civilized ku # 191 ~ Q&A
Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 09:14AM 
McSorley's Old Ale House ~ NYC • click to embiggenOn yesterday's entry, civilized ku # 188, Craig Tanner left a lengthy comment in which he addressed several issues and asked a few questions (most of which I will answer as opportunity presents itself). For starters, let's go with this:
.... are you ever frustrated by the lack of direct feedback about your work. Its almost non existent. For instance...today's picture to me is very beautiful. I love it. But it seems people have been trained not to like your work at the level of beauty and all of the angry posts could definitely dissuade a gentle reader from taking an opposing view. If I'm not supposed to think its beautiful and I am afraid to disagree where do I turn. You say questions are your favorite form of feedback... so when is the last time someone asked you a direct question about one of your photographs?
What role do you think you have played in creating a photoblog where their is almost no direct discussion of the individual photographs?
Item 1 > I actually receive a fair amount of feedback on my work on a very regular basis and most of it comes in the form of email, not comments on the blog. Virtually of those emails start with a variation on the notion of "I know you don't like to talk about gear / technique / etc. ...." and for the most part I appreciate the person's sensitivity to that personal preference - I have stated many times that this not a gear / technicals / technique photo site/blog.
It's also worth mentioning that I find, through various tracking methods, quite a bit of discussion about my pictures on other blogs / sites / discussion forums with which I have no connection. I enjoy reading these things and rarely ever get involved - I like to let those things follow their own course without my $0.02 being thrown into the mix.
Over the nearly 3 years that I have blogging I have received quite a number of comments on the blog declaring a somewhat generalized appreciation for my pictures - in fact, much like yours ("today's picture to me is very beautiful. I love it."). While I appreciate that type of feedback, it doesn't tell me much about my pictures and how they might affect someone on a more personal / meaningful level.
And here's the thing about that - there is no doubt that my pictures (and those of others) affect people in substantially different ways and, in fact, sometimes not at all. Add to that the time and mental / emotional energy one must invest in viewing a picture that has meaning beyond the surface of the thing (the screen being a piss-poor media with which to do so) ... plus ... the reluctance of many to even try and express themselves regarding such things, it comes as no surprise to me that meaningful feedback about my pictures is a rare thing.
Item 2 > Beauty - as I have stated many many times, I believe that my pictures represent beauty in all of its many guises. In fact, I consider my pictures to be quite beautiful and I have never attempted to dissuade anyone from seeing them as such. What I adamantly shy away from is the idea of "pretty", aka - the "wow" on the surface of things.
However (and to be perfectly clear), to my eye and sensibilities, pretty is a very far cry from beautiful - especially so when "pretty" is the result of so-called interpretation which in many cases is nothing more than a code word for hue and saturation to the max.
Item 3 > "angry posts" - some see some of my posts as "angry", others see them for what I intend them to be - passionate mince-no-words opinions regarding my likes and dislikes, photography-wise. Andreas Manessinger, for one, seems to "get it" -
Many people may take offense at Mark's sometimes slightly aggressive style, but I love it. Here is a man who has strong opinions, grounded in great knowledge and long experience, who fiercely defends them and who is a talented and witty writer as well. It's not for the timid, but it's deeply enjoyable :)
As for the "afraid to disagree" thing - like what, I'm going to reach out from someone's screen and start beating them about the head and face? On the web it's all words and as the saying goes, "sticks and stones ..."
And last but not least, Item 4 - What role do you think you have played in creating a photoblog where their is almost no direct discussion of the individual photographs?
Well, on my photoblog I have played the role of supreme commander when it comes to what gets discussed and that discussion has never been intended to be about my pictures. I/we have had quite a few discussions about the body of work of others - re: exhibits, books, museum shows, web galleries, and so on - but rarely about anyone's individual pictures.
My preference for what gets discussed here is for discussions about the medium of photography in particular and the medium's potential for making art that transcends entertainment and amusement. That is to say, Fine Art versus Decorative Art.
Add to that my belief that discussions about complete bodies of work are much more instructive than those about individual pictures when it comes to discussing the medium's potential and strengths, and you might be able to understand why discussions are about my individual pictures are accepted but not encouraged.
To be perfectly clear, The Landscapist was never intended to be an instructional how-to-do-it site/blog.
All of that said, I hope that clears a few things up.
Reader Comments (3)
Craig:
Please be assured that I provide direct feedback about gravitas' work, photography-wise and otherwise.
Happy to hear someone is keeping him honest :)
And Mark...thanks for the thoughtful reply.... I have some more thoughts but for now will let them settle.
I would much rather be at McSorley's today having a McSorley's than working on image editing....Craig
Mark, how could you picture Mc'S and not visit the most incredible urinals in NYC. They're worth the beer, the coal fired pot belly stove, the black cat, the sawdust on the floor and the memory that it was a mens' only years past. they've yet to fog the windows in the men's room door. And then there's the Ukrainian Orthodox Church nearby. And the monastic beer garden down the street. Anyway, thanks for the image. Michael