Comments for The BIG Photo Blog

Comment on Gender Bending Assignment by serwis canon

serwis canon — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:23:03 +0000

Good ideas, good post.

Comment on Basic Lighting Setup by Jamie Lenson

Jamie Lenson — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:22:18 +0000

Interesting, learn something new every day..

Comment on Gender Bending Assignment by Todd

Todd — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:47:42 +0000

Conrad, not only have I read her work, but I spent considerable time speaking with Judith personally. It’s plainly obvious that the question of her gender (as perceived by others) causes others to question if it’s okay for a woman to be “masculine.” Obviously, she’s perfectly comfortable in her look (and is a terrific person), but clearly society is not. How else do you explain her “Bathroom Test” reference to her being questioned about using the ladies room? Her work is about how society determines and perceives gender, not just about being comfortable in your own skin. Questioning what a masculine look is and how it influences a persons perception of gender is why I’m curious about what gender readers think she is. Do the tattoos influence your perception of masculinity? How about the “tough” poses, the short hair or the rolled up sleeves? If she had stood in a more “feminine” way, would that have influenced your perception of gender?

Unethical waters? That’s a wild stretch.

Comment on Gender Bending Assignment by Conrad Honicker

Conrad Honicker — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:01:57 +0000

If you read this person’s work, I’m sure that you would not be asking that ridiculous question.

It doesn’t matter what I think — it matters how your subject identifies. Hopefully, you cleared it with them and made sure it was ok for people to be taking hacked guesses about their identity. Otherwise, you’re definitely treading on unethical waters, Todd.

Comment on A Warm Winter Day in Yosemite by Todd

Todd — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:06:49 +0000

My pleasure, Jeni. It’s a beautiful place to visit any time of year!

Comment on A Warm Winter Day in Yosemite by Jeni Craswell

Jeni Craswell — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:59:45 +0000

Thanks Todd, I have fond memories of my family’s annual 2 weeks in August on Tenaya Lake (where I understand you can’t camp anymore) and I’ve always dreamed of going in winter!

Comment on Basic Lighting Setup by Vintage Photography

Vintage Photography — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:14:56 +0000

I’ve seen a couple of effects on some videos on youtube and I would love to know what set they’re in, I asked the video maker but the only thing they told me were they were called Ektachrome, Cafe something and they also had a couple of effects called bleached and ‘Sci-fi’. I’d love to know what the sets were called, if anyone could help I’d much appreciate it..

Comment on If “Citizen Journalist” is Acceptable, Why Not “Citizen Lawyer” or “Citizen Doctor” by Dj

Dj — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:57:01 +0000

Paper fooled by contributor who submits composite photo

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=39316

Comment on If “Citizen Journalist” is Acceptable, Why Not “Citizen Lawyer” or “Citizen Doctor” by Todd

Todd — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:42:17 +0000

Yes, there are that many ethical and legal issues. But if you have to ask that question, with all due respect, then it’s obvious that you are unaware of them. Are you well versed in the DMCA? (honestly, don’t go goggle it, read it for 5 minutes and pretend to “know” it because that would get you sued in a millisecond). How thorough is your understanding of Copyright Law? If I quizzed you right now on the legality of photographing at a TSA checkpoint, a Federal building, a courtroom or the inside of a private residence, would you know the legal parameters? To give you one, simple technique scenario, would you understand how to shoot a high key portrait of the CEO of a company when you have 5 minutes to get it done and need to use a 3:1 lighting ratio with a Octabox as the main and a grid on a seamless so the creative director and do a silhouette? How about multimedia, would you understand B-roll and how to avoid the echo sound or wind noise when interviewing a person on the go? My point, again, is simple: Anyone can be a photographer, but the difference between pros and amateurs is the difference between someone who can put a slew of 2×4′s together to form a wall and someone who can engineer a 1 mile wide bridge. CNN and others who lean toward “User Generated Content” see a decline in quality immediately.

Comment on If “Citizen Journalist” is Acceptable, Why Not “Citizen Lawyer” or “Citizen Doctor” by derek

derek — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:44:44 +0000

But I’ve heard of professional photographers doing unethical things as well, including staging photos and editing things out with Photoshop. And of course reporters have had their own scandals as well. Just having knowledge or a certain level of expertise doesn’t, of course, make you an honest person.

Are there really that many ethical rules and issues regarding photojournalism, or journalism in general, that you need to study them for years and years? I would think any news organization going to make serious use of user-generated content could come up with an code of ethics that might take up a page or so, and an hour to learn. The NPPA’s code of ethics look pretty good to me. (Not that there aren’t sticky ethical issues in the business, of course, but those usually involve what to publish and are made by the bigwigs).

Regarding your example — it’s hard to evaluate a bridge, just by looking at it. You need to do a whole inspection. It might be a little simplistic to say you can tell a good photograph, just by looking at it. But … you kinda can.