Fine Art Photography – Is It Still Viable?

May 8, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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Dear friends, you will notice three differences in today’s photography podcast:

  1. Rick is missing (he’s in Naw’lins) but we’ve got an amazing guest to fill his shoes.
  2. There’s no featured artist or photographer this week as our guest, on behalf of galleries, features all artists.
  3. 95% of the show features intelligence and well-articulated thoughts – because our guest spoke for 94.5% of the show! But don’t worry, bizarre behavior and poorly-formatted thoughts will return next episode!

And [drumroll] Introducing… Ginger Fear!

Can photography still be a viable piece of art sold by a gallery?  If you’re a fine art photographer, you need to listen to this episode. As it turns out, there is actually a lot of potential and hope for photography (and other art) in the digital age and Jason even suggests some surprising actions to take.

A book for everyone in photography

If you shoot fine art photography, the information in this book is worth far more than the selling price

Seriously, this has to be one of our greatest shows ever. Jason Horejs, the owner of Xanada Gallery in Scottsdale AZ drops by and gives us incredible insights into the role of an art gallery and how photographers can do a better job getting gallery representation. His wit, knowledge, charm, and insight into the gallery world provided the show with a lot more information than we were expecting.

If you’re interested in learning more about the art world and Xanadu Gallery (where, in fact, they do not roller skate and wear satin pantsuits to Tony’s dismay), look for Jason at:

What do you think? Let us know here and on Twitter!

 

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A Retrospect – 1+41=42, Episode 42

April 24, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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Looking Back

Tonight is a different show. Any fool can take a look back at earlier shows when they hit a special milestone but it takes creative and talented fools to do it when there’s no particular reason. And we are, if nothing else, creative and talented fools! So, we took the opportunity this week to do a retrospect.

Alternative print process – the fine art nude

Looking back through all 41 previous episodes, we each chose our top three episodes along with an honorable mention. We didn’t tell each other which episodes we were choosing or why we chose them and it is interesting to see which episodes we did choose. Some were predictable, others were quite a surprise. Education was big on our list, as was networking and the importance of guests and what they brought to the show.

Then we did the same with our featured artists and photographers.

So give this show a listen and let us know here, or on Twitter, if you agree with our choice or disagree. What were your favorite shows up until now?

Don’t Forget!

We could really use your help to offset the financial cost of putting the show on (hosting, etc.) so why not treat yourself to some awesome Polarizing Images swag from the Polarizing Images Swag Emporium on CafePress?

Finally, a huge thank you to all of our listeners and guests – it’s been fun and we’re only getting better and bigger!

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Is Software the New Barrier to Entry? PI41

April 10, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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The New Barrier to Entry?

We start off with Rick trying to dial back his (seemingly) hatred of the French but then he turns his attention to the Basque region of Spain. But, hey, he does an Irish friend. If you’re familiar with the other podcasts that Tony is involved in, you’ve gotta be shocked that he is the voice of reason and sanity on Polarizing Images!

And don’t forget the new segment! Send us the name of a drink via our Twitter account – @PolarizingImage – and we’ll have Rick drink it through a Red Vine straw. Remember to tag the Tweet with #RedVineDrink.

Anyway, lots of good stuff in this episode once you get past our usual goofiness (A.K.A. the reason you keep coming back). Topics today include:

  • Do we really expect Tony to do any heavy-lifting? *Can* he?
  • If E&J is good enough for us, it’s good enough for hillbillies. Let’s just call it “domestic”… I wonder if Rick is blind yet?
  • With the cost of software, does that make it a barrier to entry? How about the learning curve of software?
  • Does keeping on top of software updates prevent the guys from updating their gear?
  • Is there a perfect tool or piece of software?
  • How terrible or lazy are actions and filters? (hint: Rob has changed his opinion)

Even just 20 years ago, it was quality camera gear that posed the greatest barrier of entry to being a professional photographer. You would never have dreamed about becoming a wedding photographer with “just” a 35mm camera and a couple of inexpensive zoom lenses. Today? Different story! But you need something for post production. Whether you’re buying high end applications like Photoshop (still the “gold standard”), paying less for a more appropriate version of Light Room, or stand alone apps and filters, your collection and library of software is going to grow and, regardless of how much you spend (or don’t) it all takes time to learn. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the time required to hone your craft as a photographer!

food photography and softwareOur Artists

Starting with our photographer, we look at Italian photojournalist Clay McLachlan. Want to see how a working (and successful) photojournalist sets up a seemingly easy food shot? Check out this behind the scenes video called Blue Bottle.

As an homage to Rick’s father, Rick chose the German-American architect, Helmut Jahn. Jahn was the architect behind the United Airline’s terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. And yes, at one time, O’Hare was an example of modern architecture. Chicago is a city filled with architectural history and relevance but, beyond that, a city of artistic importance. Anyone who wants to be a travel or architectural photographer will, at some point, need to travel to Chicago and see the works of influential designers such as Jahn.

 

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It’s All About Context… and the French – Episode 40

March 27, 2013 by Rob | 2 Comments

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Context is King

Okay, for the record, Rick does not hate the French. He seems really intent on convincing us that he doesn’t.

Too few photographers look at their work in the context of the subject or client. What makes an image important to the client or viewer is the broader context and meaning of the photograph. For example, would the picture by Addie Adams of the young Vietnamese girl running down the road after her village was hit by napalm be as powerful or have such impact if not set in the story of the Viet Nam war?

Topics today include:

  • Really, Rick doesn’t hate the French
  • “Dry Ginger” is not the porn name of one of our hosts
  • Context is key
  • How arrogance and fear prevent a lot of photographers from reaching their potential
  • Developing relationships with your subject or clients is critical
  • Surreal photographs existed before Photoshop!
  • Could the iPod have existed 20 years ago, even if they had the technology?
  • No, really, Rick does not hate the French!

 

Context is critical

© Jerry Uelsmann

Our Artists

This week’s photographer is Jerry Uelsmann. In particular, we were struck by the image shown here – created in 1969 and done entirely in the darkroom. So, for the post-production haters who think Photoshop has created too many “artists”, we’ll point them to Jerry and say it was being done before Photoshop. Beautifully developed as a black and white image, his work straddles that line between realism and abstraction.

Our other artist is Sir Jonathon Ives of Apple. Ives is the Senior Vice-President of Industrial Design at Apple and is responsible for some of Apple’s most iconic interfaces. Rick, an Apple fan boy (an “Apple-lyte” as Rob calls him/them) since the 80s, waxes poetic about Ives’ influence on design and suggests (correctly, Rob and Tony think) that the same design principles used by Ives’ can be used in photography.

“The word design is everything and nothing. The design and the product itself are inseparable” – Jon Ives.

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When Does (or Should) Your Photography Hobby Become a Profession?

March 13, 2013 by Rob | 4 Comments

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Photography: You Ready to Go Pro?

Holy shit, this sucker is one long show. Two freaking hours! Anyway, this show is based on a question that Rick and I (Rob) get on a regular basis. It usually goes something like “I’ve been shooting for a while and  I get lots of positive comments on my photography and now I’d like to start charging. Am I ready?”

Ugh.

It’s a tough question. Hell, we don’t mind answering it and for sure as shit’s sake we’ve been there, too. Rick and I are certainly tainted by their own experience, having been through the school of hard knocks, and would love to tell everyone asking this question to hang tight for a bit. But we also know that they won’t, so we try to talk about what we wish we had known and what we think every new photography professional needs to know before diving in. Here’s a hint, it’s a business so treat it like one!

Ugh.

Just as we were wrapping up the show, Rick asks an “innocent question” and then he and Tony start arguing for another damn half hour while I played Words with Friends. I think, dear listeners, that if you can make it through to the end of the show, you’re going to tilt on either what Rick says or what Tony says!

Our Artists

Since wedding photography is often the attempted path into professional photography, we look at one of the best wedding

Inspiration for photography can even come from a race car

Adrian Newey’s Red Bull RB&

photographers in the country, Chicago-based David Wittig. David’s photography shows his depth of experience with the wedding niche, an ability to connect with clients, and an ability to shoot great photographs that are unique to his style. If you’re thinking that wedding photography is an area you might want to get into, David Wittig is a photographer you need to be aware of.

Tony, never wanting to do anything normal, chose Adrian Newey as this episode’s artist. Newey designs Formula 1 race cars. They’re pieces of beauty and he creates game-changing designs.

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Is It Real or Is It Photoshop – and Who Cares?

February 27, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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Why the Hell is Photoshop So Controversial?

Photoshop: it’s a tool that, for some incredibly stupid reason, seems to be controversial. Some people love it, others hate, but the smart people know that it is just that – a tool to achieve and end-result. But what got us going this week was a comment from someone on Facebook regarding a photograph they had seen, “…wow, is it real or PS?”

C’mon, really? Just because a photograph has been through the Photoshop cycle, it ceases to be real? But that got us thinking – what does it really mean for a photograph to be “real”? Too many people confuse “real” with “realism”. Are Picasso’s works not “real” paintings because they don’t depict realistic subjects? You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who would take such a position. So why do we say that about photography and Photoshop? If I create a shallow depth of field through a lens choice that’s okay but if I add blur in Photoshop, then it’s not a real photograph? If I make a bride’s teeth whiter than they really are or, more to the point, than they appear because we’re under incandescent lighting, that’s not a real photograph but if the bride had her teeth whitened by a dentist, that’s okay?

This whole concept of post-production, regardless of the tool that’s used, has to stop. As long as the photographer/artist is trying to achieve an image that they see in their mind’s eye, why the hell should we care – or judge – how it was achieved? And we’re not even touching on the differences between using Photoshop to manually alter an image versus allowing a camera to do it outside of our control!

So, to all of you who believe that Photoshop renders a photograph “fake”, it’s time to allow your photography and creative vision to mature a bit.

 

Artists

Photographers have done post-production long before Photoshop existed

The Surrealist Photography of Kansuke Yamamoto

What about photography before there was Photoshop? Today’s photographer is Kansuke Yamamoto (1914-1987), an early surrealist photographer from Japan. His work included several pieces on film that, today, we would accomplish with Photoshop or other digital imaging tools but, as a film photographer, Yamamoto did his post-production in the darkroom. Are these “real” photographs?

What happens when you let Tony choose the artist? You get a musician! Today we have Captain Beefheart. As long as we’re talking about art being real without requiring realism, the good captain is actually an excellent choice for an artist who inspires. Especially in the realm of surrealism. Let’s let Captain Beefheart have the last laugh today:

“It makes me itch to think of myself as Captain Beefheart. I don’t even have a boat.”

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Photography Today, Is It Killing Off the Dinosaurs? Part 2

February 13, 2013 by Rob | 2 Comments

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Photography? No, really, we do talk about it eventually! As usual, the guys take the long way around to getting on topic as we have our usual discussion about what we’re drinking, why Rick will eventually play all seven dwarfs, whether Rob or Tony has the larger breasts and, well, you know by now…

Oh, and thanks to Mr. Sadie Breeze for preventing brain damage.

Photography, Dinosaurs, and When You Won’t Change

After the last episode’s emotional tirade about whether or not the photography industry still needs a traditional sales force, things come down in this second part. Instead, we talk about whether the film shooters and even the dSLR users today are being left behind by the advances of technology. Is there still a place for traditional print portraits? Is there still room for the fine artists? How about the RAW vs JPG argument: is that argument going to be irrelevant in the near future? And what about those guys who insist on only selling prints and not providing CDs? That’s an issue we need to deal with.

Let’s face it, photography is indeed changing and, as much as we want to believe differently, we don’t have the actual answers about what will still be viable five years from now. But one thing is clear – if you’re not going to be a visionary in photography then you’ll end up a dinosaur and, historically, we now how that ends.

Artists of the Fortnight

Dennis Hopper's photographyTony points us toward the amazing photography of Dennis Hopper. Sadly, Dennis is no longer with us but his work in photography remains with us. Rob believes that actors often make great photographers because they live their lives being creative. Regardless of why, Hopper himself has a body of work that is poignant and strong. Anybody who wants to get into the fine art side of portrait photography would do well to take a good long look at Dennis Hopper’s work.

For our artist, we look at the well-known Rembrandt. If there was ever a true Renaissance Man, Rembrandt was it. Schooled in math, science, art, literature and history, Rembrandt used that learning to develop a style of portraiture known for its sharpness and, of course, it’s lighting.

Don’t forget – Our Photography Book Review

Head on over to www.PolarizingImages.com now and take part in our book discussion, The Art of Photography!

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Selling Photography – Photography Today Is Killing Off the Dinosaurs

January 30, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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You want disagreement and yelling? Today we look at the people who are in the business of selling photography and are dragging their feet when it comes to change. But don’t worry, it’s a self-correcting problem.

We start off right on  target until Tony asks a seemingly innocent question – does a store really need a traditional, trained sales staff? Then shit gets serious and we think Rick may have started crying. He didn’t: turns out he was just speaking into a muted mic. But before we get onto the topic about selling photography, we need to bitch and moan about why Australia just wants to fuck with you and how a shark got it right in the 1960′s. Tony also thinks a sting ray got one right a few years ago. Too soon, Tony, too soon.

Selling Photography – Do We Even Need To?

We actually intended this to be more photography-related than it ended up being, but the reason for this topic is because a large and well-established camera store in Chicago is closing its doors and the guys think it was their inability – or unwillingness – to adapt to the photography industry today. It certainly wasn’t the skill level or experience of their staff as that has always been top-notch. But the store died the death of a thousand cuts. An online presence that was virtually non-existent, major retailer for Nikon and Canon but where were the other manufacturers, a lack of related tools (no audio gear, very little video support, no computers or software…)

Selling photography in today's industry is killing off the dinosaurs

Winston Churchill by Yousef Karsh

So what is more important when selling photography: a sales team or an educational team? Tony vehemently argues for the education, Rick passionately defends sales staff with photography experience, and Rob finds himself leaning toward Camp Tony where he’d usually be the first to call bullshit!

What are your thoughts? Does selling photography today require sales staff or educators? Leave us a comment on the site, call in your thoughts, or Tweet your reaction.

Our Fortnight Artists

We even manage to have a heated argument about our photographer, Yousef Karsh. You may not know his name, but you sure as hell know his work. Famous for his portrait of Churchill (seen here), he shot a lot of historically famous and significant people – many of those shots are still the iconic image for those people.But really, who amongst us today can have such access to famous, important, and polar opposite figures? Probably no one. Maybe an era really is over.

We don’t have “an” artist today. Rather, Tony introduces us to an artists’ collective, Papunya Tula (go ahead, sing their name to Hakuna Matata, you know you want to). This is a group of Aboriginal artists whose art is as much a form of communication as it is visual beauty. Their work reminds Rob of the folding lines found in Origami.

Oh yeah, Welcome you ignorant masses!

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Visionaries: Are There Any Visionaries Left in Photography?

January 16, 2013 by Rob | Leave a comment

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Visionaries – It’s a word that evokes a sense of artistry, focus, vision (d’uh) and, apparently, confusion…

Are There Visionaries in Photography?

The guys get down to discussing the finer points of the role of visionaries in photography until they realize that theymay not be talking about the same thing.

Oops.

Still, the guys have a lively debate about whether or not we can recognize visionaries while they’re actively creating art or if we can only recognize their influence after they’re dead – or at the very least, after the influence is over. Kind of like a gambling streak in Vegas, right? You never know you’re on a streak, you only ever knew that your were on a streak.

And what about the tie, or bond, between visionaries and technology? Can technology create, or destroy, a person’s vision? Or is technology truly just a tool that visionaries can use to bring their vision to life?

Our Artists

Our artists, on one hand, could not be different. But you can easily argue that they are very similar if we look at each one’s influence in their respective worlds. Either way, they are truly visionaries, even if you hate their stuff.

Was Robert Mapplethorpe one of the biggest visionaries of the 20th century?

Robert Mapplethorpe – love him or hate him, you can’t deny the importance that Mapplethorpe has had on the art world. Then, when you realize the time period in which he was most active, you can see see the boundaries that he had to cross and the limitations he had to break through. Definitely check out the documentary on him, Black White + Gray.

Emily Carr is one of Canada’s best known artists, was influenced by both modernism and post-impressionism and that is readily recognizable in her artwork. Her role as one of Canada’s artistic visionaries is still maintained and celebrated today, particularly in the province of British Columbia where she was also influenced by the indigenous peoples of the West Coast.

 

P.S. – Rick and Tony are totally wrong: Rob is freaking FUNNY!

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Episode 34: Photography Is All About… SQUIRREL!

January 2, 2013 by Rob | 2 Comments

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Elisha and Anne: are you available next week?

Tony is out sick for this episode and it’s left to Rick and Rob to record the show. Listen to what happens when two guys with attention deficit issues try to remain focused on a conversation. Witness for yourself Rob’s amazing talent of taking 5 minutes to set up a 5 second answer or Rick giving an awesome answer that has nothing to do with the question.

It’s a rather personal show, with R² (that’s shorthand for Rick and Rob) discussing their goals for 2013, their regrets of the past year, and their dream assignment. Of course, there is the usual oddball stuff liberally strewn throughout.

BTW, since we forgot to do the opening segment, Rob was drinking whiskey and Rick was drinking his homebrew. So now you know.

What else do we talk about? Well:

  • The difference between allowing mistakes and accepting mistakes
  • How the business of photography interferes with the art of photography
  • Can a style atrophy if you’re not careful?
  • Buy stuff from our CafePress Store (it’s a recurring theme)
  • Will Rob continue with figure studies in 2013?
  • Why photography can still be a viable profession
  • How the opening sequence to our first episode was like Masterpiece Theatre… on quaaludes

 

There’s neither a featured photographer nor artist this week but that will be back.

Happy New Year and, before we forget again, it’s absolutely critical that you never, ever… oh look, a puppy!

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