Cliches..lets see yours!! - DPChallenge Forums

08/05/2002 12:06:52 PM · #1

Every week we get a topic about cliches.

Love ''em, hate ''em...do they even really exist?

Well, I don''t know...but I shot a whole bunch of Flower, Bugs and Kitten Pictures and whatever they are they are still sorta nice to look at :-)

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/5/2002 5:00:39 PM.

Swashbuckler

Sony DSC-F717

08/05/2002 12:12:14 PM · #2

I know what you mean. This week I happened to use the title Down the Drain. Who would have guessed that three others would use the same words? Please! It's not as if we can look at the photos already submitted to know what is going to be cliche or not! I am going to stop reading the word as defined and substitute MEETS THE CHALLENGE instead. (How in the world could anyone consider your shot cliche?) Bizarre world we live in.

kathleenm

Canon EOS-D60

08/05/2002 12:13:43 PM · #3

I love "sun drapes"!

As for cliches, I'm of the opinion that a well executed photo is a well executed photo. Period. ;-Ã¾

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

08/05/2002 12:16:32 PM · #4

The cliche subject does come up every week, and despite my protests, it continues... I will join the cliche mongers... I see lots of photos that I consider cliche each week simply because I look at a lot of photography... MOST of the photos this week are cliche...

RedRuthann

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

08/05/2002 12:23:52 PM · #5

Hokie,

Those are great! Sun Drapes is my fav. So what if it's cliche...if it's a great photo, then it's a great photo.

TerryGee

Canon EOS-30D

08/05/2002 12:24:30 PM · #6

My flowers and bugs
Hey Swash -one down the drainer to another - I was still told it did not meet the challenge!
Thanks for your great comment on mine!

FranziskaLang

Nikon D100

08/05/2002 12:25:33 PM · #7

i wish i'd seen the cliche list for 'something old' and therefore not submitted an old house kind of shot ... i'm paying dearly with my (deserved, i wasn't too thrilled with the photo either) below 5 score :(

as for cliches, my photos are pretty much all in that category. i reorganized my photos over the weekend and a large proportion of them fall into the plant / animal (including pets!) category. oh well! ;)

08/05/2002 12:29:33 PM · #8

Personally I think nice photo subjects turn into cliches (or whatever).

Photography is a newer art but certainly not new. And most of the subject matter we photgraph has already been painted, sculpted or wrote about.

It's your peronal take on a subject that is interesting to me. ALTHOUGH I like clean and beautiful images of anything as much as the nect guy.

I just like variety, everything...the simple hit you over the head stuff like a Chevy commercial all the way to Apple ad's. Jackson Pollack to Elvis on Velvet (a great title for a photo!)

Sometimes I just rant about one type being pushed out over another sometimes :-)

lisae

Olympus C-720UZ

08/05/2002 12:34:41 PM · #9

After thinking a little bit, this is what I have to say about cliche photos... A bad cliche photo of a dog is the visual equivalent of the word "dog". A good cliche photo of a dog represents a sentence or a story about the dog, like the one in this challenge. Or it sets up a relationship between you and the dog. Similarly for baby photos - one that just represents the words "cute baby" is not inspiring to me, but one that creates a mood or a story or a relationship will appeal to me.

In the end, for me at least, I feel more like I'm judging the flash of insight I have into the way the photographer sees the world than the photo itself. If the photographer doesn't try to express something I think is interesting or exciting, I don't like the photo. The choice of subject matter is part of that, but the way they approach the subject is more important.

Journey

Canon PowerShot G3

08/05/2002 12:37:12 PM · #10

I like these flower pictures, particularly the ruler of all i see and also sun draped. The first strikes me almost as a landscape in which the flowers are featured like trees. Highly original. And since it is an original way of looking at something it overcomes any cliche.

08/05/2002 12:43:02 PM · #11

My own photo this week is very cliche... i went with it becuase I liked it... "Cliche" photos don't bother me... what bothers me is the way people discuss them here in a condescending manner...

Digipixer

Canon Power Shot SX10 IS

08/05/2002 01:14:57 PM · #12

Cliches are alright.Its the use of sepia to make something look old that isn't.That degrades a picture.This seems to be the cliche this week.
My 2 cents.

08/05/2002 01:24:12 PM · #13

Originally posted by Digipixer:
Cliches are alright.Its the use of sepia to make something look old that isn't.That degrades a picture.This seems to be the cliche this week.
My 2 cents.

I disagree completely.. sure, there may be some examples, but I think that sepia, effectively used, greatly enhances the 'old feel' of a photo...

Digipixer

Canon Power Shot SX10 IS

08/05/2002 01:40:59 PM · #14

The key word is effectively. Just using sepia to try to make something that is relatively new look old ,and using it heavily is a bad choice.

08/05/2002 01:42:47 PM · #15

I found an interesting web definition...

I think the trick might be actually doing a photo well enough to even be considered cliche. Many attempts to use a cliche are worse than the fact they are cliche :-)

Webster's Definition:
CLICHE [klee-shay'] n. A hackneyed phrase; something that has become commonplace.

Movie Definition:
CLICHE [god dam klee shay'] n. An air conditioning duct just big enough for the hero to fit through that just happens to lead to the to the bad guys' headquarters; A couple that begin the movie estranged that are brought back together by some intense experience; two strangers who hate each other but have sex in the third reel; the butler did it; a car chase where the hero commandeers a vehicle occupied by a wise cracking driver; a villian with a European accent who always has something clever to say before offing a victim; The hotshot rookie who saves the day at the end; the hero's best buddy dying thus sending him in to a deep depression; someone defusing a bomb who pulls the wrong wire and speeds the timer up; only to pull the right wire with exactly 0:01 remaining; the femme fatale; a catchphrase that invades society for six months, dying down just in time for the video release; A thriller with the president as the bad guy; a gangster dying in a slow-motion machine gun ballet of blood; young love on the run; the hero gunning down thirty trained gunmen while they can't hit him with a single round; video store clerks that have an obsession with horror movies; a retiring black cop teamed with a hotshot young white cop; getting shot on your last day before retirement; the bad guy springing back to life for one last feble attempt to kill the hero; never having to reload; the gun making a 'click' noise right before the hero kills the villian; the underdog who beats the favorite; a team comprised of misfits who band together to beat the well-organized team; a spit take; someone becoming an alcoholic due to a loss; cartoons where the main character is accompanied by cute talking animals; a villian who smokes; an ethnic police captain; hitmen who banter about trivial things before they kill somebody; somebody dying and and falling with their arms outstretched like that guy who died on the cross; someone sleeping with their psychiatrist; strippers being murdered; slackers playing Sega hockey; a gangster who wants out of the business; inept police officers; crooked police chiefs; women with dangerous pasts; the hooker with a heart of gold; a supposedly unarmed man pulling a small pistol from his ankle at the last minute; villians falling to their deaths; someone finding out their long lost love isn't actually dead.

Digipixer

Canon Power Shot SX10 IS

08/05/2002 01:46:53 PM · #16

That just about covers everyone here.:-)))

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/05/2002 02:20:37 PM · #17

Originally posted by Digipixer:
That just about covers everyone here.:-)))

Exactly!!! Someone gets it FINALLY!!!!!

We are all just cliches in the end :-)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

08/05/2002 02:22:29 PM · #18

Originally posted by hokie:
I just like variety, everything...the simple hit you over the head stuff like a Chevy commercial all the way to Apple ad''s. Jackson Pollack to Elvis on Velvet (a great title for a photo!)

I did just hear that Elvis has been replaced as the King of Black Velvet by Bob Marley...

* This message has been edited by the author on 8/5/2002 2:22:15 PM.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/05/2002 02:25:36 PM · #19

Originally posted by lisae:
After thinking a little bit, this is what I have to say about cliche photos... for me at least, I feel more like I'm judging the flash of insight I have into the way the photographer sees the world than the photo itself. If the photographer doesn't try to express something I think is interesting or exciting, I don't like the photo. The choice of subject matter is part of that, but the way they approach the subject is more important. (Edited for space, not content)

Well-said!

08/05/2002 02:57:26 PM · #20

Will the madness ever stop!!

I ..must..find...more...CLICHES!!!!!!!!!

MuHahaHahaHahahaH!!!!!

Froober

Canon EOS-10D

08/05/2002 04:11:44 PM · #21

If there were a dog version of that cat, I would steal it!

08/05/2002 04:28:21 PM · #22

Originally posted by Lisa:
If there were a dog version of that cat, I would steal it!

She acts just like a dog! She plays rough like a dog, chases a laser light around like a crazy dog, begs to be carried (like a baby), likes to sleep in the bed (with her 4 other brothers and sisters) and she doesn't ahve to be walked (bonus in the 100 degree and 20 degree weather!!!

I used to be a dog owner (my mom raised Old English Sheepdogs till her health went bad). But my wife is a big cat person and converted me big time! :-)

Gracious

08/05/2002 06:01:39 PM · #23

Imho, a photograph reflects a particular perspective of the one person who captured the image. So what if it is or isn't cliche'? Who cares? And why should I care? Though I definetly want viewers to relate to and find some virtue in my pictures, and I covet good critique, still I capture and submit what appeals to me. "Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder" but constructive criticism helps me improve.

My "Something Old" outtakes Comments appreciated!

08/05/2002 06:30:24 PM · #24

I do 'cliche' also:

Gladiolas
Daisy
Sunflower
Bleeding Hearts
My Cat

:)