Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies than man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man - Edward Steichen.
I saw this quote recently and thought it just about summed up my feelings about photography and my work. I enjoy posting my work to photography gallery sites such as 500px, but the real shortcoming of sites such as that (beyond the petty childrens' games in which some immature submitters indulge) is the limited opportunity to accompany the images with text and/or the occasional witticism or bon mot.
That, and he comments and questions I received about the work I posted prompted me to revive this blog. Seems to me that there is a growing interest in street photography and many shooters who want to try their hand at it, but very little discussion on how to proceed.
Secondly, I sensed a growing interest in presenting material as b/w images. Most of the attempts by the contributors on 500px and other sites that I have checked appear to have the same conceptual and processing issues.
So, to address these issues, to have a venue that allows me to display my work without the overhead of using someone else's strictures and restrictions, and to be able to present material that needs to be grouped together, I hope to develop this blog and a following for it. I encourage you to make comments and suggestions, and most importantly to ask questions. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. I look forward to many joyful hours of writing my submissions and reading your feedback.
All images posted here, on my 500px portfolio, and on my website are available for purchase. If you have a problem on my website finding the purchase information, please contact me through the site, or leave a comment for me here and I will definitely get back to you.
All images posted here, on my 500px portfolio, and on my website are available for purchase. If you have a problem on my website finding the purchase information, please contact me through the site, or leave a comment for me here and I will definitely get back to you.
Thanks for dropping by.
Yes Gene - it is one of those deep thought out agonizing questions we all encounter; "Well, what if..." all in the name of exposure & time vs exposure vs time - vs all the various social media venues. In other words, if time were not the issue for example - such as with myself due to a current opening in my schedule, I do have the time for open discussion/replies/uploads/favs/blog posts/going from site to site/etc. And being honest for a moment, it is time consuming considering that most are on a mission "To Reach The Top". Albeit, a scattering of oneself to such dilluted porportions it seems among the "social media push rush" which usually leads us to ask ourselves "Why?"
ReplyDeleteIn the end, most serious artists - if you will, (not the masses) are in the same position of trying to - shall I say beat the game while at the same time, creating exposure - what we percieve as the correct exposure given our time constraints in the proper forms. And of course, that in itself opens up a whole new chapter for discussion.
I suppose due to the continued growth and extremely popular interest in photography, (everyone's a "Photographer" now), we will see new venues around every corner offering "New & improved" social media services and applications for the masses. The process will of course repeat itself over and over. Is is poosible to circumnavigate these venues? Break down the barriers? Funnel the applications of focus? You tell me.
It is frustrating. What's more - and I hate to say this - in the absolute analysis, time itself will show.
I for one, discontued my blog due to - well for no other reason other than no interest. I believe that more time was needed -which at the time, I didn't have - and still don't have. Ironically, I placed a large amount of time into the blog. It got to the point where I could no longer correspond and partner that with my schedule.
The cure-all I believe is the perseverance of oneself in the interest of our goals and desires - to the extent of the application which we deem necessary to better ourselves and increase our exposure to the point where we're happy and at the same time successful in the moment with the least amount of resistance.
Now, how do we go about that? Well there we go again - but for now, it's doing exactly what you're doing right now. Best regards!
I cannot wait to read your posts!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ali.
Gene, I'm looking forward to following your blog because I'm truly interested in street and I love love love B&W!
ReplyDeleteDanielle
so I'm here! I really loves your work so I'm gonna follow your blog for sure
ReplyDeleteI think once 500px integrates the blog into portfolio and gives the ability to have notifications for the blog, i think it will be better, and the sour people, well those are everywhere :)
ReplyDeleteGood you've decided to run this blog parallel to 500px... now i know the story behind the picture ;) I've also setup mine blog but not sure what to write... :) must get the idea... cheers!
ReplyDeletehi, Gene! this is Kenji on 500px :)
ReplyDeleteindeed, i could support your thought about some issues of 500px and your blog, aside from whether i myself have enough technical skill or not, haha
btw, in fact, i started to shoot the street photos several months ago, and was trying to post those photos on 500px... i mean, until now i've posted rather retouched work on the other sites.
anyway you should have enough time to get your own idea. of course i will support you as far as possible :))
Well Gene, It's me Bob S.from 500px,I find myself here reading and learning from you and others. I don't see myself as "professional" in any way. I am a pure ametuer and love it for what it is......an expression of my inner self. I will be following you here and on 500px. I hope I can benefit from all the writings and criticisms.
ReplyDelete