years, I thought nothing of accepting assignments from Kodak to make conforming-to-the-rules pictures for their various How to Make Good Pictures guides.
To repeat, Oh, the ignominious irony of it all. To all of those who have been ensnared in the rules of photography and are having a tough time escaping, I'm very sorry. You have my sincere regrets and apology. I was young(er) then and didn't know what I was doing. Maybe my efforts here on The Landscapist will make up in some small way all the damage I may have inflicted.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
gravitas et nugalis
CORRECTION thm wrote: "Isn't is "mea culpa", not "mea copa"? Its latin, not spanish".
my response: mea culpa - my altarboy days but a dim memory
Reader Comments (5)
bastard!!!!
I should have clarified my statement.
you friggin bastard!!!!
I am glad you mellowed with age, like a fine wine.
When you posted the snapshot topic, I immediately thought about the kodak self help picturing guides. I really didn't know that you contributed to the guides. I knew you did work for Kodak, but had no idea.
I think it was a deliberate plot to thwart would-be talented photographers to open the way for aaron's unique vision.
Well heck, nobody's born a non-conformist are they? It takes time and some consideration before the bogus nature of many of the rules becomes apparent. And even more time to muster the strength of spirit to separate from the pack. It is pretty damn ironic though, that is for sure!
Isn't is "mea culpa", not "mea copa"?
Its latin, not spanish.