You know, I don't get Flickr: I put up pictures from one of the best photo shoots I've ever carried out and am rewarded with an underwhelming response, far less than others get from shots which I don't believe hold a candle to mine technically or aesthetically.
It's this kind of thing that strengthens me in the conviction that aesthetics aren't to be subjected to the democratic principle - most people simply have no taste, and it's the same mentality responsible for the popularity of hokey Norman Rockwell posters or "Dogs Playing Poker" kitsch which accounts for the fact that a fuzzy, badly exposed cat photo gets more exposure than pictures of mine which are much more accomplished on every level.
Well, you have to admit, the cat is pretty cute.
BTW, I've been curious --- do you hire these models, or are they all friends of yours?
Posted by: Account Deleted | November 03, 2007 at 02:26 AM
Nice garb, is that islamic?
Posted by: Dresidi | November 03, 2007 at 03:45 AM
"do you hire these models, or are they all friends of yours?"
No, no money changes hands. Usually they're actors or models looking to build their own portfolios, so both parties get something out of the arrangement. Sometimes I do just stop someone I see on the street and ask her if she'd serve as a model for me, though.
"Nice garb, is that islamic?"
Nope, just a shawl.
Posted by: Abiola | November 03, 2007 at 09:05 AM
Yeah, your photographs are better, I agree. Nonetheless, this would sound a lot less like sour grapes if it were somehow else saying it on your behalf.
Posted by: IvanGrozny | November 05, 2007 at 02:05 AM
As long as I can stand behind my work without shame, it doesn't really bother me how others choose to interpret what I have to say about it.
Posted by: Abiola | November 05, 2007 at 08:35 AM