gnbuzz Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Mark, I've really been diggin' on your work, so that's the point of view I'm coming from in this post
I have to respectfully disagree with Justin and others, and even you, for feeling like the non-critique discussion being any sort of negative. Most artists would kill for the type of conversation your work provokes (facilitates?). Being ogled and then forgotten would be the worst.
As Justin points out, you do appear to be ganged up on for your techniques, but I think that's because you are willing to engage.
Coming from a writing and journalism background, I also always find the purist/realism vs. next gen/processed discussion to be instructive. One of the Web niches I once started was about high-school girl athletes. Once I told a room of photojournalists that I removed large, obvious blemishes from faces in my images, and got hammered! My point was, the girls not only would not look at my photos otherwise, they'd never let me photograph them again. If your "art" is never viewed, is it really art?
There is a certain camp that advocates making your images "pop" and their techniques usually revolve around contrast and saturation. When I started following your work, Mark, and those of the photographers you named earlier in this thread, the blending approaches started to win me over. Your guys' work is soft and serene, and gives me a good feeling. I'm not totally over to where you guys are, but I'm migrating, and introducing some of it has, in my opinion, strengthened my work.
That all said, this isn't one of my favorite pieces of your work. I think what Justin says about the silvery/gray tint, which I'm taking as the "glow" you applied, is the crux of what "bothers" me. It gives the image a slightly over-processed feel. I even feel the connection between the bolt of lightning and the resulting glow in the scene. I don't dislike this piece, I simply don't think it is as pleasing as others that have knocked my socks off.
Glenn
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