Photo Quotes 60
Art helps us see with new eyes what we knew was there but never really recognized.~Robert Hall
Pursuing fine art photography
In your photographic journey, you may arrive on a crossroad and choose the direction that some masters and professionals have taken – fine art photography. Would we, humble enthusiasts, amateurs and hobbyists, ever qualify as fine art photographers? What would it take to create images of this kind? In the first place what is fine art photography? Oh, I’ve read countless definitions all over the Web and they are all mayhem, subjective, each to his own meaning. Whenever there is the word “art” you know it will attract notice and emotional responses. Some say if its worth hanging on a wall its fine art. Fine. It’s not fine art if it is only viewed on a computer monitor. Fine. Some say its a matter of opinion if an image is a fine art piece. Fine again. I read something somewhere that made sense: “a fine art photograph is an image that is made in a manner suggesting great care, ingenuity and skill.” I will not add to the melee and just stop at that definition which is somehow along the line of how Wikipedia defines it: “Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist.” With that done, let’s tackle what it takes to create a fine art image. There are quite a lot of tutorials and tips out there but I found this article Fine Art Photography by John Maxymuik most interesting and appropriate since some of the items listed have already been discussed in my previous posts. There are 11 items the author suggests we follow and some of these include pursuing the goal, developing our “seeing” skills, developing our imagination, incorporating “expression” and “meaning”, and employing the basics of good composition, among others. Can we cut it? Of course my dear friends! Our photographic journey is a progression. We need to level up. We got the eye for “seeing”, we know what image has meaning, we think before we shoot, we are adept in composition and we have practiced all these years. We can make the grade. Now whether our works get the attention of curators and gallery owners is another matter. Enough said.
Junsjazz Images & Inspiration 