Skip to main content

Recognition

Young lady in the city.

The above image has done rather well on a website where photographers share their images for critiques and points. Obviously I like it or I would not have uploaded the image. The thing that makes it stand out is the digital manipulation that I applied to the image. It literally took five minutes to do.

The thing that bothers me though is that while I'm grateful for the recognition from other photographers I have produced far more meaningful images that have received virtually no attention. It seems that for the audience on this website the key point of interest is not the story a picture tells or the emotion it evokes but rather that a technique has been used.

Any artist or creative is happy and flattered when their work gets attention but I think it is rather sad that so many images in the world by photographers who genuinely capture emotion or communicate something important are ignored by the photographic community.

Their praise then rings rather hollow and leaves me with an empty feeling and some sadness. It is a shallow and superficial world we live in. Luckily there are always a few people who do comment and recognise an image that really communicates an emotion and tells a story.

More soon....

Paul
Labels:

Comments

David Toyne said…
What's caused the unusual background Paul?
15:47
Beyond the obvious said…
Blur added using Photoshop.
Cheers,
Paul
00:07
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overcoming creative block and self doubt

Every photographer, for that matter every creative, I've ever met comes to a point when they're not happy with the work they're producing. The pendulum between creative highs and dry spells swings continuously. For some the cycle is long and the bouts are quite mild for others the feeling of doubt about their work can be a crushing experience which returns all to frequently. It's actually quite healthy to have these periods of doubt because it can often be the beginning of something new and interesting which takes you further than you thought possible. Creatives in the commercial world have to always perform and although they may agree looking back that they've had a few patches where their work was less good, they always seem to bounce back. A very few creative geniuses deliver such high quality work that their poorest attempts still surpass the rest of us. But I have never heard of anyone, from tortured soul of Van Gogh to the supreme showman and genius, Salvador ...
22 comments
Read more

What You Photograph Reveals How You Think

  Photography is often described as a way of seeing. Less often do we talk about it as a way of thinking. What you choose to photograph, and just as importantly what you ignore, quietly mirrors how your mind works. Some photographers are drawn to faces, micro-expressions, emotional spikes. Others chase atmosphere, light, mood. Then there are those who gravitate towards structure, systems, order, the invisible logic holding a scene together. None of this is accidental. The camera becomes a sorting tool. It reveals what your brain prioritises. Where others see chaos, you might see alignment. Where some look for drama, you look for balance. Geometry, repetition, flow, layers, these aren’t just visual preferences, they’re cognitive ones. Strong graphic images tend to come from people who think spatially. Who notice how things relate before they notice what they mean. Lines before labels. Structure before story. And yet, the best images rarely stop there. They gain depth when human pres...
1 comment
Read more

Why do you take photographs?

Have you ever asked yourself why you photograph? It's a question that can be answered with a simple one-sentence answer until you start delving deeper. The answer then becomes increasingly complex and challenging to unravel. I've again undertaken this journey recently, and my answer is below. Portrait of Paul Indigo by Magda Indigo. Thanks Magda! I also reviewed my images over the last ten-plus years, selected 30 of my favourite photos, and compiled them into a slide show. This was a challenging task. My favourites change by the day, probably by the minute. Still, eventually, I got to a selection I titled "That's Life." Please click through to YouTube to view the full screen. My approach to people and landscape photography is characterised by a distinctive blend of documentary and fine art techniques. I aim to create images that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. Through portraiture, I strive to showcase the broad spectrum of human experience. I a...
2 comments
Read more