What's the Puff?

creators · What's the Puff?

Dunno what you'll make of these, Hmmm?

Blue

I wonder why these shots slipped through without comment? I like them. Esp. the first one. It's an interesting scene, I like the old-fashioned feel, and I like the color juxtaposed with bw, but there is something about it that feels a little off- I'm thinking maybe the crop? Not sure.

I like the angel, too. (fairy? whatever) What I like are the blurry leaves in front of her, giving it kind of a magical quality.

I have been thinking a lot lately (tripping out, really) about photographing statues and sculpture... and wondering whether it's a little bit of a cheat. I mean, don't get me wrong- I love taking pictures of them, too... but really, it's someone else's artwork. We get these great, dramatic, moody shots of stone people... but really we're just copying what another artist already did. I guess if you use the photographic medium to capture it in a unique way.... kind of like you did with the leaves in front... then it's a bit better. But I just don't know about it. It seems too easy, LOL. Very Happy

(This is not a commentary on your shot in particular, Keith- like I said I have just been thinking about the subject lately. I know that on istock you are not allowed to submit photos of artwork... including statues and carvings, and even certain forms of bodyart... because of copyright issues.)

creators

Thanks for your comment Blue, I think a lot of pictures come through without comment, that's just the way it is I guess, I know I look at pictures sometimes and just don't know what to say or just haven't got anything to say.

I can see what you mean about the first one, and I think a crop might work on the right hand side, except I rather like the old aluminium ashtray there, I gave several crops a try and can't find one that feels ok. Here's one of them.

I understand what you say about photographing art work of any description, and, apart from, say, doing post cards of a landmark, wouldn't consider them as a commercial product. But, and here's the other side, I guess I am largely, when I get it together, an emotional photographer. So when I was photographing, say, the stiletto, it was clearly an object made by someone else, which I would view in exactly the same way as an art object, what matters for me is the mood of the picture. Certainly, my object in photographing the fairy was to capture that particular setting, which pleased me personally very much. In that sense, I hope, I was complementing the artists' work with the setting that it had been placed in, giving it my own unique take, slant, feel, mood. And that is not easy at all. This one, for example, misses by a wide mile of being any kind of picture that is going to do anything for me. Uh, I have a lot like that.

I am really grateful for your comment, and this is just one of the reasons I so value this site, it offers space to talk about stuff like this and to share differing views and so develop my thinking, and that is as an important a part of photography for me as any other aspect of photography.

hil26

Not too sure how I missed this post as well, but

The first image is one of those images that unfortunately do nothing for me, it's not the image per se, but me. I wonder what the puff cracknels have to do with an old flat iron, I also remember someone saying something about colour black and white conversions and why? I can see the old flat iron in black and white but not the tin - sorry

The statue one I do like, apart from what looks like a beetle climbing above her chest, the "soft" surround does the face justice, and the b&w suits the subject

flyingkites

I like both pf these but I agree that the first one has something that just does not quite work. I think (and thats dagerous for me) that the flat iron and the tin are both square on and compete to be the main focus of attention imo.

Brian

Blue

Maybe the thing that's nagging the back of my mind about that first image... similar to what hil26 was saying... is that the items don't have that much to do with each other, besides that fact that they are all old-fashioned. Is someone smoking, eating crackers, and ironing? Quite the multi-tasker, LOL! Laughing

So maybe that's it... it seems too contrived, I think.

Venom

I like the first of the last batch, but I wander how it would look with maybe instead of the Puff Cracknels maybe a box of Washing Powder so theres a link between the 2, just a thought!

creators

Oddly enough, this shot was just one of my bro's fireplace, as is, I have more to say about this, but have just got back knackered from a w/e away and am not capable of anything remotely deeper than where my next coffee is.