I took this shot a week ago today, and when I finished working on it I was really pleased with it … but I haven’t put it up, and now I’m not sure what I think of it, though I don’t know why. I suppose that a part of the problem is that recently I’ve been trying to settle into something approaching a recognisable style (or series of styles) and I’m not at all certain how this one ‘fits’ with what I’m trying to achieve.
Part of the problem is that I have something of a magpie approach to some topics – “ooh, a shiny thing! Take a picture” – and I often end up with shots that are interesting (I like the vaguely abstract quality of this one, and the interplay of the various reflections) but I’m not always convinced that they have much artistic merit.
Anyway, rather than keep worrying about whether to include this one – and repeatedly posting other shots instead – I thought I’d put it up anyway. And if you can’t work it out, it’s the main light cluster on a Citroen MPV (though I can’t remember which model).
camera capture date aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO focal length image quality white balance optical filter
Canon G5
1.15pm on 17/3/04
f7.1
1/200
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
50
28.8mm
RAW
auto
B+W UV 010
comment byturnover at 07:26 AM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Nice. it's a very beautiful abstract. You don't remember the model ? you are sure ? :)
comment byplummer at 07:29 AM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Nice picture, don't overanalyze it, have a good time relax enjoy the process
comment byDaniel at 08:52 AM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
It was a good choise putting this one up! It's very abstract on first sight and reveals itself after a few seconds. About the thought of yours with series: why not take your pictures whenever they appear in front of you and sort them to series later on?
comment bynakamurak at 09:12 AM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Hello. Your photograph is powerful.
Thank you for a visiting.
comment byMike Golding at 09:19 AM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Nice, very nice. I agree with plummer, sometimes you just have to go with a gut feeling. Again quite illustrative, but that's becoming your "recognisable style". What to include and not to include on a daily basis is quite hard, I almost decide as soon as I see the pictures but regularly go back to older photos and decide something that didn't appeal now does, and then there are other times when I just want to post something different, just to break things up.
comment byteofilstudios at 04:04 PM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
i agree w/ mike. in addition, i enjoy taking a picture of whatever hits me. i try not to think about setting a 'style' for myself. it's just something else to make me second-guess taking or posting an image. besides, it doesn't leave a ton of room for variety ... i like variety :)
comment byDeceptive at 04:57 PM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Was not sure what it was till I read your comments. Nice work.
comment byrebeccailona at 08:19 PM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
wow.......
comment byAndrei Gurgel at 08:28 PM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
Very interesting!
comment bySailesh at 10:08 PM (GMT) on 24 March, 2004
The way I am trying to rationalise is it. If it interests you and you are capturing it consistantly well (that thing that interested you), and think its good enough to share - then that by definition must be your style. I suspect that there are different styles for different things (abstract objects, landscapes, etc).
So in summary you have a great picture, enjoy it, i am :), and at some point you can look back on it and say to your biographer that was my car headlights period.
The cool blue and reflections are a great contrast to the vertical reds and yellows.
comment byRichard at 06:35 AM (GMT) on 25 March, 2004
Hm, not too crazy about this one. It feels too much like an ad/commercial photo. Not that that's bad - just not my own personal taste. I'm also sooo over 'abstract' these days :-)
I disagree with most everyone here (what else is new...) about the 'take what you like and make a series of it afterwards'-approach. I think that's the worst possible approach one can possibly take. By setting up a 'project' or deliberately pursuing a 'style' I think one hones the photographic skills MUCH more than 'shooting and then putting it together by style/type'. I spent 12 months using nothing than a fixed 50mm lens. I learnt a LOT about how to 'zoom' with my legs and when I later added a zoom and other primes knowing exactly and immediately what 50 would give me in a certain situation I was able to use that as a reference point and then switch to the focal length that I wanted. I also had a lot of fun and really learnt to appreciate the work of HCB, Atget and the other greats.
I don't mean that this necessarily made me a good photographer - but I learnt a LOT.
A focal length is of course only one dimenstion of what a project or pursuit of style could be. Portraits can be another, light another, etc.
I ramble.
comment by djn1 at 07:20 AM (GMT) on 25 March, 2004
Technically, in terms of becoming a good photographer - and like Richard, I'm not claiming that I am) - I think that he's right, that if you constrain certain aspects of how and what you shoot (subject matter, lens, lighting) then your ability to shoot these subjects (or shoot a subject in a particular style) is greatly enhanced.
That said, the eclecticism of my recent stuff does have a set of commononalities that might not be immediately apparent. First, my main focus at the moment is on 'seeing' what I might not otherwise notice. This shot is a good example (despite it turning out like an ad' for Citroen) - it's an aspect of the world that 'normally' I might not have noticed. And, at some point, 'how' I see it might become stylised in some way, but for the time being it's the 'what' rather than the 'how' that's important.
And the second, much more mundane reason, is that this is a blog rather than a gallery (or series of galleries). If I picked 'blue' as a theme, for example, I suspect that such a focus would hone my skills, but it would probably make for a (possibly) repetitive, if not boring, viewing experience ;-)
comment byRichard at 08:59 AM (GMT) on 25 March, 2004
That of course then begs the question - what is most important to you - running a blog or honing your photographic skills ;-)
comment bydjn1 at 09:28 AM (GMT) on 25 March, 2004
The latter, but I think that running a blog does help with that too. While a blog is never as 'polished' or coherent as a gallery (at least not at my level of expertise), the critical commentary - what works, what doesn't - is invaluable. I suppose that a blog is more of a work in progress than a finished article, and the dialogue you/we have as we go along does help in inviting me to think about how other people view what I do. All of which, hopefully, is an aid to honing my photographic skills - at least that's the plan ;-)
I took this shot a week ago today, and when I finished working on it I was really pleased with it … but I haven’t put it up, and now I’m not sure what I think of it, though I don’t know why. I suppose that a part of the problem is that recently I’ve been trying to settle into something approaching a recognisable style (or series of styles) and I’m not at all certain how this one ‘fits’ with what I’m trying to achieve.
Part of the problem is that I have something of a magpie approach to some topics – “ooh, a shiny thing! Take a picture” – and I often end up with shots that are interesting (I like the vaguely abstract quality of this one, and the interplay of the various reflections) but I’m not always convinced that they have much artistic merit.
Anyway, rather than keep worrying about whether to include this one – and repeatedly posting other shots instead – I thought I’d put it up anyway. And if you can’t work it out, it’s the main light cluster on a Citroen MPV (though I can’t remember which model).
capture date
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
focal length
image quality
white balance
optical filter
1.15pm on 17/3/04
f7.1
1/200
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
50
28.8mm
RAW
auto
B+W UV 010
Nice. it's a very beautiful abstract. You don't remember the model ? you are sure ? :)
Nice picture, don't overanalyze it, have a good time relax enjoy the process
It was a good choise putting this one up! It's very abstract on first sight and reveals itself after a few seconds. About the thought of yours with series: why not take your pictures whenever they appear in front of you and sort them to series later on?
Hello. Your photograph is powerful.
Thank you for a visiting.
Nice, very nice. I agree with plummer, sometimes you just have to go with a gut feeling. Again quite illustrative, but that's becoming your "recognisable style". What to include and not to include on a daily basis is quite hard, I almost decide as soon as I see the pictures but regularly go back to older photos and decide something that didn't appeal now does, and then there are other times when I just want to post something different, just to break things up.
i agree w/ mike. in addition, i enjoy taking a picture of whatever hits me. i try not to think about setting a 'style' for myself. it's just something else to make me second-guess taking or posting an image. besides, it doesn't leave a ton of room for variety ... i like variety :)
Was not sure what it was till I read your comments. Nice work.
wow.......
Very interesting!
The way I am trying to rationalise is it. If it interests you and you are capturing it consistantly well (that thing that interested you), and think its good enough to share - then that by definition must be your style. I suspect that there are different styles for different things (abstract objects, landscapes, etc).
So in summary you have a great picture, enjoy it, i am :), and at some point you can look back on it and say to your biographer that was my car headlights period.
The cool blue and reflections are a great contrast to the vertical reds and yellows.
Hm, not too crazy about this one. It feels too much like an ad/commercial photo. Not that that's bad - just not my own personal taste. I'm also sooo over 'abstract' these days :-)
I disagree with most everyone here (what else is new...) about the 'take what you like and make a series of it afterwards'-approach. I think that's the worst possible approach one can possibly take. By setting up a 'project' or deliberately pursuing a 'style' I think one hones the photographic skills MUCH more than 'shooting and then putting it together by style/type'. I spent 12 months using nothing than a fixed 50mm lens. I learnt a LOT about how to 'zoom' with my legs and when I later added a zoom and other primes knowing exactly and immediately what 50 would give me in a certain situation I was able to use that as a reference point and then switch to the focal length that I wanted. I also had a lot of fun and really learnt to appreciate the work of HCB, Atget and the other greats.
I don't mean that this necessarily made me a good photographer - but I learnt a LOT.
A focal length is of course only one dimenstion of what a project or pursuit of style could be. Portraits can be another, light another, etc.
I ramble.
Technically, in terms of becoming a good photographer - and like Richard, I'm not claiming that I am) - I think that he's right, that if you constrain certain aspects of how and what you shoot (subject matter, lens, lighting) then your ability to shoot these subjects (or shoot a subject in a particular style) is greatly enhanced.
That said, the eclecticism of my recent stuff does have a set of commononalities that might not be immediately apparent. First, my main focus at the moment is on 'seeing' what I might not otherwise notice. This shot is a good example (despite it turning out like an ad' for Citroen) - it's an aspect of the world that 'normally' I might not have noticed. And, at some point, 'how' I see it might become stylised in some way, but for the time being it's the 'what' rather than the 'how' that's important.
And the second, much more mundane reason, is that this is a blog rather than a gallery (or series of galleries). If I picked 'blue' as a theme, for example, I suspect that such a focus would hone my skills, but it would probably make for a (possibly) repetitive, if not boring, viewing experience ;-)
That of course then begs the question - what is most important to you - running a blog or honing your photographic skills ;-)
The latter, but I think that running a blog does help with that too. While a blog is never as 'polished' or coherent as a gallery (at least not at my level of expertise), the critical commentary - what works, what doesn't - is invaluable. I suppose that a blog is more of a work in progress than a finished article, and the dialogue you/we have as we go along does help in inviting me to think about how other people view what I do. All of which, hopefully, is an aid to honing my photographic skills - at least that's the plan ;-)
If anyone reads through this: I've now found out that this is the light cluster from a Toyota Corolla Verso rather than a Citroen C8.