Do you shoot what you are?

[Wirefox]

( shameless, more like! )

Well I have been known to resemble Frank Gallagher at times in my life and I did have a crush on Sheila Jackson at one time - never missed an episode. I do wonder what our American friends would make of it though

[Seriche]

Which may prove that you should never believe what you see or read on the internet ..... on the other hand !!

Odd thing though, is that I've always found people to be much more honest on forums than in real life - maybe it's the anonymity thing...

Seri (leaving a lot more street furniture in her shots recently ).

[Seriche]

Odd, I thought I was the first one to use that quote...

- with a few changes...mostly about the beverage and fruit of choice, but who's counting...

I agree. Champagne and strawberries is a bit poncy for me. A pint of beer and fish and chips will do fine....haddock, not cod...salt but no vinegar......and pineapple fritters if that's allowed

The shot is a reflection of sailboats and docks in a favored marina.

Blimey! I thought it was a hotel bath towel

More oddly enough, I never ever really started to feel my "age" until I started seriously giving consideration to retiring - then, everything started to hurt. Perhaps I should give into the idea of working until I cack...my dad is 85 and at work right now.

I always liked the idea of getting older, and I would never, ever want to be any younger, but as you say, everything starts to hurt, especially when you lead an active life. That's the only thing that annoys me. But I still want to end up dead out of the rocks by the sea, having fallen trying to take some kind of shot or other. Probably will as I refuse to have anything to do with mobiles

As for work, I think it all depends on whether you enjoy it or not, and whether you have to, or choose to.

F-fouled (or the word of your choice) U-up ... B- beyond ... A-all ... R- recognition

Anglo-Saxon's fine by me

Seri

[Seriche]

I know... but, I'm such a trusting person... I take people at face value and my Gran told me if it's in writing it must be true.

My Gran told me that if I put newspaper under my feet when in a car I wouldn't get car sick

I'm a trusting person too. I reckon it's better than being untrusting because most people are OK, and if you trust your instincts you have a much more interesting life, full of fascinating people, with only a few disappointments. I've always thought it was worth it

[Seriche]

Hello, great question. I have noticed that with todays FACEBOOK stuff, most people have a tendency to publish the ME,Me,Me photos which seems to show that they are somewhat self absorbed and I should mention that most of these people who do upload photos, do not show much interest in the quality or subject matter of the photo.
Jim

Hi Jim

What's 'Facebook'? Between forums and email friends I've never had either the need or time to go on social sites or even set up a website.

My daughter recently went on facebook when she was 20, and she posts photos of herself. I just think of it as all part of the mating game. I think most of us are self-absorbed at that age.

Since I was about fourteen I stopped letting anyone take photos of me. When I looked at photos of myself I didn't see me at all - just my expression frozen in a way that would never be seen in real life. Like a statue. But maybe they were just bad shots, because a good photographer can almost magically make a still 2D image seem almost alive.

I've also always had an aversion to people being judged on their looks. The mind is the only thing that has ever mattered to me. That's probably why I never take portraits. But once again, if I was more skilled at using a camera I might be able to let the mind shine through and make it more important than the surface appearance.

On the artistic point, I would say that people who do artistic photos, are trying to say something, maybe showing the world what they like,example the beach, mountains ect. So I dont know how much is extrovert or introvert. Kinda like a book author putting out a great book, is just his name good enough for him? or does he need to also put a sofisticated photo of himself on the back of the book?

The original question was posed because I was hoping that the camera could eventually provide emotional release for an introverted, inhibited person like me (when drawing had been unable to do it) and I was interested in hearing other people's experiences.

When people show the world what they like, their subject choice is presumably related to their basic personality. I'm wondering if common personality traits could be found amongst photographers specialising in the same genres? Most of the answers will be obvious. All will be generalisations. But in the end, it's fun

Thanks for joining in, Jim, not only did you make me think about old prejudices, but I believe you've acted as a catalyst for change

But now you've inadvertently fixed me, what of yourself? Your images are very skillful and show no lack of emotion. Have you always been drawn more to photographing people than other subjects? What was the first image of a person you ever took?

Seri

[Seriche]

Jim,

I think most if not all authors are introverts. It's the publishers who force them to put their faces on the books. Of course, there are some supposed authors (the one's who use ghost writers) that publish their memoirs and these people are the extroverts.

Hi John,

That's an interesting point, and it must make things like book-signings hell for the authors. I'm wondering what percentage of authors are basically introverts. It stands to reason that in order to write at your best you have to be alone, for most authors, at least.

I'm fast discovering that I can neither take good photos or do PP if there's even just one person around. Maybe some people can. Do you find you need to be alone when taking photos?

Seri

[Seriche]

Well I have been known to resemble Frank Gallagher at times in my life and I did have a crush on Sheila Jackson at one time - never missed an episode. I do wonder what our American friends would make of it though

I had to look Frank and Sheila up as I've never heard of 'Shameless'. By choice, I lead a very sheltered life (*not* accommodation ) and it's been decades since I looked at a TV. But Spratlet and I do watch films, old Brit comedy series, science stuff and crime series online, so we're not entirely Amish

Funny how we have no trouble understanding US regional accents on TV while they often have problems deciphering ours. I'm wondering if that's because we've had much longer for our accents to diverge. I remember once having to translate what a friend from Belfast was saying for my ex, who came from Limerick - couldn't stop laughing at how surreal the situation was

Does anyone from the US have problems with each other's regional accents? I fell in love with the accents in Stephen King's 'Storm of the Century' but don't know if they were real Maine accents.

Seri

[ilovelucydog]

My Gran told me that if I put newspaper under my feet when in a car I wouldn't get car sick

I'm a trusting person too. I reckon it's better than being untrusting because most people are OK, and if you trust your instincts you have a much more interesting life, full of fascinating people, with only a few disappointments. I've always thought it was worth it

In the end... it is worth it. I was just thinking about just that yesterday... quite a bit. I was asking myself if I would make some of the same choices I have (in regards to relationship) if I knew ahead of time the amount of heartache they would bring. And the answer is, yes. Because, if I didn't, I would have missed out on the great discovery, joy and happiness that came before the pain.

I've been thinking about how many of the people that have posted on this thread don't take pictures of people, and don't like to have their picture taken.

People... my family... I do take pictures of them... lots. They are by no means, portraits like Colin, or many of the other people that do beautiful portraits. Mine are to capture that moment in time that grabs my heart... I want freeze the memory. The past almost two years has been two of the most difficult of my life and my oldest son's young life. When I look back at some of the photos of him, I see him hidden behind sunglasses... but, I can still see the pain on his face, the way he held his head and shoulders, the way his mouth could not form a smile as much as he tried. I remember telling him it was okay to not smile. I have the one I did for his graduation announcements in front of me, right now... it brings tears to my eyes (I know, you're all thinking... what doesn't bring tears to Mary's eyes). I sometimes want to take it down... but... it's a reminder to me that what I think is the worst is not the worst... a path I think I can't possibly walk... I can... I fire that I don't think I'll make it through... I did... are there scars? Yes. Is the path still hard at times? Yes. But not like it was. And then there's another photo that I posted on here a while back. Technically, there's not much good to say about it... but when I first saw it on my screen... yes, tears started just streaming out of my eyes. It was the first picture of my boy that had that look of true happiness that I had not seen for over a year. I am so very thankful that my husband grabbed my camera and snapped it. I will cherish it forever. We are still struggling through the aftermath, and the road has been hard of late, but I look at those two photos and see the dichotomy they represent (to me) and I get that little bit of hope that I need for the moment to know that we will finish this path and we will be okay... we will be stronger...we will be better... we might bend... but we won't completely break.

Sorry, I'm so long winded... but, that's why I take photos of people.

[Katy Noelle]

Does anyone from the US have problems with each other's regional accents? I fell in love with the accents in Stephen King's 'Storm of the Century' but don't know if they were real Maine accents.

Seri

The biggest trouble that I have is if I start hanging out with someone from the South. It's impossible to not start talking with that endearing twang and saying 'y'all'. (The French have 'vous' or 'you' plural - why not us?) When I went to the UK in college, they said that I had absolutely NO accent. (Oh, I'm so pure - giggle!) When I was in Scotland, oh, dear - I couldn't understand a word of what the lady over the counter in that off the beaten track 'deli' was saying. .....Oh, my goodness! What if I met Donald in real life and didn't understand a word!!! However, once, Tom was taking me 'off-road' into the woods in the hills above our town (well off of any road that a sane person would use) and we helped a farmer retrieve a cow and, honestly, I couldn't understand a word that he was saying. Tom (who's native Vermonter) could without a problem, though. It's fascinating.

[Katy Noelle]

Seri and Andrew-Bede,

you both mentioned having heart and soul in your photos - the spiritual side of things - brilliant idea - a singer MUST tap into it or they're an empty automaton and it is amazing how it makes the 'technique' better. I know that I'm a bit late mentioning it - I almost forgot to reply but Donald and I talked about this, away back in March in THIS thread, if you're interested.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

That's an interesting point, and it must make things like book-signings hell for the authors. I'm wondering what percentage of authors are basically introverts. It stands to reason that in order to write at your best you have to be alone, for most authors, at least.

I'm fast discovering that I can neither take good photos or do PP if there's even just one person around. Maybe some people can. Do you find you need to be alone when taking photos?

Seri

Seri,

I agree writing and even painting is a solitary task and too many distractions just make it difficult to complete a project. Writing involves entering into a fantasy world in your mind and sometimes those fantasies are difficult to share with others verbally. When those words and fantasies are finally displayed in print I think most author's dread being too close to the feedback and would prefer to hear the criticisms when they are alone.

Regarding taking photos surrounded by others, this is how I got into the hobby. I would take vacations with a group of forty or more people and everyone had a camera, so this wasn't really a distraction unless the group was pressed for time and we had to move along. The one negative about shooting with a group of tourists is you sometimes have to forego great photo opportunities because of your schedule. I like when the tours are broken up into sections of excursions and free time. I do however do most of my photography alone when I am going about my daily activities. I wouldn't mind having another photographer with me at times.

[Shadowman]

I had to look Frank and Sheila up as I've never heard of 'Shameless'. By choice, I lead a very sheltered life (*not* accommodation ) and it's been decades since I looked at a TV. But Spratlet and I do watch films, old Brit comedy series, science stuff and crime series online, so we're not entirely Amish

Funny how we have no trouble understanding US regional accents on TV while they often have problems deciphering ours. I'm wondering if that's because we've had much longer for our accents to diverge. I remember once having to translate what a friend from Belfast was saying for my ex, who came from Limerick - couldn't stop laughing at how surreal the situation was

Does anyone from the US have problems with each other's regional accents? I fell in love with the accents in Stephen King's 'Storm of the Century' but don't know if they were real Maine accents.

Seri

We don't have trouble understanding regional accents, we just notice it more and there are phrases that are regional but most people understand them because so many of us have family members across the country.

[Seriche]

I've been thinking about how many of the people that have posted on this thread don't take pictures of people, and don't like to have their picture taken.

People... my family... I do take pictures of them... lots. They are by no means, portraits like Colin, or many of the other people that do beautiful portraits. Mine are to capture that moment in time that grabs my heart... I want freeze the memory. The past almost two years has been two of the most difficult of my life and my oldest son's young life. When I look back at some of the photos of him, I see him hidden behind sunglasses... but, I can still see the pain on his face, the way he held his head and shoulders, the way his mouth could not form a smile as much as he tried. I remember telling him it was okay to not smile. I have the one I did for his graduation announcements in front of me, right now... it brings tears to my eyes (I know, you're all thinking... what doesn't bring tears to Mary's eyes). I sometimes want to take it down... but... it's a reminder to me that what I think is the worst is not the worst... a path I think I can't possibly walk... I can... I fire that I don't think I'll make it through... I did... are there scars? Yes. Is the path still hard at times? Yes. But not like it was. And then there's another photo that I posted on here a while back. Technically, there's not much good to say about it... but when I first saw it on my screen... yes, tears started just streaming out of my eyes. It was the first picture of my boy that had that look of true happiness that I had not seen for over a year. I am so very thankful that my husband grabbed my camera and snapped it. I will cherish it forever. We are still struggling through the aftermath, and the road has been hard of late, but I look at those two photos and see the dichotomy they represent (to me) and I get that little bit of hope that I need for the moment to know that we will finish this path and we will be okay... we will be stronger...we will be better... we might bend... but we won't completely break.

Sorry, I'm so long winded... but, that's why I take photos of people.

Mary, your interesting post made me think about the effects photographs of people have on us, especially those we know.

I have a lot of old photos of family and friends in a box. Sometimes I get them out to share with my daughter, but otherwise I never look at them because I'm acutely aware that photos can only ever record what's past, and as the past can't be changed, I don't like to go there. Fear of the feelings that might be let loose also play a part. Denial is my key to happiness.

But for you a photograph can also provide consolation and hope for the future - a glimpse of what was and what might be again.

It's a moving illustration of the power of photography.

Seri

[Seriche]

[QUOTE]

The biggest trouble that I have is if I start hanging out with someone from the South. It's impossible to not start talking with that endearing twang and saying 'y'all'. (The French have 'vous' or 'you' plural - why not us?)

Katy, I understand you completely. When I was a teenage runaway I used to hitch alone from Weymouth to Stranraer on my way to Belfast, and as I travelled north the accents of the kind drivers who gave me lifts would change also.

Like you, I subconsciously found myself mirroring their accents. (There's a word for that in linguistics, but I can't recall it).

As for subject pronouns, it's bad enough in French, have you ever tried it in German? 'You' is so much better

Quick story to tell you here. A friend of mine speaks fluent French and German, but is a bit sloppy over the grammar. While staying in a pension she was happily chatting away to some lovely old French bloke. Later on he went up to her mother and shocked her by saying loudly (in front of all the other guests) in halting English: "Your daughter speaks very good French, but she knows *nothing* about sex!"

French gender was always something my friend never bothered with, until that day

When I went to the UK in college, they said that I had absolutely NO accent. (Oh, I'm so pure - giggle!)

In the British Isles people who speak using received pronounciation consider themselves to have no accent at all

When I was in Scotland, oh, dear - I couldn't understand a word of what the lady over the counter in that off the beaten track 'deli' was saying. .....Oh, my goodness! What if I met Donald in real life and didn't understand a word!!!

I can relate to that. I have so many email friends around the world who I've never met, yet I vaguely imagine them all as having Brit accents.

If you ever meet Donald, maybe you should hire a translator or learn sign language

However, once, Tom was taking me 'off-road' into the woods in the hills above our town (well off of any road that a sane person would use) and we helped a farmer retrieve a cow and, honestly, I couldn't understand a word that he was saying. Tom (who's native Vermonter) could without a problem, though. It's fascinating.

It is

My mum was raised in an English-run orphange from the age of two, then sent out into service with an English family, so she, I, and my daughter all have a 'posh' foreign accent that's quite out of kilter with our values.

Not historically being English speakers, our local accent is more like Afrikaner than anything else, and I can use it when needed, but I keep getting mistaken for a Grockle or a Colonial, and no one believes my daughter when she tells them about the scary housing estate she was raised on No one ever believed I was working class either...

Isn't it strange how much we're judged by our accents. Is it the same in the States?

Seri

[Seriche]

Seri and Andrew-Bede,

you both mentioned having heart and soul in your photos - the spiritual side of things - brilliant idea - a singer MUST tap into it or they're an empty automaton and it is amazing how it makes the 'technique' better. I know that I'm a bit late mentioning it - I almost forgot to reply but Donald and I talked about this, away back in March in THIS thread, if you're interested.

Katy, thank you so much for that link. I would give much to feel that intensity of feeling. Those portraits are exceptional because of it. Have you heard from her since March?

Your example absolutely gets to the heart of the question here. Whether the camera can act as a conduit to express how we feel about the subject, especially if no other catalyst has managed to do that before.

You remind me of my ex, but in his case the *only* way he could express his emotions was through his violin. He could make his audience's emotions dance to any tune, but in all other ways he was closed inside his own mind, and with my extreme emotional inhibitions and coldness...we were unable to help each other.

Have you always been able to channel feeling into your singing and photography, and do you feel it's inborn, or can people learn to let go?

Seri

[Seriche]

Seri,

I agree writing and even painting is a solitary task and too many distractions just make it difficult to complete a project. Writing involves entering into a fantasy world in your mind and sometimes those fantasies are difficult to share with others verbally.

John, I understand the last part very well. I'm seasonal and for six months of every year I disappear off the radar. Apart from my grown daughter I neither speak nor write to anyone. I become a hermit, and even thought becomes almost entirely visual rather than verbal. It's a great time for art and photography though

When those words and fantasies are finally displayed in print I think most author's dread being too close to the feedback and would prefer to hear the criticisms when they are alone.

I'm sure you're right. And I would think that the best authors never bother to read critiques at all. I'd think they'd be irrelevent.

Regarding taking photos surrounded by others, this is how I got into the hobby. I would take vacations with a group of forty or more people and everyone had a camera, so this wasn't really a distraction unless the group was pressed for time and we had to move along. The one negative about shooting with a group of tourists is you sometimes have to forego great photo opportunities because of your schedule. I like when the tours are broken up into sections of excursions and free time.

I can see where being in a group would be a great help to break down inhibitions about taking photos in public. My favourite walking friend would agree with you. He travels worldwide with his wife and takes photos all the while, but complains that tour guides always stop in the most uninspiring places for photographs.

I do however do most of my photography alone when I am going about my daily activities. I wouldn't mind having another photographer with me at times.

It's a mixed blessing, I'm finding. Being a photographer himself, my friend is very patient and is always happy to answer technical questions. He's also recently taken to very subtly wandering off when I'm taking photos, and stands quietly, staring at something that always turns out to have a much better composition than the one I'm struggling to take I've learned to follow his lead, and he does make a very stable leaning post in high winds when I don't have my tripod with me

Do you think you take better photographs when on your own or with other photographers?

Seri

[Seriche]

We don't have trouble understanding regional accents, we just notice it more and there are phrases that are regional but most people understand them because so many of us have family members across the country.

Thanks, John,

In the British Isles we have a much bigger problem. I love Geordie (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) accents but have a hard time understanding them. Irish accents, both north and south are easy for me due to having lived there, but some Belfast accents are hard for a lot of oursiders.

Seri

[Katy Noelle]

Goodness, Seri! I wish that I could draw people out like you do! I will have to come back later, though, to respond.

[Seriche]

Goodness, Seri! I wish that I could draw people out like you do! I will have to come back later, though, to respond.

.....most rather quickly take the conversation off-list, not many being as shameless and brazen as myself

Look forward to hearing from you later

P.S. Love your signature. Lindbergh's 'Gift from the Sea' is a superb book.