I was talking with my friend Pavel (from the Nikon forum) yesterday, and we agreed that what distinguishes many photographic styles (so-called) these days is that they rely not on artistic vision but on gimmickry. When I saw this set, I was immediately reminded of that conversation. To what gimmicks was I referring? Photos in which the subject is almost obscured by the excessive flare. The use of tilt-shift techniques to jar the viewer\'s perception. Blown-out whites in many photos. I suppose the disturbing factor isn\'t the USE of these techniques, but their boring sameness, one after the other. When an artistic technique is used to shock the sensibilities, doing so more than once dulls the effect, and doing so many times is just tedious.
Do I \"have it out\" for younger photographers? Hmmm . . . I admire very much two of the young stars here, Tony Hoffer and Evan Baines. Their photos have vision and style. They portray a variety of moods and techniques. Their photos delight the eye. I would never accuse them of gimmickry.
Dec 14, 2009 at 02:48 PM
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