iOPS 1.3 - Tuesday 21st April 2020 at 8pm

[Bazza]

I feel His work is concerned with storytelling and the search for light and beauty in the ordinary. 👌

[David Barnes]

There are different sorts of photography. It seems to me that "Club photography" as judged has almost no subject content, no story. It's about sharpness "where needed", no blown highlights and so on.

[Alan Graham]

Could club photography be too inward-looking? The style of images going the way of the judges? It's good to explore new styles like this one tonight, 'deadpan'. Not heard of it before. Storytelling with images is important and often last the test of time.

[Paul Brett]

So what does good look like?

[Ian Stedman]

Paul Brett wrote

So what does good look like?

That depends on the judge.

I have found the two evenings where we critique the photos to be interesting, it's nice to get other viewpoints. Actually discussing the photo and getting feedback from the photographer has made it interesting. I hope we have not scared June away after the critique of her photo but after she explained the style the photographer was going for and thinking about the various advertising photos you see around, it makes sense. That discussion with the author, changed my perspective on the photo a little.

Maybe we should have the photographer standup and tell the story of the photo and then let the judge loose?

Alan Graham wrote

Could club photography be too inward-looking? The style of images going the way of the judges? It's good to explore new styles like this one tonight, 'deadpan'. Not heard of it before. Storytelling with images is important and often last the test of time.

I do think some judges are from a bygone era and the styles they expect to see and how they are presented are like them, near retirement. Styles and fashions change but the expected subjects and presentations have not and I think this is a barrier to club entry for the younger generation. I see many pictures on Instagram & Flickr that look great (in my opinion) but if you applied the usual judging criteria, you would not rate them highly.

As a corollary,  I prefer modern art and street art to classical art. Whilst some of the topics for modern art are crazy, they make me think about and discuss it. The 'old masters' bore me. I've been to the Tate Modern six times, Tate Britain, only the once.

Good photography, like good art, is something you want to go back to and admire, discuss and be inspired by. What constitutes good is different for each generation.