Korea Images / Discuss

devinjoness says:

I’m going to suggest something that is based on the assumption that most people would like to have a few fellow photographers with whom they can share their work openly and honestly. No holds barred kind of stuff. If you think I’m wrong, this might not be for you.

As far as photo criticism is concerned, flickr is like a slum alleyway at night. You rarely find anything of genuine use and people can lob whatever debris they want at you from the shadows. Maybe you think that’s a cynical view, and maybe it is, but that’s the way I feel. Though many comments are well-intentioned, I can count the number of good tips I’ve been given on flickr on one hand. Why? Here’s my opinion. Not many people look at a photo for very long before they respond. If you don’t like it, you simply ignore it. If you like it, you say “hey mate, good job!” and then walk away. If you’re in one of those well-meaning groups that require you to comment before posting, there’s a chance that you’re so focused on plowing through the comments in order to get your picture up that you end up saying generic, technical things like “nice tones” or “the highlights are blown” or maybe even the dreaded “…is great but, _______ bugs me.” I tend to do all of these things.

Long story short, I want to hammer down a different approach. I have some ideas I’d like to run by you. Since many of us are near a subway stop and don’t have to travel far, what I’d like to do is have a group of photographers get together, imbibe copious amounts of alcohol (optional), and comment freely, face-to-red face, on each others’ work.

My Ideas:
-Monthly or bi-monthly meetings at a bar, restaurant, house, or studio space.
-Send the organizer of the event three (preferably unpublished) photos before the meetup.
-The organizer will then have smallish prints made of each, number them randomly, and bring them to the meeting shuffled with no names on them.
-We’ll sit at a large table eating/drinking/whatever and pass the photos around three at a time.
-Each person will have five minutes to look at each set, which they will then pass to the person on their left.
-When a person sees a photo that they like, they write down the number of the photo. Each person can choose only a select number of photos (depending on how big the group is).
-When everyone’s seen everything, each person must say which photos they liked and why they liked them.
-The liked ones will be published in a flickr group (or perhaps discussion thread of one of the bigger Korea groups already in existence).
-The favorite may win some kind of nominal prize or online recognition. Nothing too special. Interaction and appreciation over competition.
-After we do the photo circle, individual members can ask for further critique of their images.
-Perhaps we can pass it around a second time and be more critical, offer suggestions, etc.

These ideas came from an activity in which I participated in the past. It rocked viciously hard. However, it was haiku and not photos. Photography is a large genre. For instance, I can appreciate macro shots of insects or beautifully well-planned strobist photos, but I’m not particularly interested in shots like this. We’d have to narrow the scope a bit. I say let the group decide what is acceptable. Obviously we won’t narrow it to something like “black and white ironic analogue street photography” or other wildness. I just don’t want to have to look at gritty black and white film semi-nude modeling with one eye and large format mountaintop panoramas with the other. It could be a little jarring.

What’s the goal? To create a community that not only shoots, but critiques and improves together, to expand horizons through dialogue, and to have a good time doing it.

What do you think? Good idea or no? I’d be happy to hear your comments and suggestions.
Posted at 11:40PM, 10 January 2012 PDT (permalink)