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photo by Donald Kinney
Feedback and constructive criticism is an important part of the process for a photographer, so I often run images by a wise and experienced image maker (and friend), who I won't name. To be honest, I was flabbergasted when he reported back that this image (above) "didn't do anything for him".
But it got me thinking--about why we like or dislike what we see. My conclusion is that our appreciation of a certain image is simply colored by our own experience. After all, I was "there", and perhaps what I am saw in the scene failed to successfully communicate with his own experiences. Perhaps this explains why when I view winners of photo contests, I often wonder just what the judges "saw" in the winning image.
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photo by Donald Kinney
Anyway, before the breakthrough of the sun, Sunday morning couldn't have been any foggier than it was at Alpine Lake on Mount Tamalpais.
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photo by Donald Kinney
I pretty much knew what was going to happen when the sun started to overpower the fog. But it was a good long wait. I waited and waited, with plenty of time to frame up several compositions in the fog. The goal is that what I saw and experienced would be successfully communicated. et voila.
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4 comments:
Same here with judges and their choices with photo contests. Usually I stand there wondering what they were thinking when the photo behind me is much better in my opinion and didn't even rate an honorable mention.
Hi JOHN (SINBAD'S DAD): True dat! My sentiments exactly.
I'm right there with both of you.
That is why it's hard for me to share my own photos.
Sometimes I really love something and the response I get is either eh? or that's weird. I guess that photography like a painting is really for the artist anyway.
My favorite shot is the foggy one at the lake. I can feel the dampness and the haunting stillness.
I love all of these and would have a hard time choosing which one is my favorite. I love Chinese ink painting and they all remind me of how ink looks on silk, painted by the hand of a master.
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