Re: Technical Camera Images
What about Staged Photography? Take Jeff Wall for instance... Sure, I guess technically the photograph is still just what's in front of him at the moment he presses the button. But he deliberately places everything as he wants it and press the shutter button hundreds of times to get the right shot.
I can't believe there are still people out there arguing that photography can't be a legitimate medium for art. Or that it's some how a lesser art. :facesmack:
I think this is very much more the case in the UK, and I think many galleries would rather hang photographers than photographs!
We have the toolkit to make photography fine art... ¿Is Jeff Wall the 10 *8 user? ...I was thinking of the ability to easily digitally combine different "sketches" into one picture (as painters have done for hundreds of years) but carefully creating the scene before you take the photograph...
...and, of course, technical cameras make is possible to improve the perspective of a scene and make it "art" ...so I would argue that this conversation is on topic.
For landscape photography the art of photography can be being in the right place at the right time (with the right equipment) and taking a photograph of what is in front of you... like my photograph of Fraserbough harbour, which had to be taken:
...at the weekend when the boats were in the harbour
...at 15:00 when the sun was in the right place
...when the sun was shining, and
...when the high tide, so that you could see the boats over the quayside.
I consider that I am a fine art photographer (and not a troll) but there are many galleries in the UK that have never hung a photograph, and need persuading...
While there's no question, at least in my mind, that photography can be art, I don't believe that state-of-the-art digital will help against the skeptics. Since digital cameras make it easier to create photos and since more images are created as a result of the new technology, it probably makes them more skeptical not less. Art is a result of the skill and vision of the artist, not about technology. To me, digital and film based photography are two different art forms, just like oil paintings and water colours are.
Many great photographs have been taken without such preparation or post-processing ...in my opinion these are art, but he gallery owner would think that they were "just what was in front of the photographer when they pushed the button."
As I stated here recently, the art of photography can be the art of pressing the button at the right time, to capture an expression or event!