How the Fog Obscures, originally uploaded by jjvornov.
Today it started out foggy and warming in Baltimore. Tonight we’ve got rain, wind and the chance of thunderstorms. I grabbed this image this morning as I returned to the D300 and 12-24mm lens as my working standard.
Over the past year I’ve found that posting images on Flickr and here, with my journal thoughts here, has been valuable in developing the work. At the same time, I realize that when I’m posting images nearly every day, there’s a dilution both of quality and stylistic integrity.Recently David Allen Harvey of Magnum put out a call for portfolios from his weblog’s readership. He received 250 portfolios and commented that “Most of you need a serious edit”. Similarly, Dave Beckerman gets inquiries from aspiring art photographers but when he looks at their online portfolios he finds the same lack of editing.Perhaps one needs to present work in progress as distinct from finished work. The idea of 6 to 10 strong, related images as a set appeals to me.
I think you’re right. Taking pictures every day for a blog can help people to develop skill as a photographer . . . it allows for public experimentation. The images may not be excellent, but ones that make it have to be ‘good enough.’
A blog, IMHO, isn’t quite the same as a portfolio though. A portfolio, may be evaluated one image at a time but a blog rests upon an on-going identity.
That’s my take anyway.
Stephen