"To me, a project is more than a set of photos on a common theme—a project has to include the photographer’s perspective or point-of-view. It had to have something to say."
You really got me thinking about the photography "projects" I think I'm doing ... I mean, in my head (and maybe also out loud) I might call them projects, but I think so far many of them are just "collections of photos of similar subjects". Nothing wrong with that, but I do feel that a project needs to be a little bit more than that.
“Nothing wrong with that” is key! I still work on lots of non-projects.
Also key is how you define projects for yourself.
And when I say “has to include the photographer’s perspective or point-of-view. It had to have something to say." I don’t mean it needed to say something big or something obvious. Beyond Focus seems to fit.
I like that you're going to stick with your project for the long haul. To me, one of the things that makes a project a project is finding those little gems, those little treasures, that work with your idea or theme. Not saying the use of Photoshop or AI is necessarily wrong. I've used, and use, Photoshop to remove distracting elements or to change a boring sky for one that has more drama (that's about the depth of my Photoshop capabilities!). While I enjoy the images I create that way, I am always more excited when I discover the image I want "out in the wild", so to speak.
So your description of this process of defining a project is interesting and a challenge I have wrestled with. Arno Minkkinen (https://www.arnorafaelminkkinen.com/ ) wrote a piece a while back titled, "Stay on the Bus". The idea is select a project, start (get on the bus), and see it through to the destination. Then recently I read Sasha Wolf's wonderful book, "PhotoWork: 40 Photographers on Process and Practice" and encountered other ways to transfer onto another bus. Or just get the hell off. So many times I have discovered that embarking on a project will suddenly clue me into one that is more resonant, creates a more fulfilling experience. Stay open, feel your way into it.
Cars with personalities! So cool, so cultural. So related to the human who owns it. Here in Iowa you have a different kind of personality associated with cars. It's most about function and what-can-I-afford-to-maintain-or-not. It's super interesting.
"I have discovered that embarking on a project will suddenly clue me into one that is more resonant"
YES! As I was posting "Backside and the Power of Projects" I stumbled upon someone posting a picture of a 'break room chair' and noticed two of the photos were really of ad-hoc break spaces and then it dawned on me that a next project (or maybe a modification of this one) is of ad-hoc break spaces behind restaurant, etc.
I think the key is, as much as we want to define things (projects, street photography... even photography itself) when we try to define it, it squirms out of out hand because the boundaries are never neat. We need to see definitions, etc. as things to help us keep moving or growing. Not as constraints that hold us back because something may not fit.
"To me, a project is more than a set of photos on a common theme—a project has to include the photographer’s perspective or point-of-view. It had to have something to say."
You really got me thinking about the photography "projects" I think I'm doing ... I mean, in my head (and maybe also out loud) I might call them projects, but I think so far many of them are just "collections of photos of similar subjects". Nothing wrong with that, but I do feel that a project needs to be a little bit more than that.
Food for thought ;)
“Nothing wrong with that” is key! I still work on lots of non-projects.
Also key is how you define projects for yourself.
And when I say “has to include the photographer’s perspective or point-of-view. It had to have something to say." I don’t mean it needed to say something big or something obvious. Beyond Focus seems to fit.
I like that you're going to stick with your project for the long haul. To me, one of the things that makes a project a project is finding those little gems, those little treasures, that work with your idea or theme. Not saying the use of Photoshop or AI is necessarily wrong. I've used, and use, Photoshop to remove distracting elements or to change a boring sky for one that has more drama (that's about the depth of my Photoshop capabilities!). While I enjoy the images I create that way, I am always more excited when I discover the image I want "out in the wild", so to speak.
So your description of this process of defining a project is interesting and a challenge I have wrestled with. Arno Minkkinen (https://www.arnorafaelminkkinen.com/ ) wrote a piece a while back titled, "Stay on the Bus". The idea is select a project, start (get on the bus), and see it through to the destination. Then recently I read Sasha Wolf's wonderful book, "PhotoWork: 40 Photographers on Process and Practice" and encountered other ways to transfer onto another bus. Or just get the hell off. So many times I have discovered that embarking on a project will suddenly clue me into one that is more resonant, creates a more fulfilling experience. Stay open, feel your way into it.
Cars with personalities! So cool, so cultural. So related to the human who owns it. Here in Iowa you have a different kind of personality associated with cars. It's most about function and what-can-I-afford-to-maintain-or-not. It's super interesting.
Would love to see some of the Iowa cars.
"I have discovered that embarking on a project will suddenly clue me into one that is more resonant"
YES! As I was posting "Backside and the Power of Projects" I stumbled upon someone posting a picture of a 'break room chair' and noticed two of the photos were really of ad-hoc break spaces and then it dawned on me that a next project (or maybe a modification of this one) is of ad-hoc break spaces behind restaurant, etc.
I think the key is, as much as we want to define things (projects, street photography... even photography itself) when we try to define it, it squirms out of out hand because the boundaries are never neat. We need to see definitions, etc. as things to help us keep moving or growing. Not as constraints that hold us back because something may not fit.