Phusebox

the art of black and white photography...

August 12 2007

or lack there of.

i think it is wonderful that we have digital cameras for everyone to have. i think it is great people can instantly take pictures. but because of the digital camera a lot of people now think that they are professional photographers because of their 6 mega pixel snap shot camera. now, i am not saying they are not good... it just seems like everyone is calling themselves a photographer now.

my husband is having this same problem in the web design field. there are more programs that just have templetes. this allows anyone to just plug their info into it and it is an instant web site. no real programming or effort involved. they advertise they can do websites for you, but the truth is, it looks amateur.

with the photography, you have these people that take pictures of something random and turn the picture black and white. they claim it is artistic and great. ok. just taking a picture of something and turning it black and white, to me, does not equal art. to me photography is way more than just editing a picture to be black and white... or having color cut outs and such. a really great photograph does not always need a lot of editing. and i understand that what is considered art is all in the eye of the beholder, but lets be real. just because you have a digital snap shot camera does not make you a professional photographer. here is a way to do black and white photography and make it beautiful, and there is a way to just take a picture and make it black and white. it is all about the actual photography and not the editing.

so that is my rant.

but on a different note, i am excited about my new job! i will be an educational assistant for a special needs child. my heart is just so full of gladness! eee! my hours are great, so i have the afternoon to really focus in on my photography. whoo hoo! my job situation is finally looking up. and my goal is getting closer!

i hope that everyone has a wonderful night!!!

Nathan Moore

August 12 2007

agreed

Amy

August 12 2007

First off, thanks for the sweet comment, and secondly, I agree. I have noticed a few people who pride themselves in their photography but all they can do is make a mediocre and uninteresting shot black and white. But I never really knew that there were "web developers" out there "creating" websites that are for other people that are just made of templates. A person can do that on their own without hiring someone. When you hire someone, it's for a quality and level of professionalism you cannot achieve on your own. I guess that's the aggravation I have sometimes with the YouTube craze. There are some videos are there that are really well-done, but there are some that are really lousy. There are a lot of people that think that just because they have a video camera and iMovie or Windows Movie Maker that they are a filmmaker. The reality, however, is that there is a lot more to it than that.

Becca Sanborn

August 12 2007

I definitely understand what you are saying. I took a black and white photography class at school and it was tough. It is SO different from point and shooting a picture in black and white. With my class, I had to go in and print the photos myself and it takes a lot of effort to get the photo to look great. After you put that much effort into a photo, it's hard to look at the point and shoot cameras and think of photography the same way. As for the templates, I agree with that as well. I started doing webdesign back in 1996 and I don't really do it anymore but I absolutely hate programs like frontpage. The real talent is writing the code yourself. I wish I still had time to do web design and I wish I could pursue photography more. I wanted to minor in it but mass comm. said I couldn't because I was a journalism major. boo. Maybe someday I'll get the chance, until then, I just take pictures for my memories.

Bethany Bratcher

August 18 2007

I understand where you are coming from. However, it could be just me, but I don't see many people claiming to be professional photographers or saying their point-and-shoot pictures are artistic and great. I do see many people who take pictures, maybe edit a few, and maybe love some of what they come up with. Personally, I think that is great. I would hate to stifle anyone's creativity or attempt to be artistic. Everyone has different artistic abilities, granted some greater than others, but everyone has to start somewhere and I would hate for someone not to use their artistic abilities for fear that someone might tell them they are not good enough. I also believe the more you use your artistic abilites, the more artistic you become, or maybe you become better at expressing your artistic ability. Someone who is not that great at photography, paiting, etc might be great in a few years, as long as they have the freedom to exress themselves. Personally, I think it is good to give them that freedom and support them in it. I think it is fair to call someone who takes pictures, especially on a regular basis, a photographer. But, to be classified as a professional photographer, you have to get paid on a regular basis for the pictures you take. The root word of professional is profession, so if your profession is photography, and you get paid regularly (hence the "profession", then you are a professional photographer. I think you take beautiful, artistic pictures and know a lot about photography. Love you!

Bethany Bratcher

August 18 2007

On another note, your boy Andy Davis is going to be at 12th and Porter tomorrow night at 8, $10 which includes pizza while it lasts. You guys wanna go?

Bethany Bratcher

August 19 2007

On another note, your boy Andy Davis is going to be at 12th and Porter tomorrow night at 8, $10 which includes pizza while it lasts. You guys wanna go?

Bethany Bratcher

August 19 2007

Sorry, I tried to refresh phusebox and since the last thing I did was post the comment about Andy Davis,. it decided to post it again. I don't know how to delete it.

Amy

August 23 2007

Thanks so much for the sweet comment, Rachael! And I did share a little with a few of the people involved, but it turned out that a lot of it kind of worked out on its own, so that was good.