CS #300 - Art or Craft

[AndyMcD]

CS#300 - Art or Craft
​

Hello and welcome to CS #300.

A big thanks to Kelly for managing this wonderful part of the Cafe and for inviting me to host again.

The theme for this shoot is "Art or Craft".

I think it has been a few years since Uncle Frank asked whether photography is an art or a craft (https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=246169), but something that Sam (Photomelodist) said in one of his posts for CS#299 made me think about it again. So I thought it would be a good topic for this week's CS and I know that the many participants of the CS are both master craftsmen and artists.

As always, I expect that everyone will come up with their own unique takes on this theme - but I hope that we can also discuss how and why we're motivated to make the images that we do.

And here are general Collective shoot rules...

Of course the usual rules apply, but just in case anyone is new to the CS, I'd like to share the following guidelines:
• Naturally, all members of the Nikon Cafe are welcome to participate.
• Posted images should be shot within the starting and ending date for this week's theme using your own local time zone (Thursday, August 2nd through Midnight on Wednesday August 8th.). If for some reason you must use photographs captured from outside the time frame, please be kind enough to say so.
• Comments on submitted images should be done in a respectful way.
• The CS is non-competitive and there are no "places" or "prizes."
• Themes and posted images must be rated "E" for everyone. Participants must post their own images and respect the intellectual property of others.
• Please limit your images to three (3) per post. However, create as many posts as you'd like.
• Please limit each image to a maximum of 800 pixels per height/width.
• If you are going to comment on a large number of previously posted pictures or comments, please consider making use of the "multi-quote" to gather your comments under one post and to help keep things tidy.
• HAVE FUN!

A sample from a previous CS (and a meme):

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Recursion by Andy McDonald, on Flickr

To me, this image is a mixture of both art (or at least aspiring to art) and craft...

Art
I had a clear idea of what I wanted the image to look like and of why I was shooting the image in the first place (I am a software developer by day, so "Recursion" is something that I think about when programming, which is what I was trying to represent)

Craft
The actual shooting of the image was very much "craft" - setting up the remote release - getting the images to recurse down through the monitor etc.

Another example of this mixture (to my mind at least) is "Moonrise, Hernandez" by Ansel Adams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonrise,_Hernandez,_New_Mexico). The artist in him saw the scene (in his rear view mirror) and knew what he wanted it to look like whilst the craft was that he could setup his camera very quickly and knew what exposure to use based on a mental calculation allowing him to take one shot before the light changed.

I hope that this gets your creative juices flowing, and I look forward to seeing everyone's contributions!

Enjoy!

 

[ArtO]

Hi Andy and thanks for hosting this week. That's a wonderful theme -- wish I had picked it. I usually struggle with both the artistic content and the technical aspects of my images. Sometimes I amaze myself when I'm done shooting something and remember what I forgot to do.....watch the background colors...watch the bokeh - what f stop...you get the idea.

I'll try to get some shooting this week with digital so I have some entries. Can't wait to see and read the submissions.

 

[Photomelodist]

Andy, I think this will be a most excellent theme! I'll have to do a little thinking on this one though. Hopefully I can get my brain to come up with something without it overheating.:tongue: But I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's submissions on this one. This should be interesting! And thanks for hosting us! :smile:

 

[Bob Coutant]

Oh my goodness, Andy -- Art or Craft Too many of my photos end up in the third category = junk. But then, one man's trash...

In any case, this is one of those things that make photography so interesting -- what I see vs. what you see

 

[Ferdinand Venter]

Does it have to be a photo? :tongue:

 

[Bob Coutant]

Yes, I know that cross posting is frowned upon, and I did take this shot about 3 hours before the official start of this CS:redface:. However, I thought that it does show a fine example of Mother Nature’s artwork. [Whistle if you’d like it removed:wink:]

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http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg

 

[Photomelodist]

Yes, I know that cross posting is frowned upon, and I did take this shot about 3 hours before the official start of this CS:redface:. However, I thought that it does show a fine example of Mother Nature’s artwork. [Whistle if you’d like it removed:wink:]

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg​

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg

She's a Beauty Bob!! Van Gogh wouldn't hold a candle to this kind of beauty! And Bob, I even know what kind it is now...:wink::smile:

Wish we had more of those around here. I looked up some information on the different plants that attract this particular one. I'm thinking next year about trying out some different plants just to attract these. :smile:

 

[Mike Savage]

It's a keeper Bob and definitely art!

 

[catalyst]

CS#300 - Art or Craft
​

Hello and welcome to CS #300.

A big thanks to Kelly for managing this wonderful part of the Cafe and for inviting me to host again.

The theme for this shoot is "Art or Craft".

I think it has been a few years since Uncle Frank asked whether photography is an art or a craft (https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=246169), but something that Sam (Photomelodist) said in one of his posts for CS#299 made me think about it again. So I thought it would be a good topic for this week's CS and I know that the many participants of the CS are both master craftsmen and artists.

As always, I expect that everyone will come up with their own unique takes on this theme - but I hope that we can also discuss how and why we're motivated to make the images that we do.

I hope that this gets your creative juices flowing, and I look forward to seeing everyone's contributions!

Enjoy!

Andy -

What a wonderful, and broadly interpretable theme for the CS. Many thanks for taking the time to host this week.:smile:

Oh my goodness, Andy -- Art or Craft Too many of my photos end up in the third category = junk. But then, one man's trash...:wink:

In any case, this is one of those things that make photography so interesting -- what I see vs. what you see:biggrin:

Hey Bob - I certainly agree with you that Andy's theme is one of those awesome and welcoming ones that is wide open to good and not-so-good contributions. Especially seeing as so many of mine fall into the latter category, I feel encouraged . . .

It allows us to explain what was intended vs. what was (or might have been) accomplished.

And, I would add a fourth category that often applies to me: bounded by both "art" and "craft", and most often including "junk", yet occasionally accompanied by "luck". :smile:

 

[catalyst]

Yes, I know that cross posting is frowned upon, and I did take this shot about 3 hours before the official start of this CS:redface:. However, I thought that it does show a fine example of Mother Nature’s artwork. [Whistle if you’d like it removed:wink:]

Geez, Bob! The subject, colors, focusing, sharpness, saturation and framing/background are all spot on.

I'm thinking both craft (mastery) and art.

And, because this was shot today - after all, Thursday local time is the "official" start of the CS - there is nothing to be frowned upon. Possibly except for me not sticking Andy's theme quickly . . . :redface: :biggrin:

 

[Bob Coutant]

She's a Beauty Bob!! Van Gogh wouldn't hold a candle to this kind of beauty! And Bob, I even know what kind it is now...:wink::smile:

Wish we had more of those around here. I looked up some information on the different plants that attract this particular one. I'm thinking next year about trying out some different plants just to attract these. :smile:

It's a keeper Bob and definitely art!

Geez, Bob! The subject, colors, focusing, sharpness, saturation and framing/background are all spot on.

I'm thinking both craft (mastery) and art.

And, because this was shot today - after all, Thursday local time is the "official" start of the CS - there is nothing to be frowned upon. Possibly except for me not sticking Andy's theme quickly . . . :redface: :biggrin:

Sam, Mike, Eric -- thank you.

Sam, I blame the hot and dry weather for the low population of butterflies this year. Normally, we have quite a few representatives of several different species, but this is only the third time I've seen the ETS, and other species are just plain absent. BTW, our tiger swallowtails seem to prefer wild phlox over the two species of butterfly bush that we have.

 

[ArtO]

Yes, I know that cross posting is frowned upon, and I did take this shot about 3 hours before the official start of this CS:redface:. However, I thought that it does show a fine example of Mother Nature’s artwork. [Whistle if you’d like it removed:wink:]

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg​

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg

Beautiful image Bob. The selective focus really enhances the image with a wonderful 3d effect. Colors are wonderful.

 

[Rob Zijlstra]

Andy, this is a real nice theme! Of course all my pictures are pure art (at least in my eyes:biggrin::biggrin, so this won't be any trouble....


Bob, perfect example to start with. Colors, symmetry: natures art indeed!

 

[AndyMcD]

Yes, I know that cross posting is frowned upon, and I did take this shot about 3 hours before the official start of this CS:redface:. However, I thought that it does show a fine example of Mother Nature’s artwork. [Whistle if you’d like it removed:wink:]

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg​

http://www.greenapple.com/~rcoutant/temp/DSC_1469sm.jpg

No whistling here Bob!

This is a superb image and very appropriate to the theme. The composition and colour are definitely "art" and the capture is spot on (so that is "craft" taken care of).

Cool

 

[AndyMcD]

Andy -

What a wonderful, and broadly interpretable theme for the CS. Many thanks for taking the time to host this week.:smile:



Hey Bob - I certainly agree with you that Andy's theme is one of those awesome and welcoming ones that is wide open to good and not-so-good contributions. Especially seeing as so many of mine fall into the latter category, I feel encouraged . . .

It allows us to explain what was intended vs. what was (or might have been) accomplished.

And, I would add a fourth category that often applies to me: bounded by both "art" and "craft", and most often including "junk", yet occasionally accompanied by "luck". :smile:

Eric, thanks for your comments.

I'm not sure about "Junk" (though many of mine fit that category) but "Luck" is more interesting. I think "Luck" does come into things in being in the right place at the right time (it certainly was a factor in the "Moonrise, Hernandez" example).

But knowing what to do in a "lucky" circumstance is often a mixture of "art" and "craft" - that said, I think that there are still circumstances where "luck" is the main component.

 

[AndyMcD]

Andy, this is a real nice theme! Of course all my pictures are pure art (at least in my eyes:biggrin::biggrin, so this won't be any trouble....


Bob, perfect example to start with. Colors, symmetry: natures art indeed!

:505:LOL Rob

I look forward to seeing your contributions

 

[AndyMcD]

Hi Andy and thanks for hosting this week. That's a wonderful theme -- wish I had picked it. I usually struggle with both the artistic content and the technical aspects of my images. Sometimes I amaze myself when I'm done shooting something and remember what I forgot to do.....watch the background colors...watch the bokeh - what f stop...you get the idea.

I'll try to get some shooting this week with digital so I have some entries. Can't wait to see and read the submissions.

Looking forward to your contributions Art (thanks for hosting last week by the way):biggrin:

Andy, I think this will be a most excellent theme! I'll have to do a little thinking on this one though. Hopefully I can get my brain to come up with something without it overheating.:tongue: But I am really looking forward to seeing everyone's submissions on this one. This should be interesting! And thanks for hosting us! :smile:

Sam, I hope that the hot weather eases enough to let you get out and shoot - looking forward to seeing what you come up with (especially since you are partially responsible for the theme:wink

Does it have to be a photo? :tongue:

Ferdy, knock yourself out - ordinarily this would be photos only but if you have something that you especially want to share then I am sure that will be fine:biggrin:

 

[Bob Coutant]

Art, Rob, Andy -- thanks. Mother Nature is responsible for many of the attributes we prize in our images.:wink:

 

[intruder61]

interesting, art/craft must be plied together, no?
the digital age with PS has allowed ones imagination to become reality with an image.....usually a mood or the atmosphere when the image was taken.
my "arty" take of a beach scene.

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[Rob Zijlstra]

After seeing Bob's colorful entry, I couldn't resist to post something in BW:smile:.

This afternoon I saw this scene, which in previous centuries was made in the art of creating gardens. And by gardens I mean big ones, in this case ~ 1 sq mile or so.

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