Human pixelization

 Days are passing for the photographer as images are vanishing even in our remembering faulty mind because, you know, photography has always been an instant frozen past that we have carefully recorded to grab some of that ephemeral reality that is surrounding us everyday. Yes, we cherish those pictures of something that simply doesn't exist anymore. Our memory is full of these souvenirs and nostalgia is always around the corner like a flavor that we want to preserve eternally. Ah! those moments are precious and by the cruelty of life they will disappear into the oblivion ocean.

We are living in the instant flash of digital civilization that never really understood the importance of the historic continuity of human cultural preservation. There is no more big collective historic preoccupation since secluded individualism have replaced cultural identity that have always been an essential of the human kaleidoscope. I don't really care about the universe, a notion that our small mind (or brain) cannot embrace even partially. No, I care about us, about my family, my friends, my fellow humans but it seems for this moment of our history, we are fewer and fewer to do so...

Who is interested to take the relay among us to perpetuate, all least momentarily, our perilous path in particular in regard of our inherent fragility to survive and to progress? Documenting is also a strong cultural representation of humanity and photography use to be one of the most powerful way of doing so. Man (and Woman, of course) in its reality, man in its action, man in its thinking, man in its progress but also man in its failures, man in its cruelty, man in its desperation.

We cannot simply abstract what we don't like or not agree and distort reality to some king of our own and false virtually that will sooner or later be vaporized. All the photographers of this world have a duty to preserve even a small instant of lucidity about its surrounding universe and share it.

Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-T20 / Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS (Lisbon, Portugal)

Reaching a « pro » altitude with an enthusiast but amateur budget!

 The question is: Do I have to spend a lot of money to get beautiful pictures? The answer is no as everybody already know perfectly. But why many of us cannot resist to the professional gear temptation?* That answer is less simple and far away from the usual assertion of getting more skillful, robust and durable camera gear.

In the bottom of our mind (but without admitting it), we love to own pro stated photo equipment of any kind and camera manufacturers have understood that ever growing trend into the consumer market. We like to mimic the "pro" perception that has been developed during the past four or five last decades of the traditional and analog photography era. It seems that nobody escape this "Graal" attitude even among the newest generation that have never been present during this "golden" era of photography.

So spending this huge amount of money for professional level camera gear is now a known fact that have spread all over the Web planet and can be seen for many other similar consumer toward product attractions including cars, electronics of all kind, computers, phones, etc. Are all these "pro" things really useful for us? We can debate it for hours, days, months and years but there is no definite answer. What is also symptomatic of this obvious trend is that the race for the best seems to never end because each manufacturers is renaming their products in reference with the previous ones but with updated improvements that you cannot ignore.

We are seeing this high-level or high-status consumerist phenomena That is corrupting almost all the space occupied into the photographic Web articles, chronicles, reviews or blog posts. And most important it seems also never end or, at least, reduce in pace or in importance because people are asking for it and if you don't respond to this appeal, you fall in disgrace and indifference. 

Is there a remedy for the "pro" enthusiast consumerism? Simply put, No! I would like to say yes but it isn't realistic today to go back to the basic idealistic interest for photography as it was decades ago. What we can assert about the pro endemic attirance, it is its obvious always rising cost. Since a few years the price level for such supposed niche photo gear have skyrocketed meaning that many of us are beginning to reflect about the futility to maintain this peculiar materialist attraction.

We won't try to launch an appeal to reason and ask people who are already determine to own pro photo equipment but we may say to the others that have a more realistic and practical approach about the gear they really need that, at the end, it will be for most of the time your pictures that will finally be seen and appreciated compared to the pile of "pro" ones that will not ever be finally show.

* P.s. I confess that I'm the first one to fall in this "pro" tempted people category! 

Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-E3 / Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS ; Canon ELPH 330

A photographic or an idealistic society that have lost its compass!

 Contrary of a today commun idea, pragmatism doesn't guide most of our actual social behavior. Instead it is almost only individual idealism that dictate the way we are choosing to live. In photography it reflects in our material search and acquisitions that are more intentions to show something that simply doing photography. Yes, this tendency to show more than simply doing is not new. We have seen this phenomena using the analog-film era where many people were "wearing" cameras that rarely been actually shutter released although we must add that the film support and its processing were substantially more expensive at the time.

Doing photography is not only about taking pictures but also to share and to show them. In that context, we are seing today much more auto-portraits (selfies) than documented pictures that offer a personal interpretive window of our surrounding universe. All those "self-faces" testimonies are creating a narrow-minded view of this planet and its diversity of places and peoples. Taking pictures is now a consuming act that limit its impact to the next ephemera picture that will replace the previous one.

All this is posing the fundamental purpose question about the place of photography in our life. Hopefully, since a few years, it seems that a conscious (or unconscious) reflexion have begun to emerge over many people involved into the many photographic fields. For one, the gear frantic acquisition syndrome (GAS) have lost its absolute dictature influence over many photographic enthusiasts as sales are now oriented to mature designed products however at an higher selling price point we must add. On a more cultural point of view, you can observe that photo exhibitions are still well alive offering that way good opportunities to look at different photographers works and projects. In one word, we are restarting to look over our personal fence to be again interested by someone else or by somewhere else.

We cannot emphasize enough how important it is for the future of photography (and humanity) to share all the diversity of visual interpretations created by photographers. Our recent human history is full of significant pictures that have guided and haunted us to our everyday life. Photography has a documentary duty and a cultural obligation to report, to share and to preserve the best as the worst of this humanity for the benefit of all the future generations. Let that shutter release working again and again, and show your pictures!

Photo Daniel M: Canon ELPH 330 (Antigua and Barbuda) ; Photo Manon P: iPhone 7 (Lisbon, Portugal)

Minimalist Kompozitions

  Small is beautiful or we might say that just few people can be more appreciated than a complete crowd, at least for some of us. But what the simplicity limit point in photography? Surely you need some kind of subject or a recognizable context as a reference. If not, it is only a blank white or black sheet (virtually or not). So, the challenge is to reduce the complexity of the picture subject but also to be able to leave enough visual information to the looker.

It is a bit like art painting where some great artists have created minimal canvas image presentation with just few patches of color. You can ether see in it as a scandalous way of provoking people or a new way of a very basic universe visual interpretation. We can also add that, at this point of the discussion, without any cultural references, it begins very difficult to define a specific emotion toward the work of the author. It is like symbolism without symbols.

We cannot really disregard some human tastes over our own and that can be said for the multiple photographic creativity interpretations. You just have to leave space for everybody to express themselves and we may discover at the end something new and inspiring.

Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-S10 / Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II

The imperfectionist photographer

 What is perfection? Trying to answer that is like trying to explain what is love (you may try but you won't be able to ever cover the entire subject for everybody!). Yes, we do use extendedly the word "perfect" on many occasions like a human reflex in face of a particular context or subject that may greatly impacted us. In photography, perfection is tabou because generally we don't accept that anybody can produce something perfect or near perfect except for some very rare pictures issued from reckoned master photographers. 

If there is no perfection in this world (that is still looking for!), but there is a lot of "imperfections" which, in my sense, represent the real essence of humanity by its diversity and originality. If you ask me, I have a tendency to avoid the stereotypes induced by perfection especially with people. In a way, perfection is not realistic as it should be desirable. Differences are part of our cultural heritage. It is part of our unique identity and imperfection can be observe in the nature of this universe.

In this fascinating world of photography, imperfections are observed into different narrative levels both technically and esthetically. In each case, it is a highly personal interpretive analysis because it depends which specific perspectives and references you are using to do so. For example a blurry subject or context in a picture can be acceptable if it is part of the intention of its author by suggesting movement or any other emotion involved when you are looking at it. 

Imperfection is often associated with derogations from the artistic traditional pattern imposed in the picture treatment. Composition is a good example of it because if you are exceeding the proclaimed rule of third to position your subject, you may be considered as an anathema in this wonderful photographer world.  So. perfection is dividing your frame by three horizontally and vertically "zones" that are creating  four line intersections for specific points of interest. But with time and observation, you may discover that the eye can travel very erratically when it is scanning a picture in its deep. So, the rule of third may be dismissed in profit of different subject distributions. 

We can argue the same distressing point of view about the so-call exposure accuracy for a specific light context. For example, strong contrast associated with black and only white tonal grades can create beautiful silhouette effects. The choice of how you want to "expose" your subject is only revelant of which   final rendering you are looking for. And so again, imperfection is becoming a kind of perfection f its own.

You can go further by discussing about focus or unfocus, clear or blurry, color accuracy, etc. All these are part of the photographer own interpretation and experimentation. They can emphases the author emotions upon his/her photographic subject. And finally they can provoke to his/her attended auditoire different retroactions for the everybody beneficial. Photography is an art and as an art, all kind of "imperfections" can be reached over times and over people. 

Photos Daniel M: Panasonic Lumix G95 / G Vario 12-60mm Power OIS