Show or Tell?

I love photography.  I love taking pictures.  I love seeing pictures that other people have taken, whether it's street, landscape or whatever.  I love reading and looking at photography books and blogs.  It may sound silly to some people, but I feel like photography makes me feel complete. Whenever I go out, whether it's to run an errand, spend time with family or friends, go for a walk, etc., I find myself involuntarily looking for what would make a good shot, or I hastily reach into my bag for my trusty point and shoot to photograph a great moment before it's gone.

In a lot of what I've read, either in books or online, a lot of photographers favor not giving any kind of background on their photos and letting their work speak for itself, and letting the viewer try and figure out for themselves what is going on in the scene.  While I enjoy this method from other photographers, I myself go the opposite route.  Sometimes you need an explanation.  Not a ten page essay on the situation, but just a few lines about what you observed.

Union Square, NYC 

For this picture you couldn't not see this guy.  I'm not sure what his deal was.  He was just going up to people and talking to them and then moving on.  No story of any kind is needed for this picture (in my opinion, of course).  His unusual outfit speaks for itself.

This picture, in my opinion, needs an explanation and it can be found here.  This picture makes me laugh every time I see it, mostly because I remember my brother's reaction when I showed this to him.  

I like both ways of presenting photos.  Sometimes, a photo truly can stand alone.  Other times, an explanation just adds to the photo.  Every picture has a story, and sometimes sharing that story makes the viewer connect more to the photo.  It just really irritates me when I read about how things should be.  Photos either should be in black and white or in color, but not both.  You either should shoot street photography or landscapes.  You shouldn't have a story with your photos.  You should let the viewer make their own stories.  Personally, I feel that the only "should" is that you should shoot first and foremost for yourself.  If one day you feel like shooting landscapes and the next you're drawn more towards street shots, do that.  If you take photos based on what other people feel that you should do, isn't that like living your life for someone else?  Be creative.  Take risks.  If people like it, great.  If they don't, well that shouldn't be your problem.  As long as you are being true to yourself and your art, then photograph whatever moves you.

To Edit or Not To Edit

I finally caved and bought Photoshop.  I know that as photographers/amateur photographers, we should be well versed in any kind of program that will make our photography better.  I was always opposed to editing my photos.  I felt that if there was something in them that ruined the photo, I would rather get rid of the photo rather than alter it and remove the object.  I would just try to get a better photo next time.  I think my being opposed to editing was brought on by seeing overly edited photos.  It was almost like seeing a completely different photo than whatever it was that originally caught the photographer's eye.

All of this changed for me when I was out taking photos in the Bronx.  I went to so many places in the Bronx the week that this picture was taken, but I'm almost positive it was in Woodlawn.  I was walking down the street and walked past a cemetery.  After a while, I passed by a beautiful house which I could only assume was the caretaker's house.  I took this picture across the street, right by a gas station.

An absolutely gorgeous house ruined by an ugly yellow pole.  Since I had never really edited my photos in any major way, I never had the need for Photoshop, but as the days passed by, it started to gnaw at me.  That ugly pole looked so out of place.  So today I finally gave in and bought Photoshop Elements 12.  This is the result:

I think it looks much better.  I also removed the sign that was hanging on the gate.  Now I'm not saying that this is a good Photoshop by any means, but I'd say that for my first time doing this kind of editing, that it isn't bad.  I like how now when I see this picture, I focus on the house rather than the other distracting elements.  I still don't want to do any major edits on my photos, but a little fine tuning here and there doesn't hurt.

What are your feelings on editing photos?  Do you do some corrections here and there or are you opposed to editing in any form?

Consistency in Photography

I read a lot of photography blogs, and something that has come up on a few of them has been the need to be consistent in your photography.  I read one blog where the author said they don't like when they see a mix of black and white and color.  Another gripe was the mixing of street photography with the odd landscape shot.  While I can understand disagreeing with mixing street and landscape shots, even though I personally like to see a variety of photos, the dislike of mixing color with black and white confused me.

Sometimes a picture will look better in black and white and sometimes it will look better in color. Should a photographer miss out on good shots because it doesn't fit their usual style?  Doesn't that limit a person's creativity?  Or if they normally shoot in black and white, should they just blindly make everything black and white, even if color would make the shot more interesting?

I normally prefer my photos to be in color but every now and again I will mix it up a bit.  Take this shot for instance.  It would have looked nice in color, but I felt the black and white just added something.

The next day I was walking through Union Square in Manhattan and I saw the chess players.  I snapped this shot, but I left it in color.  I felt that the yellow of the school bus and the different colors of the children's clothes would not be as interesting in black and white.  

Personally, whenever I'm looking through someone's Flickr stream and I see pictures that are all basically the same, I click out.  For instance, if the pictures are close ups of people's faces, and you have hundreds of pictures of people's faces, they all start to look the same after a while.  It's a case of "Seen one.  Seen them all."  There is no variation that makes me want to continue looking at your photos.  I'm not saying one way of photography is the correct way.  Art truly is subjective.  Maybe someone likes looking at pictures that are just close ups of faces, or just black and white, or just color or whatever.  I just get confused when people say that you should either only shoot black and white, or only color, etc.  To me, photography is about what moves you.  What motivated you to take a picture that day?  I personally am a street photographer who prefers most of my shots to be in color, but every now and again I'll throw in a black and white shot or a random landscape.  Like this shot:

I love this shot.  I currently live in NYC, but I am just not down for living in a place where you can't even move without bumping into someone, where the noise never stops and where you can't just stop for a minute and breathe.  I took this shot yesterday when I was walking around in the Bronx. I've never been to the Bronx, but I had some free time yesterday and decided to take the 4 train to the very last stop.  Fine, the Bronx isn't exactly some isolated spot in the middle of nowhere, but it was definitely less intense than Manhattan.  I loved it as soon as I stepped off the train.  This is the kind of spot where I'd just relax and read and be able to spend hours just zoning out.  This spot was so beautiful that I had to photograph it, even though it's not the kind of shot I normally take, like this photo:

There is a variety in my shots and that is how I feel comfortable.  That doesn't mean that my way is right, but it doesn't mean that it is wrong either.  At the end of the day, photography is a creative outlet and however one chooses to express that creativity is the correct way for them.  I have to have a camera with me at all times.  The one time that I forgot to take my camera with me, I was so annoyed because I saw three amazing shots that I missed.  I don't get the same feeling of happiness that I do when I'm photographing what I see.  My mind is always wandering to "this would be a great shot", whether it's when I'm on the bus, or when I'm working at some desk job.  To me, photography is a way to document the present and leave a piece of it behind when we are all long gone.