HCB Challenge Discussion - DPChallenge Forums

06/03/2011 08:40:27 PM · #26

Originally posted by hihosilver:

Well, Richard, you know I adore you and thank you for graciously allowing me to see the invisibility of your post(s)...;-)

::stares sheepishly at toes::

Wendy, I'm on vacation for the rest of the week! Have fun!

Bye bye!

-M

You're coming to visit me?!? How cool is that!! :)

06/03/2011 09:10:38 PM · #27

Originally posted by vawendy:

Originally posted by hihoyar:

Wendy, I'm on vacation for the rest of the week! Have fun!

Bye bye!

-Y

You're coming to visit me?!? How cool is that!! :)

Not unless you live on Risa, the pleasure planet.

Message edited by author 2011-06-03 21:15:38.

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

06/03/2011 09:12:39 PM · #28

Originally posted by bspurgeon:

Originally posted by vawendy:

Wendy, I'm on vacation for the rest of the week! Have fun!

Bye bye!

-M

You're coming to visit me?!? How cool is that!! :)

Not unless you live on Risa, the pleasure planet. [/quote]

It doesn't matter anymore -- they stopped manufacturing horga'hns

bvy

Sigma DP1x

06/03/2011 10:28:11 PM · #29

I tend to agree with Louis. A few years ago, I had organized some street photography side challenges here. At the time, I was pushing for brutally honest critique and asking folks to take some risks, to go beyond photographing people not doing much of anything. I don't know if these were successful or not. Steve (pawdrix) was still around at the time, and he spoke his mind. His battle cry was "Why are you showing me this person?" and it became the yardstick by which the rest of us would measure our entries. It helped me immensely, but I think it rubbed some others the wrong way.

Good street photography is a rare thing. The true masters of the genre today (folks like Nick Turpin) will tell you that they are lucky to get even a dozen really good shots in any one year. Anyone who's serious about wanting to undertake and improve their street photography skills should peruse the HCSP pool on Flickr. And then, if you can stomach it, check out the image critique thread.

Message edited by author 2011-06-03 23:50:14.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

06/03/2011 11:07:03 PM · #30

But surely there's something between amateur suck and hardcore pj that's worthwhile and attainable?

tnun

Ricoh GR III

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

06/04/2011 01:05:52 AM · #31

Worth noting the extremely large margin by which

jagar's photo won.

Sony Sonnar FE 2.8 35mm ZA

06/04/2011 01:13:59 AM · #32

Thanks for the links Brian.

It appears there are two suggestions, creating the apparent difference of opinion. I like the concept of a monthly candid/street challenge. However, why limit it to pure street? A good candid, taken anywhere, will also address Steve's mantra of "Why are you showing me this person?". In fact, that should be the topic.

jagar

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+

06/04/2011 03:27:22 AM · #33

I agree with Ben and think it shouldn't be limited to street either, a good candid that captures the spirit of a moment doesn't have to be street. The main reason i became caught up in photography in the first place is because it forces you to be mindful of everything around you, and for me the act of taking the photo is more important than the photo itself. We pass so much of our lives caught up in the garbage of our minds, well at least i do, that we miss a lot of those tiny moments of preciousness. To get a good and worthy photo in a challenge like this obliges you to be mindful and solidly rooted in the present and i'm sure we'd all benefit from doing that in many ways so yeah i'm all for it.

PennyStreet

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 17mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko

06/04/2011 09:41:26 AM · #34

Originally posted by jagar:

That's the best post I've read here in awhile. This challenge forced us (me anyway) not only to look for and capture a moment in time but to present it with minimal processing so everybody could see what that split second actually was about. Finding and taking the picture is the hardest (and most rewarding) part because you need to have all your senses working. For me it's also more fun than processing.

Edit to add: Yes, of course I'm all for doing these types of challenges on a more regular basis. I think everyone can learn from doing.

Message edited by author 2011-06-04 09:43:07.

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/04/2011 12:04:16 PM · #35

Originally posted by PennyStreet:

Originally posted by jagar:
I agree with Ben and think it shouldn't be limited to street either, a good candid that captures the spirit of a moment doesn't have to be street. The main reason i became caught up in photography in the first place is because it forces you to be mindful of everything around you, and for me the act of taking the photo is more important than the photo itself. We pass so much of our lives caught up in the garbage of our minds, well at least i do, that we miss a lot of those tiny moments of preciousness. To get a good and worthy photo in a challenge like this obliges you to be mindful and solidly rooted in the present and i'm sure we'd all benefit from doing that in many ways so yeah i'm all for it.

That's the best post I've read here in awhile. This challenge forced us (me anyway) not only to look for and capture a moment in time but to present it with minimal processing so everybody could see what that split second actually was about. Finding and taking the picture is the hardest (and most rewarding) part because you need to have all your senses working. For me it's also more fun than processing.

Edit to add: Yes, of course I'm all for doing these types of challenges on a more regular basis. I think everyone can learn from doing.

This reminds me of "automatic writing." Someone caught Andre Breton editing his "automatic writing" and pointed out the hypocrisy of such a thing. Andre said he edited it because it wasn't automatic enough.

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

06/04/2011 12:32:59 PM · #36

Putting on a vaseline-coated Decipher Don filter...an unplanned candid, achieved by just being, is unattainable as we must consciously choose to be in the physical location. I can see the hypocrisy.

It is possible to choose to be present in a physical sense, and then let life carry on around you. Jagar's point>

Message edited by author 2011-06-04 12:35:36.

tnun

Ricoh GR III

06/04/2011 12:59:08 PM · #37

But it is not possible to choose to be

jagar or HCB.

LevT

Olympus OM-1

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

06/04/2011 01:00:21 PM · #38

Originally posted by bspurgeon:

Putting on a vaseline-coated Decipher Don filter...an unplanned candid, achieved by just being, is unattainable as we must consciously choose to be in the physical location. I can see the hypocrisy

This reminds me the notion of quantum observer effect, when an observer inevitable changes the state of the object in the process of observation, and therefore affects the result of the observation :). The good news is that humans for the most part live in a classical, not quantum world. So at least it is possible to observe and not disturb the environment by your being present there.

...I don't think either

jagar or Penny were talking about unplanned candids in such serendipitous sense. Taking good street photos requires extremely active interaction (one-way, mostly) with the environment, a hunt almost.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

06/04/2011 01:25:19 PM · #39

Originally posted by LevT:

Originally posted by bspurgeon:
Putting on a vaseline-coated Decipher Don filter...an unplanned candid, achieved by just being, is unattainable as we must consciously choose to be in the physical location. I can see the hypocrisy

This reminds me the notion of quantum observer effect, when an observer inevitable changes the state of the object in the process of observation, and therefore affects the result of the observation :). The good news is that humans for the most part live in a classical, not quantum world. So at least it is possible to observe and not disturb the environment by your being present there.

...I don't think either jagar or Penny were talking about unplanned candids in such serendipitous sense. Taking good street photos requires extremely active interaction (one-way, mostly) with the environment, a hunt almost.

In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you
Scent and a sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine, I'm after you
Mouth is alive, all running inside
And I'm hungry like the wolf

Sony Sonnar FE 2.8 35mm ZA

06/04/2011 01:32:50 PM · #40

Originally posted by LevT:

...I don't think either jagar or Penny were talking about unplanned candids in such serendipitous sense. Taking good street photos requires extremely active interaction (one-way, mostly) with the environment, a hunt almost.

Agreed, which I believe was Don's point. BTW, thank you for my daily dose of physics!

jagar

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+

06/04/2011 01:33:21 PM · #41

just out of interest here is a portrait of AndrÃ© Breton by Cartier Bresson shot in the my local town where he had a house: portrait , he's a bit of a local hero in these parts.

Personally my main influence in photography as in life is Zen, i've been involved in my local Soto zen group now for more than 15years, photography enables me to take my practice out of the zendo and into everyday life, it perfectly embraces the being awareness necessary in zen and is in my opinion a definite aid for anybody looking for interior development.

posthumous

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/04/2011 02:09:46 PM · #42

Originally posted by bspurgeon:

Originally posted by LevT:

...I don't think either jagar or Penny were talking about unplanned candids in such serendipitous sense. Taking good street photos requires extremely active interaction (one-way, mostly) with the environment, a hunt almost.

Agreed, which I believe was Don's point. BTW, thank you for my daily dose of physics!

maybe or maybe I just meant it's okay to edit street photos? ;)

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

06/04/2011 06:03:58 PM · #43

I suggested street photography, because I think it brings candids to a whole different level. I agree that it doesn't have to be street photography, but I do think it should be stranger photography. (not just strange photography :)

It's pretty easy to get candids of your family/friends if you've been doing that type of photography for awhile. You know how to anticipate their emotions, their movements, the moments themselves. The street photography was such a different experience.

I don't want to limit it to street, but I'd rather it wasn't a bunch of candids of everyone's families.

pointandshoot

Canon EOS-10D

06/04/2011 07:40:16 PM · #44

In 30 years the bionic eye will make any discussion of street photography moot. For $100,000 we will have eyes with implanted cameras which will record everything we see at 30fps and give us the opportunity to search for, and edit, the decisive frame at our leisure. We will always be solidly rooted "in the moment" even when we're not. "The hunt" in street photography will devolve into the act of downloading the eye-implant-record from a homeless man and searching for that serendipitous frame in his life.

Learn to take stock photos. Being here, now, has no future.

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

06/04/2011 08:06:51 PM · #45

Originally posted by pointandshoot:

Then we'd really better do street photography now, while it still counts!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

06/04/2011 08:10:52 PM · #46

Originally posted by pointandshoot:

In 30 years the bionic eye will make any discussion of street photography moot.

But will it apply tone, contrast and sharpening effects according to the tastes recorded in our memories?

tnun

Ricoh GR III

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

06/04/2011 08:21:10 PM · #47

It certainly will. And then we will be even more at war with ourselves than we already are.

Heavy price to pay for not lugging expensive gear around. Oh, but wait, WE will be the expensive gear.

pointandshoot

Canon EOS-10D

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

06/04/2011 08:40:35 PM · #48

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by pointandshoot:
In 30 years the bionic eye will make any discussion of street photography moot.

But will it apply tone, contrast and sharpening effects according to the tastes recorded in our memories?

Photoshop's upgrade to CS35 will offer that option along with "object recognition" software that will make searching for lost car keys a breeze.

PennyStreet

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 17mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko

06/04/2011 08:59:52 PM · #49

Originally posted by posthumous:

Originally posted by bspurgeon:

Originally posted by LevT:

...I don't think either jagar or Penny were talking about unplanned candids in such serendipitous sense. Taking good street photos requires extremely active interaction (one-way, mostly) with the environment, a hunt almost.

Agreed, which I believe was Don's point. BTW, thank you for my daily dose of physics!

maybe or maybe I just meant it's okay to edit street photos? ;)

I don't speak physics or poetry and certainly didn't mean we should never edit street photos... Simply put, I just meant that for this challenge this time it was refreshing (albeit hard work) to have both street and minimal processing. And I don't think it would be a bad idea for either to happen again, not necessarily together.