Good Meeting

Had a good photo club meeting last night saw some wonderful work especially from JG and the new members of the group. I was quite surprised how good the new member work was, the best I have seen so far. The graphic simplicity of some of the b/w photographs was especially outstanding. I think that's one of the keys to good photography, keeping things simple and to the point so that anyone can relate to it, maybe that is the abstract nature of good art that Paul Strand was referring to in the earlier quote. Abstract = simple/universal in structure and to the point? Direct,confrontational and emotional? How to reach through and stir the emotions of the brain?

Eugene Smith also talked about having a SHADE to his images, and that he would feel a certain way about his subject and then photograph accordingly....Angry for Minamata...and Cold for his Pittsburgh series for example. This is very important you must have a emotional connection with your subject to put your shade into the images, Smith said he needed several weeks to find the right shade for his photo essay on Dr Albert Schweitzer.