More than taking photos, more than seeing photos I have taken and thinking "Wow. I took that", I love seeing others' photos and having no thoughts. Just gasping and wanting to look and look and look. To me, that is what makes a photo excellent. Not thinking "Aww isn't that pretty" "What a fantastic composition" "Such beautiful colours" but being rendered utterly breathless at whatever is squeezed into that rectangle.
There are two types that I love. They are so similar and so very different.
The first, the one I've tried my hand at most, are the ones that tell stories because you plan them to. They SCREAM stories. You think of the story...the idea...the concept...and then you create your photo to suit it. These photos are planned and carefully executed.
Like so:
Pretty much all of Chrissie White's photography demonstrates this; you can just see her imagination overflowing into her photos.
The second are the ones that tell stories but have no planned stories behind them. They are people, they are places, they are candid. I so hope that I one day master this type of photography as, when done correctly (not that there is any right or wrong or rules in place) it just blows me away.
Billy Gomez, who writes as well as captures beautifully, has great examples of this type.
dockmaster (hm, not sure of her real name), Sean Wood, and this dude, who inspired me to write this blog, are more of my favourites
I think both of these kinds produce such unique photos and are what I think of as art. Anyone can find a pretty location, wait for some pretty light, get their pretty subject in pretty clothes to pose nicely and process prettily and end up with an "Ohh isn't that a lovely shot" photo.
I'm not saying I don't appreciate these photos, and I think that they DO take skill. I've even considered having my own newborn photography business which would mean doing exactly that, day in day out.
I'm not saying those kinds of photos are meaningless or not artistic. They document life and people and that is important.
But there is SUCH a difference between photography and just having a good camera, some nice lenses, good light and a subject.
If you come across this, whether you're into photography or not, pleeaase take a look at some of the photographers I've linked to. Their images just amaze me!
