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10/12/2005 07:41:08 AM · #1 |
I spent a fair amount of time in a new local coffee shop, trying to find something worthy of submission. It's called the Mane Grind because our town's school mascot is the Lion, so there ya go. I came away with a lot of shots I like, but I didn't enter any of them because I thought they were ho-hum in the grand scheme of things.
I haven't entered many challenges lately because I can't seem to find the pulse of DPC anymore...or maybe I just don't want to. My personal tastes are changing and I am no longer as wowed as I used to be with sterile, clean, and ultra-smooth imagery. It's still beautiful, but just not me it seems.
Anyways, I wanted to share my coffee shop finds, each of which I processed in a color, a duotone, and a quadtone, just for kicks. I have a couple of personal favorites but I'd rather you guys let me know what works and doesn't work for you first. Thanks for your input, because it means a lot to me. :)
The Mane Grind
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10/12/2005 07:59:43 AM · #2 |
I actually think they are all very good. I think #1 is my favorite overall. I don't fine the sepia toned ones real exciting here, not sure why. I'm drawn more to the B&W duotone images.
Did you give the shop copies of the photos? These would be great for their website, fliers, or advertisement of some sort. Very nice work.
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10/12/2005 08:10:01 AM · #3 |
Late for work so don't have time to comment on them...will try from the office. BUT...I like a lot of the photos. Some are better processed one way than another. I think some of the strongest images are the grainy b/w ones. Very nostalgic looking.
The biggest thing I noticed was the impression I got from the color and b/w and sepia tones for the same image. Despite being the same scene, the mood set by the processing was different for each. Mostly an impression of time - as in era.
Nice pics! Well done and you should have entered one! |
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10/12/2005 08:28:18 AM · #4 |
These are technically excellent as well as capture the feel of an establishment such as this, without being overt or obvious. Despite your professed lack of ultra-smooth imagery I believe these would have fared well (except perhaps the cash register).
Sounds like you are ready for a challenge of a different nature. Are there local opportunities to compete in with audiences that may have on average a more refined palette? Subtle yet powerful work is routinely undervoted here as I am learning. |
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10/12/2005 08:50:22 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by laurielblack:
...
I haven't entered many challenges lately because I can't seem to find the pulse of DPC anymore...or maybe I just don't want to. My personal tastes are changing and I am no longer as wowed as I used to be with sterile, clean, and ultra-smooth imagery. It's still beautiful, but just not me it seems... |
Laurie,
A little off topic but I think you need to hear (read) it. I find your above comment about not being able to find the pulse of DPC anymore kind of sad, much more so than just not wanting to shoot.
You are a great photographer (and from what I've seen in post, a very kind and thoughtful person) and you shouldn't be aiming to please DPC (or really ANY particular group for that matter). Yes there is a HUGE diverse bunch of photographers here that we all learn from but if you are steering your images towards what they like or shoot then you are going to get burned out trying to keep up.
You have a unique style that is you and I think you will only hurt yourself by aiming to please or be like one group.
Keep up the great photography despite what the "pulse" is here and remember that when you stop having fun at it, it becomes work.
(BTW those are some really nice coffee shop images.)
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10/12/2005 09:14:14 AM · #6 |
| They could all use a little more.................... |
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10/12/2005 09:54:01 AM · #7 |
Thanks for the comments folks...I appreciate them all very much! :)
cbeller - I did send the owner a set of all the black and whites...she loved them. She also said I am free to come back and shoot there any time, for whatever reason. :)
Alienyst - Hindsight is always 20/20, and I wish I had entered one now but I just didn't have the gumption I guess. I was really going for different "feels" with each processing so I guess I accomplished that mission. ;)
conglett - I live in pretty much the middle of nowhere, so there's not a lot of places to compete on a local level...which is really OK with me because I'm not competitive by nature anyway. I just like to take pictures, and hope sometimes that other people like them too. I know what you mean about subtlety being undervoted, which might be the issue I am dealing with on a personal level...I think as I have grown over the past 18 months here, I appreciate more subtlety than overtness and that is why I don't enter as often as I used to. :)
sabphoto - I still shoot... a lot, actually, just not anything I can enter for challenges. ;) I think I really am just coming to terms with the fact that I don't need or want to enter every challenge that comes up just because they're there...which I have been very guilty of doing before now. Burned out is a good way to put it, but I'm not burned out on photography...just entering challenges. I wind up second-guessing myself too often, and nowdays I always seem to enter something I'm too personally connected to or something that is more emotionally charged (to me) than something I know will score well, which makes me have regrets when I fare poorly. I sometimes find inspiration in bizarre places and there aren't a whole lot of voters that appreciate that. ;)
pawdrix - ...amen, brutha! ;) |
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10/12/2005 10:32:15 AM · #8 |
just a quick glance before work, but my initial impression is:
you should have entered.
i, too, feel like the ultra-smooth looks-like-an-ad-shoot stuff is the trend for this site. i think it's forgetting about all the wonderful aspects of photography, like photos that use grain, or abstracts, or candids...one of the things i love about photography is that the medium is SO flexible. it seems that here people vote high for the glossy shots. but please post the ones that don't seem to fit their aesthetic--if we keep doing that we may be able to buck the trend and show how cool other styles are.
btw, the third place shot was not a glossie, and it was one of my faves from the challenge...so there's hope for us yet! : )
gotta go! |
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10/12/2005 11:39:12 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by laurielblack:
...sabphoto - I still shoot... a lot, actually, just not anything I can enter for challenges. ;) I think I really am just coming to terms with the fact that I don't need or want to enter every challenge that comes up just because they're there...which I have been very guilty of doing before now. Burned out is a good way to put it, but I'm not burned out on photography...just entering challenges. I wind up second-guessing myself too often, and nowdays I always seem to enter something I'm too personally connected to or something that is more emotionally charged (to me) than something I know will score well, which makes me have regrets when I fare poorly. I sometimes find inspiration in bizarre places and there aren't a whole lot of voters that appreciate that. ;) |
Glad to hear that Laurie, I think a lot of people (including myself) sometimes enter just to enter. I have entered very few in my year here and probably should have entered less lol. Good to know you're not giving up altogther, I think you're on the right track.
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10/12/2005 03:23:40 PM · #10 |
Some really nice shots, Laurie. I also like the fact that you have processed each in different manners. My favorites are 9 and 17. I do like the grain direction of 25, but like the person sitting at the counter as in 9. Maybe add some more distressing of some sort (not sure exactly what..some burning or posterizing perhaps..hmm....thinking now I'll have to play with this idea..aged is the new grunge!! haha) to add to the aged feel the grain is leaning towards???
sorry for the little diversion there :-)
Thanks for sharing the series! |
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10/12/2005 03:49:51 PM · #11 |
I really like the black-and-white shots. This treatment seems to sit very well with the lines and textures.
However, my favourite is no. 7. I rather like the way that, initially, the colours appear muted, when the image is actually full colour with the splashes of colour isolated from one another. Perhaps I'd like to see it without the person in the frame.
(I don't always explain myself clearly when it comes to artistic matters)
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