photography as art vs. news

People have been asking me if I print any of my photos. Obviously they think some are "that" good. Nike does since they have some of my stuff up in their basketball art gallery at the Duggan gym in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

But I don't know? How does one determine the aesthetics line that differentiates photography as information versus a work of art - something beautiful in and of itself? Take a look at the three photographs I have posted here. The only post processing I did was to convert the picture of the man from color to B&W.

I'm thinking that each one has a story that begs to be told, an event that needs to be described, an emotion that needs explanation.

You take a look. You can decide for yourself.

News or art?

post processing playing

I have to admit that I'm not that good at post-processing work, like working with photographs in Lightroom or Photoshop but by playing, one gets better - right?

I call this selective color. I completely desaturate the photo so that it's basically B&W then add color with a special brush (in Aperture, it's called "brush enhance away")

Here, I've cropped some photos to get a tighter frame so that the eye isn't distracted from the main action taking place and the ball is the focus of attention for the viewer just as it is for the players.

Can you find the ball?  ;-)

my first "Tango shot"

As a photographer, we always seek to catch the perfect shot at just the perfect time. Not easy but very rewarding when we do. Plus, one hopes that the settings are right for the scene.

As you can see, I got the female in focus but the male is slightly "soft" although his hairdo gets so much attention, the viewer might not notice (unless another photographer).

This was a "Bon Appetit" fundraiser with local movers, shakers, dignitaries and politicians. I like these shoots because nearly everyone wants their picture taken especially since they're all dressed up. I get to mingle (smoozing my wife calls it) and get paid to take photographs.

Can't beat that.

the dark side of politics

See the photograph of the inside of the polling booth? Notice something strange? Like five people who can't be voted for since where the lever should be is a plug. This happened in an area of the West Bronx and three of those people are in the other photographs.

Is this a case of fraud as their supporters' signs are suggesting or rather a mistake since in years past, there weren't this many candidates listed and the people preparing the booths didn't notice?

A potential scandal in the making - a big one if intentional fraud can be proven or a minor one if the Board of Elections (BOE) is once again remiss in their work.

But the bottom line is that voters couldn't vote for their choices and the candidates got screwed (literally with black plugs)

there's nothing like a shiny red car to get ones attention

I was in Manhattan this morning doing an impromptu "Cathedrals in Manhattan" shoot for myself and on my way home I came by the Manhattan Ferrari dealership. What is it about shiny red cars that gets everyones attention? The color of blood? the color of passion? the color of speed?

I had to get special permission just to take photos. That's how special and attractive they are to the public. They just don't want any riffraff coming in off the street to take pictures of their prized cars. We couldn't have that, could we?

One can probably buy a decent house in parts of this country for the price of one of these. Anything sound not quite right about that? But it's worth it in terms of construction, reputation and engineering. The trademark stallion symbol of Ferrari has a long tradition cloaked in racing glory.

Hmm . . . I think I'll have one, thank you.

catching "the look"

I guess all photographers strive for this. We want to capture not the picture of you but "you". We want your image to reveal your soul. That serendipitous moment in time caught for posterity.

It's all about opportunity, that mixture of luck and preparation - an ineffable quality that might be akin to what all artists have: the knack to vicariously make a representation of reality, albeit real or abstract, the representation is "the look"

Maybe my lens' critical eye does this automatically? It should, considering how much I paid for it.

But whatever the answer, I like it when I can catch it.