Response to: "Some Photographic Myths"

Juliet Bull

Overall, I enjoyed this reading. I thought it brought up some good points, in a creative way. The reading was interesting and kept me interesting. Although a few points they made I have heard a thousand times, some of them were new and put a new perspective for me. For example, when the author talks about how a good photographer, is not necessarily a good printer. "The fact remains that printing is a highly skilled profession that demands a great deal of time (and enthusiasm) to master. Some photographers have the interest in fine printing, and have invested the effort to become extremely proficient in it. Most have not." I think a lot of photographers, especially at our age, get confused and frustrated because printing can be so difficult. A photographer should know how to print, but should not base whether or not they are a good photographer based on their printing skills. Another good point that I think the article brought up, is photographers are their own worst editors. We have talked about this many times in class, and it is something every photographer should be aware of. We get invested in our own work. It becomes hard to look at it from an outside view and critic our own work. I also thought Myth number six, had some really good points. When the author says, "One of the most pernicious and destructive remarks which can be made to a photographer is that "it has been done before," When a person creates art, it is from what they have seen or been inspired by before and putting their own twist on it. When people say, "I've seen it before" They just mean they have seen something like it before. Every person adds a different twist or a different part of themselves into it. For art to be created it must be viewed and done over again. I really enjoyed reading this piece, it was an easy read and made some good points.