Old Fogies Hate High Contrast? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

03/03/2006 05:30:53 PM · #1

I must hear daily that "the older generations don't appreciate digital art or personal style... they want to see a good picture". My dad and I were discussing this as I prefer grunge and high contrast and I enjoy to see what people can do with PS since nearly all of us are using it anyway.

I think this is a horribe stereotype and it bothers me to think... beyond patterns in age and prefernce, do older audience typically like a "simple picture with no alterations"?

My dad is "older" (50ish) and he loves my high contrast work though some always say its blown out. Then again, I suppose he is biased. ;)

What do you think?

o2bskating

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

03/03/2006 05:34:20 PM · #2

i'm 30 3/4 haha i say break all the rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love photoshop. this is art there are no restrictions!

ok actually i'm 39 but don't tell anyone

Message edited by author 2006-03-03 17:34:52.

Ombra_foto

Olympus E-300 EVOLT

Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

03/03/2006 05:40:25 PM · #3

I'm quite sure you haven't read MY posts then.

While I am bored with the "grunge" look, I do view photography and post processing as an art form and all part of making your pictures stand out and say what you want.

I'm probably not typical though because I been playing with computers and picture editing a long, LONG time.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/03/2006 05:53:01 PM · #4

I'm older than the sun and say use, use, use every tool available. I have nothing against a certain look and feel, as long as it benefits the final image. What I don't care for are fads, which bore me (see Ombra_foto's post, below).

And I bore easily.

Message edited by author 2006-03-03 23:30:17.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

03/03/2006 05:53:40 PM · #5

Originally posted by CalamitysMaster00:

I think this is a horribe stereotype and it bothers me to think... beyond patterns in age and prefernce, do older audience typically like a "simple picture with no alterations"?

My dad is "older" (50ish) and he loves my high contrast work though some always say its blown out. Then again, I suppose he is biased. ;)

What do you think?

I think that stereotypes and bias are both highlighted by the title you chose for this thread :)

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

03/03/2006 05:59:38 PM · #6

(that was the point) shhhh. :)

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

03/03/2006 06:22:25 PM · #7

I'm a 59-year-old human bean (donno if I'm a "fogey") and I like HC fine, I like grunge fine, I like to see all the different stuff we can do. My own work tends towards the conservative (to put it mildly) but my appreciation knows no boundaries...

Robt.

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX

03/03/2006 06:22:34 PM · #8

A good example... either hated or loved.

JeffryZ

Nikon D80

03/03/2006 06:31:00 PM · #9

It may be because I have not yet learned many of the tricks that Photoshop can do (I have Elements), or that I am still searching for what I like in my own pictures, but for myself I prefer a picture that does not look like it has been done in photoshop or studio lighting. To me, that is technical work and tangential to photography. The thought that anything can be made look good if one has the digital skills. I go looking for photographs that will fit one of the current challenges in real life rather than trying to create on with props in a studio with controlled lighting and carefull processing. I do like the fact that I can make improvements in my own photos to make them look better, but I am warry of those that go too far. Yes, I agree that there is an art to it and there are some amazing things created by people here. But they can lack feeling which can be difficult to capture. A nice studio shot is pretty and technologically perfect, but frankly to me it gets boring because it seems to lack emotion or feeling. It is too sterile. We are numbed by the thousands of advertising pictures everywhere and when I see one like it I instinctively want to turn the page. Darkening like the grunge look can sometimes do the same thing for me. Occasionally it seems to be done for effect, not because it adds to what the image is trying to convey. I worry about some people using software as a crutch to make OK pictures good instead of trying to get a good picture in the first place. I use it for that myself. I guess what I am saying is that I like more documentary and story telling pictures over more advertising type pictures. While I have enjoyed photography for many years, I only truely got into it about a year and a half ago with my first digital camera so I still have much to learn. You could consider me "older generation" being mid -40s. But that isn't old. My grandfather is twice as old as me. There are many styles and opinions and skills here and I can learn something from all of you.

GuGi

Nikon D750

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

03/03/2006 06:46:11 PM · #10

People here have very different preferences. I think that with digital photography, we have something new. Before, people would take a photograph, now they make them. There is a difference between catching a moment or making it. Many participants here are good, both with catching a moment and then doing something with it ... good with a camera and really know Photoshop well. Then there are those that are really good with Photoshop and have a camera and lots of equipment.
Some of the stuff here is really really glossy, and even though it does not appeal to me much, it does to many others.
There is room for all kinds here, and it takes all kinds.
Whatever site you are a member of, be it photography, reading, politics, you name it. There are those who know better than all the rest and are not shy to tell you so. They really would like you to "adjust your thinking" as I was told here a few weeks ago. It really says it all.

Gatorguy

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

03/03/2006 06:48:25 PM · #11

I think altering photos for effect (such as grunge) are fine but I think it crosses my line between "photography" and "Digital Art". How much editing makes and image cross my line? I can't say, but I know it when I see it.

LindaLee

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/03/2006 06:50:47 PM · #12

I am 54, and probably generally considered to be an "old fogey" by the 10 to 14 year olds that I mentor in digital photography, but I am open to EVERYTHING, and particularly find digital art fascinating and fun. I may not "like" some things, but that's usually an emotional response to the individual photo.

I have found that in ANY given category, (black and white, grunge, low-contrast. WHATEVER), some I LOVE, some I HATE, and some I don't have strong feelings one way or the other.

As for the particular style that you note in the thread title - I totally adore high contrast, overall. So; there's ONE vote from the old fogies!

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

03/03/2006 08:42:08 PM · #13

I'm old enough to be an old fogie but I don't care to be stereotyped as liking or not liking any particular type of photography just because of my age. I do think, in general, that older people tend to favor better quality of any type over the beginner efforts often put forth by younger photographers. And I think that older photographers are less likely to become enthralled with, and experiment with, new things just because they are new. But those are pretty broad generalizations. Fogies, like youngsters, come in all flavors and sizes.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

03/03/2006 08:52:46 PM · #14

My mother, 87-years-young, looks at some of my photos and says, "It would be nice if it were centered..." She and my dad did some photography/developing as part of their crafter's guild back in the 50's and I think the styles/rules they learned then have stuck with her.

Aperture

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

03/03/2006 08:55:03 PM · #15

Originally posted by JeffryZ:

Very well put

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

03/03/2006 09:19:58 PM · #16

As others have mentioned if it's done well people are going to like it regardless of what style it is. The key phrase being "done well", when it's not I think people will hate it more than almost any other style.

ElGordo

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS for Canon

03/03/2006 09:27:19 PM · #17

Nope. But age does tend to reduce tolerance for crap.

Marjo

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/03/2006 09:32:36 PM · #18

Originally posted by ElGordo:

Nope. But age does tend to reduce tolerance for crap.

good answer :)

riot

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Helios 40-1 85mm f/1.5

03/03/2006 09:38:10 PM · #19

Originally posted by ElGordo:

Nope. But age does tend to reduce tolerance for crap.

No wonder i feel so old reading these threads :)

Dr.Confuser

Nikon D800

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/03/2006 09:44:00 PM · #20

I'm older than dirt (although I feel young) and generally I like high contrast photos. However, I don't have a lot of patience for otherwise poorly edited or overly processed photos. See my antarctica photos here in my portfolio and it'll give you an idea of the sort of high contrast stuff I like.

wheeledd

Panasonic LUMIX-DMC ZS100

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/03/2006 09:59:31 PM · #21

Originally posted by CalamitysMaster00:

Sarah,

I'm glad you think this is a stereotype. I think I'm three times as old as you are (and considerably older than your father) but I really like your high-contrast work and the self portrait you posted.

I also don't think that this digital art stuff is new. I was doing major image manipulation including solariztion, kodalith transfers, and multiple image printing in the late 50's and early 60's. Even then, manipulation was not new--there has been a tension about this since the development of photography in the middle of the 19th century.

What is new is that the manipulations are much easier to do. And my reaction to a lot of the digital art that I see these days is that it is pointless. I don't see any reason behind the manipulations; they don't seem to enhance the image. They are the digital are equivalent of the snapshots taken by some straight photographers. But some digital art impresses me as profound; the digital tools allow the artist to express deeper meaning.

I am a fan of both Jerry Uelsmann (who does his manipulation in a wet darkroom) and Maggie Taylor (a digital artist). [They are married to each other.]

--Dan

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

03/03/2006 10:57:31 PM · #22

Two quotes from one of my favorite writers on the subject of photography:

"Breaking the rules is one of the greatest sources of growth and will always result in lots of criticism from the small-minded."

And a second quote from the same author...

"Breaking the rules does not insure anything of value, either in learning curve or in a good photograph. Sometimes the small-minded are right."

- Brooks Jensen - Editor - Lenswork Magazine

I wrote about this very topic here on DPC back in 2003. The thread is HERE.

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

03/03/2006 11:03:59 PM · #23

I'm not a fan of over-photoshopped pictures or grunge effects, for the most part. There's obviously exceptions, but I find some effects distracting if they're overdone, which they usually are IMO.

03/03/2006 11:26:06 PM · #24

I love where this has gone. :) You "old fogies" have some great wisdom to share and I'm glad to see this stereotype (not my own opinion but fear) is not true.