Washing My Hands of it!
Self portraits of me are generally few and far between. They may exist, and other photos of me in general, in quite an abundance, but public display is another thing. Frankly, unless there's a good reason, all you assembled viewers of Flickr and other mediums would much rather be looking at some handsome chap with a six pack or a lady blessed with ample curves. Be honest.
The thing is about self portraits, as many of you Flickr viewers will know, is I've really quite taken to following the work of many of you who do self portraits regularly. I've become quite taken by numerous 365 projects, Brent (stateofthenation) and his flash portraits (strobist is a phrase born of the American desire to call everything a different name surely?) and Miss Aniela's delightful self examinations springing to mind. Aniela's work has also, through a certain level of snooping opened up a whole raft of people here on Flickr practising 365 self portraiture who's work I'm really enjoying following and feeling quite inspired by.
Yet this manipula sudonym and username, and ultimately the images I take are not of the same ilk as these self portraiture artists, and I think, despite kinda having a longing inside to join the bandwagon, it sits at odds with what I've spent about ten years of my life becoming.
And it's this looking at others work, those years, and the general soaking up of internet photography culture that's resulted in this. I am really hacked off, and completely disillusioned with photography currently.
I see these female self portrait artists on here, and as a guy looking at a picture of a girl, I instantly feel the need to have to justify it. The fact remains that Flickr is obviously a domain in which perverted, predatory males lurk in order to get their rocks off over pictures of girls. I was looking at some images earlier of two lesbian lovers, and I'll be quite honest, I thought they were fantastic, but was afraid to click that 'comment' button because I knew I would be seen as yet another predatory man looking at girls. And you know what it's not true. Not all guys out there are looking at these images trying to get their rocks off, in the same way not all of these female artists aren't shooting their images as a way of attracting attention to themselves to fuel their egos.
And then we get to internet forums. I'd wager anyone who's on Flickr will have experience with a forum of some form. I'm a member of several photography forums and I am finding that the medium that makes photography so accessable is killing it slowly and woe betide you if you dare to say anything of the sort. Digital photography and posting it to the internet so some dude who you'll never meet can slap you on the back and give you a metaphoric rub of the groin and massage of the ego is not the reason we should be shooting images.
And making photography accessible shouldn't result in one mindless sheep after another jumping on whatever bandwagon is the latest craze. Witness psychadelic HDR photography, panoramics of absolutely nothing, selective colouring, the 'fake' tilt shift movement, ring flashes and off camera flash (though I conceed to liking these two it's getting a bit overdone), fisheye lenses for extreme sport, motorsport photographers who can't shoot anything that hasn't been seen aproximately ten zillion times before.
Models are another one. I've been privileged to have worked with some truly wonderful models, women (and men) who I'd quite happily hang around with away from a camera. In some cases this has proven to be the point. But picking up a camera to shoot a model for whatever reason it may be seems to be attracting more and more legal implications, more and more pre-madonnas with high and mighty attitudes, and greater and greater assumptions to claims on the images you shoot. Frankly I shoot people and models because I love showing people to the world in a way other people can access and feel a part of. I don't do it as a way of engaging myself into mind games and angst. It's enough to make you want to not bother...
So, photography, the internet and the sh*tty assed associations that come with it, I'm taking a break from. If I am looking at your photo of your perfectly formed ass, then my work should speak enough for itself to show I'm not there for the thrills. If your work is follow the leader fashion, and no substance, I reserve the right to say so without getting my ass handed to me on a plate by a moderator.
Photography is about you, and appreciation of others, and it should be as without boundaries as our own imagination.
Rant over.
Washing My Hands of it!
Self portraits of me are generally few and far between. They may exist, and other photos of me in general, in quite an abundance, but public display is another thing. Frankly, unless there's a good reason, all you assembled viewers of Flickr and other mediums would much rather be looking at some handsome chap with a six pack or a lady blessed with ample curves. Be honest.
The thing is about self portraits, as many of you Flickr viewers will know, is I've really quite taken to following the work of many of you who do self portraits regularly. I've become quite taken by numerous 365 projects, Brent (stateofthenation) and his flash portraits (strobist is a phrase born of the American desire to call everything a different name surely?) and Miss Aniela's delightful self examinations springing to mind. Aniela's work has also, through a certain level of snooping opened up a whole raft of people here on Flickr practising 365 self portraiture who's work I'm really enjoying following and feeling quite inspired by.
Yet this manipula sudonym and username, and ultimately the images I take are not of the same ilk as these self portraiture artists, and I think, despite kinda having a longing inside to join the bandwagon, it sits at odds with what I've spent about ten years of my life becoming.
And it's this looking at others work, those years, and the general soaking up of internet photography culture that's resulted in this. I am really hacked off, and completely disillusioned with photography currently.
I see these female self portrait artists on here, and as a guy looking at a picture of a girl, I instantly feel the need to have to justify it. The fact remains that Flickr is obviously a domain in which perverted, predatory males lurk in order to get their rocks off over pictures of girls. I was looking at some images earlier of two lesbian lovers, and I'll be quite honest, I thought they were fantastic, but was afraid to click that 'comment' button because I knew I would be seen as yet another predatory man looking at girls. And you know what it's not true. Not all guys out there are looking at these images trying to get their rocks off, in the same way not all of these female artists aren't shooting their images as a way of attracting attention to themselves to fuel their egos.
And then we get to internet forums. I'd wager anyone who's on Flickr will have experience with a forum of some form. I'm a member of several photography forums and I am finding that the medium that makes photography so accessable is killing it slowly and woe betide you if you dare to say anything of the sort. Digital photography and posting it to the internet so some dude who you'll never meet can slap you on the back and give you a metaphoric rub of the groin and massage of the ego is not the reason we should be shooting images.
And making photography accessible shouldn't result in one mindless sheep after another jumping on whatever bandwagon is the latest craze. Witness psychadelic HDR photography, panoramics of absolutely nothing, selective colouring, the 'fake' tilt shift movement, ring flashes and off camera flash (though I conceed to liking these two it's getting a bit overdone), fisheye lenses for extreme sport, motorsport photographers who can't shoot anything that hasn't been seen aproximately ten zillion times before.
Models are another one. I've been privileged to have worked with some truly wonderful models, women (and men) who I'd quite happily hang around with away from a camera. In some cases this has proven to be the point. But picking up a camera to shoot a model for whatever reason it may be seems to be attracting more and more legal implications, more and more pre-madonnas with high and mighty attitudes, and greater and greater assumptions to claims on the images you shoot. Frankly I shoot people and models because I love showing people to the world in a way other people can access and feel a part of. I don't do it as a way of engaging myself into mind games and angst. It's enough to make you want to not bother...
So, photography, the internet and the sh*tty assed associations that come with it, I'm taking a break from. If I am looking at your photo of your perfectly formed ass, then my work should speak enough for itself to show I'm not there for the thrills. If your work is follow the leader fashion, and no substance, I reserve the right to say so without getting my ass handed to me on a plate by a moderator.
Photography is about you, and appreciation of others, and it should be as without boundaries as our own imagination.
Rant over.