Fuji Well that was cathartic

AndyMcD

All-Pro
I'e been on Flickr for 10 years now, and had amassed over 3,000 pictures on my photostream. Last week I decided to remove all the dead wood from my account, and went through culling them.

I now have just over 100, which I consider to be my best work - I might go through these again and cut even further back. It's funny how your perception changes looking back on pictures that you thought were good at the
 
I did something similar recently, and agree that it's satisfying. If you only keep excellent photos, you'll only have excellent photos.

I think the passage of time makes it easier to assess a photo on its own merits. Didn't Garry Winogrand write something about that? That you need to separate how you felt when you took the photo, from the photo itself?

It would be interesting to see the result if we could choose the ten best photos of each others work, here on the forum. I wonder how consistent the selections would be....
 
It would be interesting to see the result if we could choose the ten best photos of each others work, here on the forum. I wonder how consistent the selections would be....

An interesting thought and an interesting exercise which - no doubt - would have very interesting results!

I don't think they would be consistent, due to how images resonate differently with individuals. What do you think?
Often images I post that I am proud of and have worked hard on finalising, get few accolades online, but quick cellphone snaps of a sunset get loads of likes.
So, who's to say what's good or bad in the end
 
An interesting thought and an interesting exercise which - no doubt - would have very interesting results!

I don't think they would be consistent, due to how images resonate differently with individuals. What do you think?
Often images I post that I am proud of and have worked hard on finalising, get few accolades online, but quick cellphone snaps of a sunset get loads of likes.
So, who's to say what's good or bad in the end
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. Always has been, always will be!
 
A professor in an art history class long ago taught me the three key questions to art criticism:
What did the artist set out to do? Was it done well? Was it worth doing?
It's that last question that's the tough one, it seems to me. Worth doing implies that a really good photo breaks new ground in some way.
 
It's that last question that's the tough one, it seems to me. Worth doing implies that a really good photo breaks new ground in some way.
There are so many different reasons for taking a photo. Are we talking fine art photos? Or travel images, or fashion spreads for a magazine, or simply family snaps or pics of the dog?

Surely not everything can break new ground and sometimes the old and familiar bears repeating

(Devil's advocate mode switched on but also musing these points)
 
There are so many different reasons for taking a photo. Are we talking fine art photos? Or travel images, or fashion spreads for a magazine, or simply family snaps or pics of the dog?

Surely not everything can break new ground and sometimes the old and familiar bears repeating

(Devil's advocate mode switched on but also musing these points)

These questions framed an approach to art criticism. I think documenting travel daily life is an undertaking with different intended outcomes. As you say, many different reasons.
 
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