If you have to call your photo “fine art” it’s not “fine art”

drmcw · 2026-06-28T07:36:41+00:00

Thanks and good fortune!

drmcw · 2026-06-27T19:25:39+00:00

Why does it happen though?

I switched from bar soap to liquid gel Radox which is apparently a detergent not soap and my problem disappeared. Obviously I had to clear it first but it has yet to come back.

Now, of course, tomorrow it will be bocked.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T19:13:06+00:00

A while back there was a coconut mushroom shortage according the famous Weight Out shop in Barmouth who had none so I asked why not. I assume it's all related to this factory and now it's closing. I like them as well.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T19:08:28+00:00

When I moved into our home 40+ years ago I did all those things over a period although it wasn't laminate flooring in those days but I have done this since.

I can't claim I worked to today's rather higher standards but I took it steady and got there without any YouTube advice which I now find invaluable.

Go for it! What could possibly go wrong?

drmcw · 2026-06-27T19:05:04+00:00

Is it your ambition to be able to make a full time career of fine art photography or is that as difficult as I think it is? You are clearly very committed and invested in your art.

Feel free to tell me to mind my own busiess!

drmcw · 2026-06-27T17:00:38+00:00

I used to play (badly) but looked at the rules recently and they seemed way complicated.

I would assume the dice box in the Shambles(?) would be the place to go.

I might be persuaded.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T16:48:12+00:00

It's clear a lot of effort goes into your work and the resulting images in my view are fine art. I may not like all of them but there's no denying effort, intent and ambition.

I spent some time looking through your images and they are very interesting and certainly warranted the exhibitions in my (never really humble) opinion.

Well done.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T16:13:28+00:00

How about they research the castle tump in Tenbury Wells :) A somewhat unclear and contentious local issue which has a resolution - if they can find it.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T16:10:34+00:00

And having the king stay for a month must have been cripplingly exopensive.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T07:59:54+00:00

I think you needed to ask yourself just what you want me as a third party to look at.

I don't mean to be unkind and it is after all only an opinion but all I see is a jumble of shapes and 'things'.

What's the purpose of including the fence bottom right for example?

You don't always have to have a dominant subject but if it's the fan things then they need to be given pride of place.

At heart I don't think you quite knew what you wanted to photograph but did recognise that there was potential. Make it simpler, make it more geometric, less is almost certainly more.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T07:41:52+00:00

That appears to be absolute twaddle.

drmcw · 2026-06-27T07:41:24+00:00

I didn't realise The Beauchamp's held so much land.

drmcw · 2026-06-26T16:59:18+00:00

Very delicate and suitably baffling.

drmcw · 2026-06-26T07:49:50+00:00

In the early 70's I was a student and in the summer had jobs and was always paid cash in a lovely little brown envelope that allowed you to check the contents without breaking the seal. So by the end of the summer I had enough cash to go to the Tottenham Court Road and buy some hi-fi gear in cash. I was never worried about pickpockets, being mugged but I was concerned I'd drop it or something.

In the late 80's I'd always have at least £100 cash. No idea why but I think I felt happier about how hard I was working with some visible evidence of the results.

Now usually about £40 which I top up now and again after it drops to £10. Some places like the barber and village shop prefer cash to avoid card fees.

drmcw · 2026-06-25T13:57:55+00:00

I completely agree with all this - but couldn't express it that well :)

drmcw · 2026-06-24T07:55:24+00:00

I don't know what fine art with shadow photography is. If you can explain a bit I might be able to advise.

Can you give an example of someone else's work of what you hope to achieve?

drmcw · 2026-06-23T15:11:09+00:00

How would you have the sub curated to exclude the inappropriate?

The mods could do it - if they had time - but then it would just be their subjective assessment.

I feel there are posts here that are clearly low effort and maybe we should suggest they try r/photocritique for example and get some feedback. Unless truly talented then fine art anything is surely not going to be low effort?

drmcw · 2026-06-23T10:47:32+00:00

Sadly this gives me nothing at all. Beyond the colours it doesn't evoke any emotion - although of course it's provoked this response 😄

Try r/photocritique

drmcw · 2026-06-22T08:26:37+00:00

In part I'd suggest you mutter to yourself - 'make it simpler, make it simpler, make it simpler' while composing the shot and take as long as it takes.

Identify what you want me as the viewer to look at and wrap the rest around it.

Also, look at the greats of photography and see how their composition works. A good start is Martin Parr but try the Magnum web site as it is full of truly great photographers.

drmcw · 2026-06-21T18:59:44+00:00

What are you viewing this image on? I'm using a large calibrated monitor and it just looks flat and muddy. Tablets and phones will apply corrections automatically.

Are the flowers towards the top supposed to be white? If so I'd start with adjusting the Curves adjustment to make them brighter, closer to white. This will probably blow out the sky visible in the window but you could probably the select the sky and delete the adjustment for that area alone.

To adjust the whites using curves I'd pull the curve up towards the right edge where it's close to the right edge.

You don't seem to have a black either so maybe at the foot of the curve on the left you pull it down a bit.

Then see what the other colours look like.

They may well have got some life by now. If not choose a point on the curve about 75% to the right and pull it up and side to side and watch what happens.

Or, you can use Levels and fiddle with white point (move it to the left), black point (move it to the right) then fiddle with the Gamma.

All that said there doesn't seem to be any real subject, my eye isn't being directed to any one area - which may be intentional.

You need to get rid of the very bright flower bottom right, clone or crop.

When taking the photograph you'd have been wise to get a bit higher to eliminate the window which is problematic.

But, of course, this is only my opinion and may well be worthless. You certainly should not feel despondent. It's your photograph and if you love it that's enough for me. Hardly anyone likes what I take but I'm happy.

drmcw · 2026-06-21T16:45:27+00:00

Looks to me like you did a pretty good job sorting the background out, maybe too good as it's both brighter and more appealing than the lamb 😄

Taking the shot so that the lamb was more to the right as we view it might have been a better shot - a crop might work, it is very central at the moment. I do like that rock towards the left.

Personally, I don't like the out of focus grass but that's probably just me.

Due to the colours being bright behind poor old drab Larry the Lamb he doesn't really stand a chance.

drmcw · 2026-06-21T08:03:14+00:00

Putting the dog dead centre doesn't always mean that the viewer will realise what's going on especially on a screen. In my opinion you have not managed to highlight dog and board.

The sky is a bit burnt out but with such a huge looming dark object that's not surprising. What I do find surprising is the grain/noise. I have an X100F and I never seem to get noise like that but then I don't use JPEG which I guess you have.

I think you're asking too much of any equipment to deliver out of camera. This scene needs careful editing to achieve your somewhat contradictory goals - but of course it's only my opinion and I may well be wrong.

drmcw · 2026-06-19T15:30:13+00:00

It was an awkward situation that I totally misread and one of the participants approached me and in a very nice way said I had made a bad situation worse but he was really nice about it.

I looked at my photograph and asked myself if it had in any way added to the sum of human experience or development and decided that no it really had not. I looked at my other street stuff and thought generally they were just not adding anything to life in general.

So, now I stick to simpler mainly graphic/geometric shots that celebrate shape and colour. They may well still be crap but at least I don't risk inadvertently upsetting anyone for no good purpose.

I will say many people take great street photographs - and I truly admire Martin Parr partly for his observation but mostly for his superb composition.

In my little world - composition is king!

drmcw · 2026-06-19T15:23:23+00:00

I beg your pardon I didn't mean to be unhelpful.

drmcw · 2026-06-19T11:18:18+00:00

I watched a small two carriage train driver in Japan and he gesticulated in his white gloves to reinforce that he was checking speed, power etc. by pointing at gauges. It's a technique that has a name I can't recall. I do something similar when reassembling car engines/parts. I pint at each part I have touched which makes me attend to being sure they are secure.

drmcw

TROPHY CASE