Photographs or Pictures?

 

Before we go anywhere else (or if you've come from somewhere else, you may already be asking yourself this question), can we please address a basic problem of nomenclature: are the contents of these pages photographs or pictures?

 

Almost all started life as photographs of differing types - black and white or colour, digital or film, if the latter 35 mm or 127 or medium format, negative or slide film. Some - a few - are hardly changed from their original 'as taken' form.

 

Now, I've read an argument that this is the ONLY way to make photographs, and that anything else is untrue, fraudulent, dishonest, invalid, and any number of other pejoratives. I'd agree wholeheartedly if we were talking about 'hard documentary' records: anything but the whole truth is less than the truth, and therefore suspect in intention.

 

But I think it's far too wild a generalisation to try to apply the same philosophy to every photograph. Not every photograph taken is meant to be an absolute record of fact. Frankly, very few of mine are.

 

I can't paint or draw, but I'm still interested in art. So I don't try to paint or draw, because I know the average three-year-old could do better; I take photographs instead.

 

Please don't try to tell me that every painter paints everything he or she sees - remember that Cromwell had to ask specifically for 'warts and all'. As I see it, I just take out the warts if I’m not trying to illustrate warts (or put a few more in, if I am). Put at its most basic - I mess about with anything I think can be improved, and in the end I hope to get an image I like.

 

But I tend to call that image “a picture”, rather than a photograph. Just to keep the purists happy.

  

Legal bits

 

I claim all copyright on these pictures, except those where I specifically state that they have been taken by others (eg that they are copies of postcards - and there aren't many of these).

You must have my written permission before you use any of my pictures in any form whatsoever or for any purpose: this includes but is not limited to reproduction and/or use in any form of publication, print or the internet, especially no use for training AI, and no pinning on pinterest or uploading to tumblr et cetera. Just because you claim ''it's not for profit'', nothing changes: you need my written permission. No, before you ask, I don't need 'the exposure'. Please, just contact me if you would like to use one of my pictures. Don't whinge if I turn stroppy if you disregard this.

  

Other stuff

 

1. Locations: where I post a location, it's usually where I stood to take the picture.

 

2. Odd followers: over the past few months, I've noticed that people are starting to follow me, who have been on Flickr a reasonable length of time, but for some reason haven't posted any public pictures. Why bother being on Flickr in that case? Having had pictures stolen in the past, this tends to make me suspicious, so my rule is this: if you 'follow' me and you don't have any pictures of your own, you can message me to explain why. That's fine – you may be an advertising agency wanting to license my pics, and I'm happy to do that; you may be a student wanting examples of how not to take photos, and I'm more than happy to be part of your learning curve. If you don't bother, I'll most likely block you.