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Is Software the New Barrier to Entry? PI41
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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!
Our 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.
Posted in Podcast
Also tagged Actions, Amateur, barrier to Entry, Business, Clay McLachlan, Clients, Comfort Levels, Critique, editing, filters, Future, Helmut Jahn, hybrid photography, Like, obsolete, Photography, Photoshop, post production, Professional, Software, Techniques, Twitter
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Is It Real or Is It Photoshop – and Who Cares?
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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
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.”
Posted in Podcast
Also tagged Art, Captain Beefheart, editing, film, Fine Art, hybrid photography, Kansuke Yamamoto, Meetup, Photoshop, post production, Printing, Surreal, Techniques
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Networking – Episode #33, Networking with Other Photographers
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How Important is Networking?
Networking? Really? Yeah, believe it or not, a lot of photographers (the three of us included) are firmly of the opinion that our art, skills, and techniques can only improve when we’re willing to talk to other photographers. Whether we are giving/receiving critiques, asking/answering questions, or just shooting the shit with other people behind the lens, networking is where we grow.
We’ve bitched (a lot, actually) about those shooters who keep everything to themselves and refuse to share their “secrets”. To those guys (and, yeah, they’re almost always guys) we say, “spoiler alert – your secrets are nothing more than cobbled-together tricks you read in widely available books.” So get over yourselves.
As Rob points out, this podcast only exists because Tony believes in networking with other photographers and Rob believes in the same. Think about some of the great guests we’ve had on the show: from Ted Forbes to Giulio Sciorio to Steven Chappell: all great photographers who also understand the importance of collaborating.
I could go on, but you get the point! BTW, speaking of collaborating, don’t forget to leave a comment or call our line and leave a message.
Our Artists
Leonard Nimoy’s Shekhina
With two of the three guys being Trekkies, it’s a good thing that the third (Rob) is writing the show notes – that’s how we’ve avoided the obvious Star Trek references when we look at our highlighted photographer, Leonard Nimoy. Tony and Rick are both wrong when they guess that Rob’s main attraction to Mr Nimoy’s photography is the dance section. Nope, gotta check out Shekina. It’s his interpretation of the feminine nature of God. With a fine art twist, of course! Like his work or not, Rob is completely entranced with his photography!
Rick, keeping with his “Seriously, WTF?!” artist theme, chose the director David Lynch as the featured artist. From Twin Peaks to Blue Velvet, Lynch’s non-traditional approach to film making is a real inspiration not only to the three guys but should be to all photographers (and artists) looking to work outside of that proverbial “box”. Nimoy and Lynch, as artists, may be too famous for networking with but there are plenty of artists who are following their paths. We just have to find them and learn to trust their vision.
Posted in Podcast
Also tagged Art, Collaboration, Critique, David Lynch, Forums, Giulio Sciorio, hybrid photography, inspiration, Leonard Nimoy, Meetup, networking, Podcasting, Social Media, Steven Chappell, Ted Forbes
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And We’re Live! Episode 28
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After months and months of talking about it, we finally got together with a bunch of listeners (and members of our CDP group) for an afternoon of shooting and an evening of eating, drinking, and recording. Thanks for coming, everyone!
We ended up recording at the studio with a special guest who we’ve been wanting to get on the show for a long time: Ivan! The four of us got together and tried to have a relatively cohesive discussion about the role of social media and networking for photographers. Warning, if you’re looking for a sober and in-depth conversation, we do have it but you’ll have to wade through some drunken rambling. But wait, you should be used to that by now.
Social media and photography: Good, bad, or otherwise?
Like it? But I Don’t Like It!
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Finally, Tony and Rob disagree on a topic. And we like it!
Like or Dislike?
Are you one of those people that hits “Like” on a regular basis? Actually, it doesn’t matter if the button says “Like” or subscribe or list or add or… could you possibly be contributing to the dilution of photography’s impact? In today’s topic Tony, Rick, and Rob talk about the Like button and how we see it as being a problem for photography.
The questions we (try) to cover today are:
- Are people just hitting the like button with out thinking?
- How does this impact photographers?
- Has it killed personal tastes?
- How do we stop from falling into the trap of just hitting the like button?
- Are there any upsides to this?
- Is there anyway/need to solve the problems it causes?
- Is it possible that, when we require standards, we can make art less accessible? Art needs to be accessible but where is the line between being available and just being inundated with 500 crappy pictures of a person’s vacation?
We get on a pretty good bent about whether we need to have people adhere to standards, should we go to smaller, more personal communities, or even look back about 10 years on the internet when Web Rings were all the rage? The one thing that becomes clear in this episode is that we don’t have an answer (just a bunch of opinions).
Please leave a comment on the post to let us know if you agree or disagree. Better yet, let us know what you think is a viable solution to the problem.
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Today’s artist is Norman Lindsay.
Today’s photographer is Joe McNally. Oh, and here’s the link to the YouTube video of Joe that Rob refers to in the episode. This guy goes places that none of us three would ever dare! Well, maybe Rick.
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Also tagged Criticism, Critique, editing, inspiration, Joe McNally, Like, Norman Lindsay, Social Media, StumbleUpon, Twitter
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Social Media and the Business of Photography
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A Repost of a radio interview of Rob and Rick by Conrad Hall from Social Media: Cheap and Easy. It’s a good interview but the volume is really low. Sorry about that!
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Also tagged Business, Chicago, Collaboration, Meetup, Naperville, Photography, Podcasting, Social Media, Twitter
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