"Irrational Exuberance"

PaulThomasMcKee

Got Title...Need Image.

My schedule is such that I don't have nearly as much time for shooting as I do for thinking. So, I find myself pleasantly daydreaming about potential images and associated titles.

Does anyone else ever think of a title before the image?

paul

p.s. I changed out my picture thingy because the previous one just seemed too dour (which I'm not).

saurora

Well I never thought of that, but it makes sense!!! Gives you a "direction". I like the title ..... sounds fun and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

DaveK

By the non-existent posting so far in LPS7 I would say others are struggling just for an initial concept at this point Your approach is intriquing however. Personally the title comes after the shot for me but seeing I am still sitting on the sidelines I may try your method. Clocks ticking!


P.S. I am keeping my picture because this pretty much is my posture these days.

pyroPrints.com

DaveK wrote:

By the non-existent posting so far in LPS7 I would say others are struggling just for an initial concept at this point Your approach is intriquing however. Personally the title comes after the shot for me but seeing I am still sitting on the sidelines I may try your method. Clocks ticking!


P.S. I am keeping my picture because this pretty much is my posture these days.

I'll say... First time (except for silhouette) we get nouns instead of adjectives.

seastack

How about a pic of someone jumping for joy with a political campaign sign - hmmm Bush '08 would be perfect! You might be able to evoke both challenge emotions with one image - one in the pic itself and the other in the viewer. Sorry, politics ;-)

gus

PaulThomasMcKee wrote:

Does anyone else ever think of a title before the image?

paul

Never.

Tessa HD

no, my problem is i'll come up with ideas and no way to execute them, or get them to look like i wanted. for example, i had an idea for the last challenge of shooting someone throwing a curve ball, but that was just dreaming. have fun looking for your photo.

Greensquared

I find it fascintating that things seem so quiet around the "Contests & Challenges" area so far this week. I can only assume that the theme titles are really forcing people to pause and reflect inside themselves with such a delving theme. How can I portray that? Can it be contrived? Is this what I want to show of myself...? I find myself wanting to shy away from this one, and yet the best shot this round I just know will be AMAZING. Who will get it?

Emily

saurora

Greensquared wrote:

I find it fascintating that things seem so quiet around the "Contests & Challenges" area so far this week. I can only assume that the theme titles are really forcing people to pause and reflect inside themselves with such a delving theme. How can I portray that? Can it be contrived? Is this what I want to show of myself...? I find myself wanting to shy away from this one, and yet the best shot this round I just know will be AMAZING. Who will get it?

Emily

I think this challenge has the potential for some of the most interesting shots yet, but I also feel it will be difficult to "fake" emotion.......Not impossible, but difficult. Alot of 'thinking' going on right now about how to achieve this, I'm sure!

richtersl

PaulThomasMcKee wrote:

Got Title...Need Image.

My schedule is such that I don't have nearly as much time for shooting as I do for thinking. So, I find myself pleasantly daydreaming about potential images and associated titles.

Does anyone else ever think of a title before the image?

paul

p.s. I changed out my picture thingy because the previous one just seemed too dour (which I'm not).

You're a dangerous man, Paul. I'm referring to the title of your photo for this last LPS: Subtly Sensual Sinuous Sheets of Silky Shiny Saffron Steel

If you came up with that one before you took the image then I bow to you.

As far as thinking of a title before an image -- I've never tried that. I need to study the picture first and then see what pops up.

richtersl

saurora wrote:

I think this challenge has the potential for some of the most interesting shots yet, but I also feel it will be difficult to "fake" emotion.......Not impossible, but difficult. Alot of 'thinking' going on right now about how to achieve this, I'm sure!

I predict we'll see a lot of photos of children or parents and children. Kids, especially young ones wear their emotions on their shirtsleeves.

indiegirl

I'm trying to think of all the ways in which I can not include my own dang children in this contest. I do take pictures of other things and other people, I feel like all I ever do is enter my kids' images.

So. While I can get their joy and sorrow fairly easily, I'm trying to break outside my box.

I do think of titles before images but mostly I think about the quality of light or tone I'd like and brainstorm from there.

DaveK

richtersl wrote:

You're a dangerous man, Paul. I'm referring to the title of your photo for this last LPS: Subtly Sensual Sinuous Sheets of Silky Shiny Saffron Steel

If you came up with that one before you took the image then I bow to you.

Good one Linda. I got a real chuckle out of your comment. Maybe we could all come up with zinger titles for other dgrin members to shoot for the next contest? Now that would be a contest worth watching! Pity the member that gets Paul as their title buddy.

Flyinggina

DaveK wrote:

I am keeping my picture because this pretty much is my posture these days.

Hmmm. So, how far is despair from sorrow? Perhaps a self portrait?

Virginia

saurora

richtersl wrote:

I predict we'll see a lot of photos of children or parents and children. Kids, especially young ones wear their emotions on their shirtsleeves.

You mean like this?

DaveK

Flyinggina wrote:

Hmmm. So, how far is despair from sorrow? Perhaps a self portrait?

Virginia

Way ahead of you there but figured reshooting my avatar to meet the date requirements would just be lazy on my part Possibly a twist to the idea would be acceptable. Obvious tear on the cheek? Crumbled IRS form in one hand? 50th Birthday banner overhead?

DaveK

saurora wrote:

You mean like this?

Looks like Saurora and I are in the same boat here. Great shot by the way, go pinch the kid and reshoot

VisualXpressions

For me, the picture comes first... I was thinking sorrow because, like some I figure there will be many joy shots, kids and stuff...

I shot a dead deer (with camera) on the way home from work thinking it might invoke some sorrowful feelings... The Wife said it was just gross...

Do pictures of dead animals make anyone feel sorrowful?

PaulThomasMcKee

richtersl wrote:

You're a dangerous man, Paul. I'm referring to the title of your photo for this last LPS: Subtly Sensual Sinuous Sheets of Silky Shiny Saffron Steel

If you came up with that one before you took the image then I bow to you.

As far as thinking of a title before an image -- I've never tried that. I need to study the picture first and then see what pops up.

I may be the least dangerous man you'd ever meet. I had a lot of fun with that title, but it definately came after the image.

PaulThomasMcKee

On the subject of kids and sorrow...

saurora wrote:

You mean like this?

How many of you with young children are considering the Jill Greenberg approach - i.e. Give them a sucker; sit them in front of the camera; take away the sucker and start shooting?

"Mostly we did it by giving them something, a lollypop, and then taking it away. Some would just cry for no reason—my daughter did that; she didn't like standing on the apple box I used for a platform because it was a little wobbly. Some just wouldn't cry at all. For all the kids I worked really fast. We would book 12 or so for one day, and see who we could make cry. At the end of the day I was not in a good mood. I don't like making little kids cry" - Jill Greenberg :cry

paul

PaulThomasMcKee

Missed Opportunity
One of my first thoughts when I read the theme for LPS7 was to capture a Navy Ship's homecoming since I live in a Navy Port town.

I'm absolutely kicking myself for not being more aware of what's happening because I just saw this on the front page of the local newspaper (check out the accompanying pics)...Arg!

Although I don't know if they would have granted access to the base to an ordinary civilian whose only credentials are a nice looking DSLR and lens.

paul

Tessa HD

that's funny (your story, not the poor deer!)

richtersl

PaulThomasMcKee wrote:

How many of you with young children are considering the Jill Greenberg approach - i.e. Give them a sucker; sit them in front of the camera; take away the sucker and start shooting?

"Mostly we did it by giving them something, a lollypop, and then taking it away. Some would just cry for no reason—my daughter did that; she didn't like standing on the apple box I used for a platform because it was a little wobbly. Some just wouldn't cry at all. For all the kids I worked really fast. We would book 12 or so for one day, and see who we could make cry. At the end of the day I was not in a good mood. I don't like making little kids cry" - Jill Greenberg :cry

paul

For this kind of money I'm sure she wasn't too upset after a while:

Editions of 10
Starting at $4,500
42"x50

For those of you not familiar with her, here's what Paul is talking about:

http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/greenberg/index0.htm

richtersl

indiegirl wrote:

I'm trying to think of all the ways in which I can not include my own dang children in this contest. I do take pictures of other things and other people, I feel like all I ever do is enter my kids' images.

So. While I can get their joy and sorrow fairly easily, I'm trying to break outside my box.

I do think of titles before images but mostly I think about the quality of light or tone I'd like and brainstorm from there.

This contest is one week late for you. :cry You would have had some dynamite shots for this LPS from that documentary photo series on your daughter.

Tessa HD

Bummer, that WAS a missed opportunity.

i'm thinking of taking pics of my dog - he's always so "joyful" to see me! maybe him running towards me with ears in mid-flop, his mouth open and tongue hangin' out...

Ren & Stimpy: "happy, happy, joy, joy!"

Flyinggina

richtersl wrote:

For those of you not familiar with her, here's what Paul is talking about:

http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/greenberg/index0.htm

Oh my. I think I'll stick with "joyful" for the moment. Besides, Greenberg's pictures are too tightly cropped and have no context at all to give them that extra something that would make the top ten. Hehehe.

Virginia

tsk1979

Young children will work, but for best results use a baby. A baby will come in top ten no matter what.
If you do not have a baby borrow one or rent one. Offer to babysit somebody's 1 year old for free for a day, so you don't get to pay rent.
If nobody is willing to give you a baby(then you have serious issues man) or you don't know anybody with a baby, buy a pair of largest diapers you can find put a milk bottle in your mouth and grin like an idiot. there you have your winning photo

richtersl

OK. So we have ideas about using young children, babies, and dogs as possible subjects. I'm sitting here trying to figure out what other options there are besides people and dogs for photographing joy or sorrow.

I think I have a case of the "dreaded" photographer's block. :hang

Strikeslip

Tessa HD wrote:

no, my problem is i'll come up with ideas and no way to execute them, or get them to look like i wanted. for example, i had an idea for the last challenge of shooting someone throwing a curve ball, but that was just dreaming. have fun looking for your photo.

I also usually have a concept first, sometimes very specific. But serendipity happens too, and those are my favourites. I have a great concept for Sorrow, but I don't know if I can pull it off.

Sometimes I get wierd ideas. You've all probably seen the high-speed photos of a bullet passing through an apple. I decided it would be neat to get that shot, only replace the bullet with a blueberry. Ugh, didn't turn out too great... Hahaha! "Ballistic Blueberry"



My wife took a shot of me taking the shot, which I think is more intieresting, !



Anyway, I've gone a bit off topic I think... "Irrational Exuberance"... leads to a pretty specific set of concepts in my mind, like somebody celebrating winning something that the average person wouldn't care about. It's difficult to come up with an example... winning $2 on a lottery ticket?

DaveK

Strikeslip wrote:

My wife took a shot of me taking the shot, which I think is more intieresting, !

Nice to see someone else taking some heat from their spouse for a hair-brain idea photo shoot. I get that look every time I start pulling stuff out around the house and setting up for an idea.

To be honest, I think you are on to something and you could still make this work. What if you put a gun in the shot instead of the apple so as to make the idea clearer. Go with a side view and add some air-shock wave patterns in PS post processing plus don't forget to warp the blueberry a bit as it would not be round at such speeds.

Okay, now you have sucked me into this...

fashiznitsngrins

tsk1979 wrote:

Young children will work, but for best results use a baby. A baby will come in top ten no matter what.
If you do not have a baby borrow one or rent one. Offer to babysit somebody's 1 year old for free for a day, so you don't get to pay rent.
If nobody is willing to give you a baby(then you have serious issues man) or you don't know anybody with a baby, buy a pair of largest diapers you can find put a milk bottle in your mouth and grin like an idiot. there you have your winning photo

So, here was my one attempt at a non-baby, non-kid idea. I like the idea, but the result was too snap-shotty... (not to mention the VERY distracting white shoes). Oh, and it kinda looks like she's sky-diving instead of jumping for joy.



So now back to the baby and kids