Quotes
“. . . there is something predatory in the act of taking a picture. To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them they can never have; it turns people into objects that can be symbolically possessed.” — Susan Sontag
“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.” — Martha Graham
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you are looking at, then you are never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” — Donald McCullin
Links
Post-Processing
— Colin Smith: Luminosity masks in Photoshop This explains how to actually create luminosity masks to any degree of precision you desire. Luminosity masks let you select areas to modify according to how dark or light they are.
— Jesus Remirez: Masking
Field and Studio
— Making the best use of shadows
— Risks and responsibilities of street photography A thoughtful analysis, definitely worth reading.
— The Photographic Eye: Minimalism + composition tips
Miscellaneous
— Lensculture BW photography award winners
— The Art of Visual Storytelling Presentations by Sarah Leen, former Nat Geo photo director and JP Caponigro sponsored by Sante Fe workshops. Some good stuff about visual storytelling and why you should create personal work.
— A brief history of lens making
— David DuChemin: What lens should I bring?
— Aperture: Four stories of becoming a photojournalist
I did a double take when I saw the pigeon. The vendor readily agreed to let me take a picture and was clearly delighted that someone noticed his frient.
Richard,
thanks for this post. the article about street photography is a good overview of the issues , i will watch story telling and your photograph of the street food vendor is of a sweet moment
Thanks, Ran. Glad you are still watching the blog.
Regarding the Sontag quote… I started reading her book On Photography in the 1970s and found it so depressing I had to put it aside. Your quote in this edition of the Monday Missive reminded me of why I disliked her opinions so intensely. She just sucks all the joy out of the room.
I don’t disagree, at least based on this quote, but her book has a fairly significant impact on photography and is worth considering. I need to get a copy and read it through this winter, on some dreary, cold, rainy day.