Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/10/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>As far as I'm concerned, photography is meaningless >unless it communicates something to me. I know everyone on the list has >seen photographs like the ones I am describing. Please either confirm my >feelings or explain to me how blind I am being! How can intelligent gallery >owners fall for such pretension? TIA for your opinions. Tina Tina I agree with you 100%. I had one of these "art" types for a teacher when studing photography in college. I was working as a stringer for the local metro paper and shooting for the campus paper, while majoring in photojournalism - but the instructor for one to the more advanced photoclasses was one of these art types. I would turn in the same work that was for the front page of the paper (one of the largest in Tennessee at the time) and he would throw it in the trash and rant and rave about haow bad it was. Finally, just to pass the class, I started shooting shots of rocks on the side of the interstate - totally meaningless and worthless photography and a waste of film. He loved this BS and I made an A in the class. He would go on about how I must have spent hours (I spent usually a total of 5-10 minutes) working on these photos. What an idiot. Unfortuantly many in the class listened to this guy and if they are in photography at all they are working at a photo lab or store. I think they are not shooting because they believed his words of "wisdom" then when they hit the real world they were quickly disillusioned and just gave up. Now this fool is the head of the department at my old school. Jst one of the reasons I refuse to give money to that institution of "lower" education. They did have one great teacher, former Miami news photo editor, co wrote book with Angus MacDoogal, graduate and former instructor at the University of Misouri - but they denied her tenure because she clashed with the other guy. She believed in teaching kinds of photography that sold. She even had Annie Griffiths-Belt, and several other really good photographers come to the school once for a seminar. All I can say is thank goodness I was in school while Veita Jo was still there or no telling what I would be doing now. Of course I guess some of these art types probably get a government grant and shoot out of focus muddy photos and make more money than I am! As far as I am concerned if you can't get an audience for your work get a day job and do your thing on the side. Harrison McClary http://people.delphi.com/hmphoto