On my way through out the new process, I can see the possibility of getting caught up in specific aspects of the technique... Bad composition but great pour and clean plate, or everything is perfect with the exception of a light leak in the film holder... We tend to want to concentrate on the positive. I don't think I have let my ability to rate and want publish a photograph, either online or elsewhere blind my judgment to the entirety of an image. I can honestly say I have never come close to producing a perfect or even 75% near perfect image on a technical basis. However, in terms of composition, the ability to communicate an emotional state, or merely feel I have something to say in a photograph has never been an issue. If I feel the visual content of an image is strong enough, it sometimes can override my lacking of technical skills. This is especially true with my adventures with the Wet Plate Collodion process...
However, I was writing to a friend of mine and was shocked to see what he wrote about the image below...
"those pics of xxx and xxxxxxx are scary"
"...you took pretty girls and made them ugly"
"dude, that ain't pretty"
"look at it, there's no other way to interpret it... xxxxxxx looks like an old hag from the Oklahoma dust bowl and xxxx looks like forced child labor from the '20s"
And... last but not least, he also said his wife said I should take it down!
I hope I can take criticism for what I do, like the way I did for this... I sincerely appreciated his honesty. I think for me the shocking response to the photograph made me compelled to write about it here. It is interesting to be able to communicate what one feels about an image. It brings out something in both the artist and viewer...
3 comments:
Ted: I think this is a beautiful image because (Persons A&B) -do- look so different than in any of the other photos I've seen of them. Surely, the wet-plate process is about a particular look and not about the overall efficiency of the DSLR. Don't take it down, don't let others edit your creativity.
jl
thanks for the comment James... I won't take it down. I like the image a lot. I do appreciate when someone can and do express themselves about my work, even if it is negative. If I can look at my work and see something else, it is for the good.
This piece is amazing. I love the effects in the background. How was that "smoky" look achieved?
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