Toronto Photography Meetup Group

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I was hoping that this topic would swing back to the original title. Quite frankly I don't really see the dichotomy between technology and art. Art has always used technology. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci the original Renaissance men were just as much engineers, scientist, architects ... as they were artists. The original article was just one person's quest to find out what matters. Most of us that have been doing photography for a while come across periods when we have plateaued or stalled in our progress.

I have recently felt that way myself, although I don't know if I would say its because I have plateaued or stall in my progress (although I would not be surprised if that is part of it). For me its been about the gear - the idea of totting around 20lbs of camera gear has gotten to the point where I sometimes I didn't want to go out and take photos. In this case, like the writer of the article, my gear was getting in my way (but replacing it was not the solution as my DSLR has an important place in my photography). I found my liberation in finding smaller cameras that I can take out and shoot without being weighed down (but still afforded me the controls I wanted). So for me traveling light has allowed me to get back to what matters, getting out there and taking photos.

J.

I read the ebook..... I agree with a great majority of what he says .... but I don't agree that just because you have a fancy DSLR and lens, that it makes you focus any less on the principals of photography. Only the photographer's lack of focus does that. It's like running .... you have within you the ability to run so fast for so long, 90% of your ability to do it, is mind over body.

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While I agree that telling a story is important considering the everyday barrage of images that are just pretty pictures. But for many people that beauty in the micro world of a flower macro (as an example) is why they love taking photographs. Also the capture of Nature and Science are time honored branches of photography both as a professional and amateur pursuit.

I disagree strongly that not having a portfolio is in anyway a good thing. Thinking about your work, organizing your work, looking back and tracking your progression, sharing your work and getting feedback are all important components to learning. I guess if you take it to the extreme it would be considered a social networking hobby rather then photography.

The more I read the comments here the more I find myself agreeing with some of the things the author said (although I still do not like how he was saying some of them - the ideas though are there).

In regards to storytelling I think there does need to be some of that - but not necessarily with the photo(s) taken. I think the story should be about your own experiences and the travels that led to a particular, or a series, of photos taken. This is the approach I took with both of my major road/photography trips to Atlantic Canada. I would write down (blog) my experiences for the day and include the standout photos (if any) for that day. I think a picture is worth a thousand words and can generally stand on its own (at the very least it allows the viewer the ability to make their own impression of what the photo means to them instead of being told what it means). I think the story is about how you got there, what led you to that spot, etc. To me that is much more interesting then telling a story about the actual photo.

J.

agree .... having a portfolio is a good thing. And in my case - having participated in portfolio review sessions has helped greatly in curating my work, and others.