Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/11/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]You have a outstanding eye, Irving. And a great city, too. My problem is that I have too many themes to develop, and seem to be content with just inventing the themes. For me, photography is a way to sharpen my seeing, and thus is very inspiring for other projects. But saying that photography is nothing more than that, is too exaggerated, too. I'd love to be able to make what you do. Keep on shooting, Philippe Op 13-nov-06, om 22:06 heeft Irving Greines het volgende geschreven: > I read Larry's and Ted's comments with great interest: Why do people > choose to make photographs? The answers are obvious for a pro on > assignment and those who are amateurs. > > For most of my life, I took pictures because I loved doing it and it > mattered not whether anyone saw them. There was no net then and, if > there had been, I don't think I would have posted my work or sought > input. The pleasure was purely internal. > > After years of shooting, I changed my focus. Rather than shooting > randomly, I became project oriented. For me that was the key. If a > photographer chooses a project about which he/she feels passion, it > can > lead down a long and rewarding road---since the exploration changes > and > deepens constantly over time. > > It was a single project that changed my life from amateur to > professional photographer. The project started because I loved the > subject matter; it grew because, as I explored the project, the > subject > matter took on new dimensions and my insights into the subject matter > grew deeper. In the end, the project, which started for totally > amateur > purposes, grew into a professional livelihood, with shows and gallery > representation. For me, going out and simply shooting randomly turned > into shooting for a project purpose, then into a fine art career. > > The project, shot with a Hasselblad over a 10 year period and covering > the blighted streets of lower Manhattan (between Houston and Canal, > bounded by the rivers), changed my life. So, there is reason to > random > wanderings; I simply suggest that the wanderings may be more > productive > if they are initially focused on a particular project. > > If you're curious about the project that turned me from amateur to > fine > arts pro, you can see it at one of my gallery sites, Verve/Fine/Art in > Santa Fe, under my name (Irving Greines): > http://www.santafephotogallery.com/verve.php > > This series, called "Urban Wilderness---Chaos Transformed," changed by > life, and it all started from random wanderings, on a weekend when > I had > nothing to do. In the beginning, it didn't matter to me that anyone > view the images; it was purely for me and my own satisfaction or > dissatisfaction; however, as I got more and more into it, I started to > feel the project might have broader merit, and I started showing it. > One thing led to another, and . . . . And, the initial project led to > others and, ultimately, to a web site (www.greinesfineartphot.com.) > > So, go out and wander and shoot. From my perspective, having a > project > and exploring it deeply adds to the reward. > > Happy shooting. > > Irving > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >