Witta, this is a very good question (and indeed a serious) conversation starter.

What I am about to discuss, I also shared with the VP of PSA membership, Lewis Choi, on our Zoom meeting late last week. One of the consequences of the digital photography revolution is a lot more people can access photography: I mean, without worrying about buying and developing film, the entire process is quite effective…and less expensive, well, at least after investing in a decent camera system. With the masses once again presented with a photographic process that enables more people to engage in capturing photos more readily and less expensive (the first revolution came in the late 19th Century when taking pictures became more affordable and easier with the advent of smaller and quicker films…etc.… we can delve into this conversation at another time).

Out of this climate grew photography clubs, guilds and online institutions (like the PSA, for example, though the PSA was also dominant in the film era), as well as online galleries. One of the consequences of group meetings and/or critique groups, is a need/desire to “compete in online and local competitions�.

I suggest we have changed our view of what constitutes Fine Art photography:

Here we see a paradigm shift in how students of photography (and I am mostly speaking to club and online generation of photographers) initially approach and contemplate the artistic values/merits of their work: it has become all about how a particular work will be accepted in competitions rather than studying photographic work for the sake of its “artisticâ€� nature or appeal: in other words, narrative and aesthetics has taken a back seat to “compositional valuesâ€� as it relates to "Club-competitions". We also ask questions that begin withɉ۪so, is my work OK to enter a competition?’ or ɉ۪is it contest worthy?’ We talk more about the “rule-of-thirdsâ€�, for example, sometimes in a tone or manner that seem absolute, where in my workshops I do not discuss the rule-of-thirds but for a brief moment, and instead discuss in great detail the process of “visualizationâ€� as a means of inspiring creativity and compositional structure that is engaging, provocative and may well be viewed “non-competitiveâ€� to local club pictorial agendas.

Indeed, a lot of work designed (approached) this way is not incentivized towards contests, but instead are works trying to project the values held within the “Art of Photography� from a traditional posture. Fine Art Photography is commonly shared next to digitally designed/created photographs (e.g., composites for one example), but should also be shared next to examples of Ansel Adams pictorial Landscapes or any creative piece, regardless of genre (e.g., landscape, portrait, architectural, abstract, or pieces processed through exacting digital means, for examples). In the end, we have a large audience with an array of well intentions as it relates to photography-art, or fine art photography all of whom born from within the digital photography revolution. As such, it is difficult to find clear and concise opinions on a wide range of photographic styles.

Hoping this short dialogue put some perspective into of your question. I look forward to continuing this important discourse, Witta. Thank you.

(Please visit our groups Bulletin Board for other discussions you and other DD-77 participants may be interested in).

Best regards,
Lance A. Lewin
PSA Black & White Photography Mentor
PSA Admin DD-83 Mono & DD-87
PSA South Atlantic Membership Director

  Posted: 08/22/2021 20:17:02

Thanks Georgianne. I like this idea a lot.   Posted: 06/27/2020 18:25:09

thanks for the posting, and this challenging subject. While I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, I think the real challenge is to know what it is that we really want to express, and still be devoid of any attachment to how many others react to it. It seems to me that the communication from the heart that is the essence of creativity, lacks completion to the creator until it is accepted by another. Perhaps choosing our expression and scattering its seeds to the wind is a way of hoping to generate contact with someone who will be touched by our attempt to communicate through our art! If we never seem to get such a connection, it takes a strong person not to grieve a little!   Posted: 03/31/2020 21:07:06

Great discussion topic!

Few of us know what we are passionate about and what our subject is. Creating art is a quest to find out. Whether something is truly "fine art" is in the "eye of the beholder." In reality, fine art (like music) tends to be defined by the art cognoscenti who ultimately determine what is held up as the best. Sometimes what they say is not necessarily the best.

I recall the times i was tortured by the 12-tone music movement. The music academicians tried to push it, but ultimately the audience spoke. There are some parallels in the visual art movements through the ages.

From a personal standpoint, I agree with Georgianne that art creation is an expression. Ideally the art touches someone. It doesn't have to make someone feel good necessarily, but to feel some kind of connection.

I have heard retrospective talks from artists who say they didn't know initially what their style was or their purpose, only that they were compelled to create. It is interesting to see how a person's art evolves as they find their way in the world.
  Posted: 04/01/2020 00:08:08

Agree. Those are some cool shots.   Posted: 11/11/2019 18:00:29

Karen, Good job getting the background in so flawlessly. It works well and adds light, interest, and story. Two thoughts: 1) trying to somewhat separate the top of the hat from the background would perhaps improve the image, and 2) if you use a background that you yourself did not photograph or create, you cannot enter the image into a PSA competition (or likely another other organization's), since the final image is not totally your own work.   Posted: 09/29/2019 13:39:49

Karen, it is a "cracking" great image, in my opinion. If you want to do something to it, my thought is to slightly lighten the background and to very slightly tone down the bright spot under the figures right eye, on the side of the cheekbone.

Those suggestions are just for something alternative to try, though I think the image stands well as it is.   Posted: 09/27/2019 16:29:58

Karen, I love this image just as it is. No need to do anything to improve it. Well done!   Posted: 09/27/2019 23:26:56

Many thanks for your wonderful comments .. this is the image I have now ended up with after listening to the judges comments on Tuesday evenings first competition of the season
Please excuse watermark as only responding on my phone at the moment and this is an image I've got off my Facebook   Posted: 09/28/2019 07:08:15

Excellent! I thought it was perfect before, but I agree that this one is even better. Nice job!   Posted: 09/28/2019 22:13:15

I agree with Jim. I like this even better. The classic background, in a brighter contrast, really makes this look better to me. Perhaps that is because of my age/life experience of seeing classical looking stuff before the more modern textural look.

What was your process in the total creation of this final image? Did you insert the first background in editing, or was it just the original background against which the model posed? What was it that struck you about the current background and what type of backgrounds did you NOT want?

  Posted: 09/29/2019 01:25:12

Thanks Connie. The composition of your image is lovely.

It's interesting that you are inspired by music and reading, as well as photography. In my opinion, everything that triggers the creative impulses within, contributes in its own way to what we can create.

Years ago, I met a man who saw colors when he heard music. Apparently, there are many people who have that same mental gift. Reading what you wrote and seeing your image reminded me of him. He was actually a teacher, who was trying to get his students to visualize to music.

When I was in grade school, we were taught something similar. After teaching us various artistic techniques, we were placed in several situations, including one with our eyes closed, in which we were told to create a picture while listening to music. I loved those classes!   Posted: 09/26/2019 23:30:21

I like your image Connie and I can see why your B&B hosts would enjoy this as well. I am at the PSA conference in Spokane. Last night Cole Thompson spoke about finding one’s vision and the importantce of creating images that pleased himself without regard to others. So I am glad to see that you created an image that pleases you!   Posted: 09/27/2019 03:49:28

Mary, your image of the two friends is so lovely! I'd love to see what that final vision of yours looks like. To me, its current state is quite outstanding. I love the way the eyes and lips are so predominant.

The ability to express what one is feeling is primary for both of your process approaches. I love that you have both. It's sort of like the ability to visualize is the force that brings together all of your experiences and acquired tools in a mish-mash, from which a cohesive product ultimately emerges. That product is then tailored to fit what best expresses your feelings about your vision, be it a pre-vision or one that develops as your work is molded.   Posted: 09/23/2019 12:22:17

Georgianne, I'm so glad you asked these questions, since, like you, I'm currently in the mode of thinking about my art and about fine art. I look forward to seeing your answers and those of our other group members.

As for me, I rarely set out to create a fine art photo, since I tend to photograph whatever comes my way. But since joining this group, I have been looking at my new captures a little differently, asking: Is this the stuff of "fine art"? (I rarely go back to an old photo, except for textures or some part to use in a composite.)

I'm definitely in the "play until something emerges" camp, since I have the skills and enjoy learning new techniques and playing in Photoshop. Oftentimes it's a combination of images from a single day that inspires me. This one combines a photo taken at the pier at dusk, and then fireworks from later that night.

In regards to how to prepare for inspiration, I do regularly look at the work of others -- in magazines and advertisements, on various websites and in newsletters and announcements, in galleries, wherever. Sometimes these images spark an idea -- flip the image upside-down, do a multiple of some sort, think about oblique lines, color spots, etc.

Sometimes one of my photos just grabs me and I wonder how I can make it more pleasing, more powerful, more dramatic, more interesting, more better...   Posted: 09/22/2019 19:54:09

Witta, I really like the image you posted!

I too, have followed the path that you explain: looking at others work, then starting with a photo I like and playing with it until an intriguing direction appears, and then following that path until another fork in possibilities appears.

What got me thinking about that approach, was a rude awakening (literally). I woke with something in my eye, and that escalated into a sinus headache, eye pain, and a drippy nose. So I took some aspirin and an allergy pill, and went back to bed, miserable. Unable to sleep, I turned on a meditation video on my cellphone. It was one that took me with sounds, down the Mississippi River, as if I were a Mark Twain character. In my mind's eye, I saw the rushes, the cattails, the tall waving grasses, the swirling greenish waters, the overhanging trees as I moved down the river. So many memories from my youth came back, pleasantly. My mind and body relaxed and I was filled with appreciation. Visions appeared in my mind, bits and pieces from my past, and I felt like a child again, seeing and appreciating those visions for the first time. I realized that when my mind and body are relaxed, my creative juices started to flow much more abundantly. I could and did visualize something I want to create, from finding the initial place to photograph, through painting it with PS tools, to output a fine art composition.

My training is to learn and use the tools first, and gradually evolve an image into something I like (but others often don't!). I think now I want to practice relaxing and visualizing, and then go on the hunt for a means to bring a visualization into reality! To me, it seems harder that way. But I do have the tools now and need to work on the inspiration!   Posted: 09/22/2019 23:42:51

This is a close approximation of my vision while listening to a Mississipi River sounds meditation today. I found three images in my own collection and put them together, and then applied a Topaz Impressions Georgia OKeefe effect to it, since it needed a 'non-documentary' look to fit my dreamy vision! The 3 images were taken at 3 different South Carolina locations, but they fit well together to construct my vision. I call it Mississippi Dreaming.   Posted: 09/23/2019 02:03:52

What a beautiful and restful image!   Posted: 09/23/2019 02:10:26

thanks Bunny. It was reflective of a restful inspiration! However, I can do without the sinus problem in order to convince myself to relax with a meditation!   Posted: 09/23/2019 02:13:10

Bunny, it seems as though the definitions of "Creative" and "Fine Art" are still not as firm in the photographic community as some of the other categories. What your club calls "creative" I would call "composite". To me, "creative" is a much broader category, and that category would include "in camera" creative. Still, "in camera" creative is only a start, as we have to develop our own images, and how we develop them is part of the total process!   Posted: 09/01/2019 11:44:36

What a marvelous article! Thank you so much for sharing it.

I am fascinated by the comments in makes about fine art portraiture. It certainly solves the problem of having to get a model release for a photo that contains people!

Though I've never heard the term 'conceptual' applied to photos, it is what my creative group does. The images shown are quite fantastic.

The author addresses many types of photography, and within each type illustrates the difference between a documentary style and a fine art style. This article is a keeper!

Please stay safe during the approaching hurricane.   Posted: 08/31/2019 18:53:48

Thanks Georgianne. You stay safe too; you certainly don't need another hit after last year. The Hilton Head Club had a competition last year that was for "conceptual photography." Prior to the contest, I had not heard the term either. But it did result in some interesting, creative photographs. I'm glad you liked the article. I found it very helpful to me in giving me a better perspective on what fine art photography is.   Posted: 09/01/2019 00:26:28

Ansel Adams was a master manipulator of photography. In fact, his work was not perceived as special until after he discovered the art of manipulation. His media was just different than today's media--chemicals and physical manipulation rather than the post processing software that emulates what he did. Today, if one looks at his famous artwork, but is also familiar with many of today's photo artists, Ansel Adams pales by comparison. Yet, he was a pioneer, and his works are still considered masterpieces, as they should be. Ansel helped to found the Center for Creative Photography, in Tucson, AZ. He would be delighted with today's software, and would probably be writing innovative extensions to it!   Posted: 08/26/2019 01:32:43

Still, manipulation as you say, does not make art. Photographs are a starting point for Fine Art Photography. I like to think of photographs as paints on an image palate. We are fortunate that we have so many tools available these days, from what we use to create an image that pleases us through how we sculpt our images into what pleases us as fine art!

Thanks for your comments!   Posted: 08/26/2019 01:40:07

Jim, that article is a real find. Thanks for posting the link. I could immediately identify with his first points about the importance of light, both visible and invisible. The former is the light on the scene at the time of the photo. The second is the light one adds in post-processing. When engineers design the algorithms built into the camera, to produce a JPG, they seem to work with just the light that was visible when the photo was taken, which is why JPGs are often flat in appearance. "Flat" most often does not inspire strong emotion. When one shoots in RAW, and then applies the invisible light shifts of post-processing software, photos come to life, using both visible and invisible three dimensional light applications.
  Posted: 08/26/2019 01:59:13

Just for the heck of it, and in case some who read this dialog might not see the importance or 'how to' of visual verses invisible light in an image (as in the link to Julia's article, which Jim shared with us), here are some stages of the same image. The dull one is part of an HDR series, and is a 'straight' image, with no software manipulation (not even Camera Raw). It captures only visual light. However, the subject for me is the line up of shrimp boats, pointing out to sea. The subject gets lost using only visual light. So I developed the image in Camera Raw and PS CC, to add 'invisible' light to the subject area. The final image is the second image, with a BW adjustment layer on it. the monochrome really brings out a lot more feeling, in my opinion.   Posted: 08/26/2019 22:30:42

non-visible light applied in PS CC and Camera Raw   Posted: 08/26/2019 22:58:19

Non-visible light applied, as above, plus a Black/White adjustment layer. To me, this brings out the most feeling of dusk, with the subject of the fishing boat lineup emphasized.   Posted: 08/26/2019 22:59:59

Very nice with the black and white layer.   Posted: 08/29/2019 02:50:41

Wow! Thanks for sharing the recent blog post by Julia Anna Gospodarou. A wonderful article. Two of many take aways: 1) Fine art photographs are about emotional communication between the creator and the viewer; 2) Photography is a pretext for the artist to express him or herself.   Posted: 08/26/2019 02:37:42

Witta, thanks for your summary of what you took away from Julia's article. The first of your summary points really hit me strongly, due to some things that happened in my past.
At one point in my life, I was doing spiritual counseling via the phone, for clients around the world. For some strange reason, I kept getting connected with artists, all of whom had real doubts about themselves in their chosen careers. When I asked for inner guidance, to assist in answering their questions, one thing came through each time. Summary of that thought: When an artist creates a work of art, they are trying to express their inner experience of something that moved them greatly. When the product of that expression was taken in by a viewer, it was always gratifying to the artist to feel that a connection had been made, at that universal inner place of creativity within each of us. That experience of connection is a form of communication, thus completing a circle of connection between each two. While an artist might just focus on the expression of that inner experience, they are also deeply touched when such a circle is perceived. Communication is so important to us! So keep up the good work!   Posted: 08/26/2019 11:03:04