Re: I'm looking for inspiration!

David,

A great post and an honest one. 

I'll give you my response and remember it is only my response—so just file it
away as one opinion.  I'm sure that there are a lot of definitions of what it
is to be an "real artist", but I think in the end it will be the audience
"out there" that will be the final judge of it in the years to come.

It's true that galleries or magazines like to see a cohesive body of work or
bodies of work with a theme.  It is also a great exercise in discipline to
produce one.

It is true that a lot of subjects have been photographed over and over—but
then not by you.  You may bring a whole new, fresh way of seeing a subject that
has been tackled by "real artists" for thousands of years.

Don't worry about selling and keep your day job unless you are really really
willing to downsize a LOT.  Few "real artists" make a living off their art. 
My sister happens to be one and she is my hero, but few people live primarily
off their artwork.

Don't worry about equipment.  It's not the equipment that makes good art. 
You should eventually be able to photograph enough work with a throw away camera
to do a show.  "If I just had this piece of equipment, I'd be a highly
successful and famous artist" will make you very disappointed and very poor!

I think the most successful way of identifying a theme is to sit and think. 
I think good photography is 80% thought, 10% shooting, and 10% printmaking. 
What is it about life that interests you?  What are you curious about.  I see
over and over people who are successful at things seem to have at least one
thing in common—they are curious and they allow themselves to explore those
things they are curious about.  Make a list of those things in the universe that
interest you and that you are curious about and that you can feel some passion
about.  Then brainstorm how you might go about exploring that subject—oh yeah
and don't forget to take your camera along. 

This idea of following your interests and passions is a good way to keep your
own work honest.  It keeps you from copying the work of others that seems to
be today's rage.  Duplication is not good art.  There is a lot of bad art out
there in galleries just waiting for you to duplicate.  Try to avoid huge, over
saturated, color inkjet prints—there are enough in the world already and
unfortunately the paper they were printed on is not biodegradable.  Art that sells
is not necessarily good art—need I only mention the name "Kinkaid?"  If you
want to win a ribbon at the local art show, you can photograph a kitten in a
teacup and be assured at least a third place ribbon.  I tried this once, but I
photographed the kitten in one of those old fashioned meat grinders and didn't
get a ribbon of any color.

Find a balance between the technical skills and image making.  Technical
skills are important because they allow you to take better shots or make better
prints—they make the path to good image making easier. But, it's what you hang
on the wall in the end that counts—a technically great print that has no image
content is still a bad piece of "art."

Study good art.  Go to museums.  Go to good, reputable galleries (few and far
between.)  See good work up close.  Look at other art besides photographs—t
here is a lot to learn there too.  What do you see that you like—why?

Another exercise is to take the images you have done and sort them by topic. 
Then go through them and see what the strengths and weaknesses are of each
group.  What types of photographs are you good at? What types are you not so
good at?  I have traveled a lot in the past 3 years and on some of those trips
Jane (my voice navigation babe, who  speaks French fluently) has taken me into
the Southwest and western United States—Big Sky country.  Huge, amazing
landscapes.  After a few trips, I realized that the large landscape was not really my
thing.  When I am doing landscapes, I like a more intimate, smaller
landscape.  I'm more likely to be the only person standing at the rim of the Grand
Canyon with my back to the canyon photographing a small tree against a rock.  My
favorite though is the human figure and about 75% of my work involves that.

If you identify more than one theme that you are interested in, pick the most
interesting one to concentrate on.  The others you can approach later if they
still interest you, or you can keep track of those themes and add to them as
the opportunity arises or as a way of taking a break from the primary theme
you are working on.  When you sort of "dabble" in different areas, you allow
yourself to avoid the discipline and structure of completing any project.

There are a number of good essays in Lenswork Magazine on these topics.  You
can get the back issues on CD.  Also, I think one of the best books you can
read that relates to these topics is "Art and Fear"—one of my favorite books and
one I give to people who aren't even "artists."

Finally, and this may sound stupid, but—live a good life, think a lot, be
kind to people, think some more, be curious, don't be afraid to follow where your
curiosity takes you, respect others, do an occasional good deed, leave
wherever you go a little better than it was before you arrived, think a little more,
and take your camera on this journey.

Hope this is helpful at least to get you thinking—and remember, it is only my
opinion and you will solidify your own thinking on these topics.

May you be filled with inspiration  ;)

Best Wishes,
Mark Nelson
Purchase the eBook & PDN System for Your Own Custom Digital Negative Workflow
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www.MarkINelsonPhoto.com

 In a message dated 8/13/05 3:09:13 PM, nashcom@btinternet.com writes:

> I know that everyone will be different, but I wondered how other people go
> about this.  I feel that perhaps I’m
> not a ‘real artist’ (I don’t really have anything to ‘express’).  I
> consider certain subjects, such as flowers, then
> immediately worry that they’ve been done to death, both by the original ‘
> masters’ and by modern ‘fine art’
> photographers.  Then again, perhaps the abundance of these simple
> compositions is due to their popularity
> and because they sell. That being the case, maybe there’ll be a market for
> anything I produce, even if it’s not
> radically different from other photographers’ work.  It’s also easy to fall
> into the trap of thinking that one
> ‘needs’ additional or alternative equipment to do a subject justice, or to
> treat it in a different way – you know;
> additional lighting, a greater selection of lenses, etc.  However, I know
> that’s not true.  For example,  although
> I have a 10x8”, the smaller prints personally please me more, despite having
> heard people say, “you could
> have blown it up really big”, and I feel I'd like to work within the 10x4"
> format at this time - that's one positive
> decision!
>
>
Received on Sat Aug 13 20:10:19 2005