Slashdot Mirror

before

after:

You know, by the same token I've seen some of the "fine art" wankers saying outright "Photography can never be art because it's merely an objective representation taken by a machine".

And that reminds me why the "fine art" crowd can be as ignorant and clueless as anybody else by not understanding the medium. There's more to it than the pure mechanics.

A can of "Merde de L'Artist" (shit of the artist) can be art, but a photograph can't? Sorry, but don't expect us to take you seriously. with that claim. It means you don't understand enough about the process to know anything about it.

So, while I completely agree more technical people should have some understanding of art ... I'm not convinced that the "art" people in general have much more of a clue.

But the body of work of someone like, say, Yousuf Karsh or Bob Willoughby or Ansel Adamsmakes me want to smack the art majors who claim photography can never be art, while they slavishly try to ape someone else's art.

Is photography a medium much more rooted in technology than painting? Yes, absolutely. Is it any less art? That's absurd.

You have never seen one of these?
http://www.anseladams.com/category_s/4.htm

That applies to a mixture of subject matter as well as a single subject, such as landscapes.

Quite so - a stroll through an Ansel Adams gallery will show strong subjects in most of the landscape, whether it's a group of ferns with different light, a group of aspens that jumps out from the background with careful exposure, or a just the Snake River, they all have something to capture the eye.

Looky.

>Is digital better than film?

Good question.

The answer is: No. It's not even close for the kind of work AA did. His technology (large format film) and hand-tweaked processing is still the best available for doing poster-size, amazingly high quality prints with stunning contrast.

End of story. I mean I like digital for snapping photos of friends, but really... Does anyone really believe digital is good enough to capture this?

Why not find a local photographic club---even before you have a camera, and ask their advice? Have a long talk with people at the club, not about the hardware they use, but about photography itself. Find out what interests you, what directions you find attractive, and then take some more advice on how to achieve those ends.

In his autobiography, Ansel Adams describes how he told an interviewer that he would like to "drown Ronald Reagan in my martini," which led to an invitation to lunch at the White House. The only thing the two agreed on about the environment was their support of nuclear power. Those who don't like books can read a paraphrased account here.

In his autobiography, Ansel Adams describes how he told an interviewer that he would like to "drown Ronald Reagan in my martini," which led to an invitation to lunch at the White House. The only thing the two agreed on about the environment was their support of nuclear power. Those who don't like books can read a paraphrased account here.