Recent scoldings......

Rod Witten said:

Ken,

Thanks for the Cunningham reference. The two pieces of her work that I have access are noted by the author to include sexual and erotic metaphors. With regards to "inducement of contemplation", would you know of a definitive article or study that relates a viewers psychological characteristics to their art or photographic preferences?

Rod Witten

Click to expand...

Zakia's Perception and Imaging: Photography - A Way of Seeing is the best such work I've seen (and own). Now in it's third edition, it's a fascinating analysis of how the human brain disintegrates, reintegrates, and interprets what its eyes see.

Rod Witten said:

Asher,

As for "Contemplation", my powders mostly wet. I recall a photo of that subject 6 yrs ago that I'm sure is around here somewhere in a shoebox. However, if I had a photo showing "inducement of contemplation" it would most certainly be on my wall.

Click to expand...

Rod,

I despair at all the great novels never read, the inventions never materialized, women locked in nunneries and the pictures imprisoned in shoe boxes! Think of all the lullabies not sung and the images not given life! So, do a small favor for posterity; get that shoe box into the light and find out what you have there. After all, when your time is up, likely as not, this will be thrown out!

Asher

charlotte thompson said:

I fail to see anything but a blur in the middle of a plant- I love the change of venue-

what I have done is with humansand animals, blur, distortion, shadows-
tell me
which is which-

Click to expand...

I found this fragment of a photograph that I'd remembered from long ago. It's not a commonplace color snap of a cat! but is it just a poor quality photograph over exposed and rescued by taking away color information?

As with Jim Galli's soft focus image of the fern, how are we prepared to receive this? If excellence is technical mastery of tonalities then this one photograph of a cat fails. But can we measure success in other ways. How open are we to mastery of subject matter too, for example?

Asher

Hi, Ken,

Ken Tanaka said:

Stray Dog, Daido Moriyama
​

Click to expand...

Moriyama is quoted as saying, “My work is endless” he says. “As long as the world exists, I want to take snapshots.”

Such a pity. He could have aspired to take actual photographs.

Maybe we need to rethink the use of "snapshot" as a pejorative.

Best regards,

Doug

Just "a snapshooter"
(I forget who called me that.)

Hi Jim,

I know I'm jumping in very late on this, but here is my response. My initial look made me want to look away from it, but I persisted and suddenly it struck me that the fern leaf is so gracefully touching the grass that it almost seems to be protecting it as a mother would protect her child -- that it was the child on whom the world was focused.

Jean

Jean Henderson said:

Hi Jim,

I know I'm jumping in very late on this, but here is my response. My initial look made me want to look away from it, but I persisted and suddenly it struck me that the fern leaf is so gracefully touching the grass that it almost seems to be protecting it as a mother would protect her child -- that it was the child on whom the world was focused.

Jean

Click to expand...

Thanks Jean.

Soft focus is definitely an acquired taste. First reaction is almost universally the same as a kid's first reaction to strong coffee. "Ickk. Why would you drink that stuff!" Then it begins to grow on you. Some get addicted. If you're very bored sometime wade through some of the pages on my web site.

Jim Galli said:

Thanks Jean.

Soft focus is definitely an acquired taste. First reaction is almost universally the same as a kid's first reaction to strong coffee. "Ickk. Why would you drink that stuff!" Then it begins to grow on you. Some get addicted. If you're very bored sometime wade through some of the pages on my web site.

Click to expand...

Jean,

Your effort paid off! That's the take-home lesson for all of us. Here you discover the beauty that is available only if one engages. After all, Jim set his standards for excellence on criteria which are weird to most folk. We often expect photography to be like Vogue, National Geographic or Rembrandt portraits where everything might be seem to be observed, appreciated and absorbed in the first glimpses.

The different and rare photography, you have now enjoyed, requires real investment of effort, but then might give back much more as we, ourselves add to that experience. Meaning seems to be undecided for for us! So we must come to the party with our own contributions. Thanks for sharing your joy!

Asher

I have started a new thread here to discuss The Fern and Spider Grass as an example of daring to have one principal object blurred as this thread is now broader and rich, including other subjects which are "weird" in other expressive ways that we need to come to terms with.