cgardner
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This is starting to border on the ridiculous people....Gardner is a very common name, so is Charles. So you gotta figure there might be another one somewhere who is a photographer. But more than likely I was on the net first. I did my first web pages in 1994.
FWIW:
I generally only post examples of my work in the context of illustrating a technical point. I don't post for C&C for the simple reason that I provide some of the most detailed and thoughtful C&C on this forum and an equally self-critical.
The reason I don't have "a style" to emulate is because I don't need or want one. Its not like I'm running a business need to use style in the marketing sense to attract clients. I could do that I wanted to. I worked for a master of marketing and have authored many different marketing plans for business operations I've managed over the years. But I realized a long time ago I don't want to run any kind of personal business. The hours and pay suck compared to what others have paid me in the day jobs.
I just shoot what I feel like, when I feel like it. Most of what I shoot is done with my Canon flashes because they do the job I want done with the least amount of work. I posted some handbag shots yesterday in another thread using the Canon's because I didn't want to bother setting up the Bees.
In this thread I posted several photos, all one light shots germane to the topic of the thread, typical of the way I shoot, to illustrate the points I made. Did anyone comment on them in the context of the one-light discussion and the point I made? No, I just get a load of crap from people with a bug up their backside about how frequently I post and where I choose to post.
Get over it. You have no control over what and when I post, so why let it bug you to the point where you derail a thread like this? Face it people, if C.D. hadn't fired the first shot over the bow and others hadn't chimed-in similarly my comments would have faded into oblivion in a few hours or a day at most. Such is the nature of the Internet: if you ignore it, it will go away. But if you keep poking it with a stick you'll start to annoy it.
I tire of people who know what I do reading what I write for the 100th time only to chime in that I'm wasting his time. Granted anyone has the god given right to complain about anything, but is it constructive? That's god with a small "g" meaning Fred, since its his forum.
Here it has derailed the thread. Whose fault is that? Mine for posting photos and opinion or those complaining?
As you should be able to tell from what I do most is that my preference and style, to the extent I have one, is candid photo-journalistic style shooting. Candid situations present more problems to solve, the aspect of photography, and most other things I do, I enjoy most. I made a very comfortable living as a problem-solving manager of manufacturing operation which allowed my to enjoy photography on my terms over the years and not need to do it just to pay the mortgage. I use the same examples frequently because you might notice I'm here nearly every day answering the same basic questions for each new crop of clueless newbies who post "I just bought a set of lights, now what?" Or "I have a 430ex, what should I get next". Those people are my "target audience" and every day I get at least one unsolicited thank you from some one.
I hear "you are not creative" a lot. To me creativity is knowing how to finding the right spot to be to capture a perfectly short lit face in a flattering oblique angle in ambient light and knowing when and how to recreate that same look with flash if the ambient light sucks. Those same skills are useful whether you are shooting your kid's birthday party, covering a wedding, or shooting fashion or glamor: all forms of photography where the real goals are to flatter the people in the photo and create a strong emotional reaction in the mind of the viewer. If you actually bother to read what I write you see that's really all I'm teaching: how to solve problems by not losing sight to the bigger picture goals. That's my definition of "creative". YMMV.
Some here think everyone should either aspire to be a top-notch professional or off the chart creative from the first moment they put eye to viewfinder. How does what I do stand in the way of that? I just try to provide some sound technical advice, which is backed up by sound rationale and common-sense logic. Whether or not anyone uses the technical and conceptual information I provide creatively, or not, is something I let them sort out for themselves.
I don't publish a link to my on-line photo collection because I've had problems in the past with people posting them out of context and without permission to ridicule me and make personal insults about my family. A perfect example is self portrait above, which is from the tutorial on creating the DIY diffusers. It was shot with a pair of Vivitars simply to illustrate how they work for a spur of the moment candid shot. Without knowing that context you might conclude its an example of something else, no?
Over the years I've posted a wide range of my work -- people, scenics, animals, bugs, flowers - but nearly always in the context of illustrating a point I'm making about some technique. It's funny that the same people who mock my tutorial illustrations never seem to comment on the work I do post into the context of the discussion where I post it.
But if you want to see the range of what I've shot digitally since 2000 you are welcome to view http://bossa.nova.org/ but please respect the copyright and don't repost.
See you after the Holidays....
http://super.nova.org/TP/2008Card3.jpg
Chuck
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