Georg R. Baumann
Inactive
Greetings,
In another thread here: http://tinyurl.com/6xlerbp
Bob was asking the question what he can do to develop vision, and as I think this is a matter of art, I post this here. I am constantly pondering on the visual representation of landscapes in photographic arts.
As per G. Eckbo (1967) Landscape can be understood as an abstract concept in four categories.
I
Social Landscapes - The context of local, regional and world wide relations forms an aspect
II
Physical Landscapes - Surrounds us, is all pervasive and the product of interaction between nature and people
III
Economic Landscapes - They determine how well or less well we live.
IV
Cultural Landscapes - They include the creative contributions of a given time.
While this is from an architectural background, I find it interesting in a photographic context. To me personally, Alain Briot is a good example for those who apply Beaux Arts movement styles to their photography. It is carefully planned and executed, and in a sense also richly decorated.
In a conversation I had with Michael Reichmann after a day of shooting in Algonquin, we agreed that Alain is more a farmer type vs. a hunter type photographer, Michael in contrast and beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt clearly is a hunter, a very experienced hunter I might add.
In a nutshell, the farmer applies a lot of patience and waits for a certain light or atmosphere to set the scene he chose, then after shooting he often applies a multitude of techniques to emphasize his vision. The hunter is more a instinct driven shooter who does not rest for long at one particular spot, but quickly moves on in search of the next visually stunning vista. Often I found that hunters will go through much less trouble applying 'beaux arts style' post processing to their work.
I remember another conversation I had with Magnums President Stuart Franklin some years ago in Duesseldorf, we were talking about great personal losses in photographic work and I shared with him that I lost more than 1,000 film shots that I made as a R&D consultant in the ex Eastern German chemical and pharmaceutical production facilities immediately after the wall broke down in Germany. This was a vivid contrast to what I call beaux arts photography, it had documentary character and a certain amount of obsession with the subject, the insanity of human production destroying entire landscape habitats for decades. In this type of photography I acted like a hunter, shot instinctively and without knowing at this time, documented an era of ruthless and inconsiderate chemical production.
I intend to think that we go through phases of being more of a hunter and at times more of a farmer, often reflecting our own life circumstances of course, but also reflecting the development of a personal vision and style.
The commercial value is an entirely different matter of course, and here a photographer has to make a choice, whether his vision and style follows commercial trends or not.
Thinking about the films that I lost, if I had them available today, I'd dedicate them to a single exhibition, and I would apply certain beaux arts post processing techniques available in todays digital realm, not knowing whether commercial success would follow, but ruthlessly, and without commercial consideration emphasizing my own vision.
In developing vision, it may help you to change the position for a while, look at your own way of working, and if you find you are a hunter, be a farmer for a while, vice versa. - New perspectives! -
Best
Georg
In another thread here: http://tinyurl.com/6xlerbp
Bob was asking the question what he can do to develop vision, and as I think this is a matter of art, I post this here. I am constantly pondering on the visual representation of landscapes in photographic arts.
As per G. Eckbo (1967) Landscape can be understood as an abstract concept in four categories.
I
Social Landscapes - The context of local, regional and world wide relations forms an aspect
II
Physical Landscapes - Surrounds us, is all pervasive and the product of interaction between nature and people
III
Economic Landscapes - They determine how well or less well we live.
IV
Cultural Landscapes - They include the creative contributions of a given time.
While this is from an architectural background, I find it interesting in a photographic context. To me personally, Alain Briot is a good example for those who apply Beaux Arts movement styles to their photography. It is carefully planned and executed, and in a sense also richly decorated.
In a conversation I had with Michael Reichmann after a day of shooting in Algonquin, we agreed that Alain is more a farmer type vs. a hunter type photographer, Michael in contrast and beyond the slightest shadow of a doubt clearly is a hunter, a very experienced hunter I might add.
In a nutshell, the farmer applies a lot of patience and waits for a certain light or atmosphere to set the scene he chose, then after shooting he often applies a multitude of techniques to emphasize his vision. The hunter is more a instinct driven shooter who does not rest for long at one particular spot, but quickly moves on in search of the next visually stunning vista. Often I found that hunters will go through much less trouble applying 'beaux arts style' post processing to their work.
I remember another conversation I had with Magnums President Stuart Franklin some years ago in Duesseldorf, we were talking about great personal losses in photographic work and I shared with him that I lost more than 1,000 film shots that I made as a R&D consultant in the ex Eastern German chemical and pharmaceutical production facilities immediately after the wall broke down in Germany. This was a vivid contrast to what I call beaux arts photography, it had documentary character and a certain amount of obsession with the subject, the insanity of human production destroying entire landscape habitats for decades. In this type of photography I acted like a hunter, shot instinctively and without knowing at this time, documented an era of ruthless and inconsiderate chemical production.
I intend to think that we go through phases of being more of a hunter and at times more of a farmer, often reflecting our own life circumstances of course, but also reflecting the development of a personal vision and style.
The commercial value is an entirely different matter of course, and here a photographer has to make a choice, whether his vision and style follows commercial trends or not.
Thinking about the films that I lost, if I had them available today, I'd dedicate them to a single exhibition, and I would apply certain beaux arts post processing techniques available in todays digital realm, not knowing whether commercial success would follow, but ruthlessly, and without commercial consideration emphasizing my own vision.
In developing vision, it may help you to change the position for a while, look at your own way of working, and if you find you are a hunter, be a farmer for a while, vice versa. - New perspectives! -
Best
Georg