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From: "Larry N. Bolch" 
To: 
References: 
Subject: Re: Old softy
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 17:51:16 -0700
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Karen

From: 

> I am frequently told, on PhotoSig, that my pictures are rather "soft".
> They say this as if it is a bad thing.

Many people never get beyond the nuts and bolts of a camera clubber mindset.
They will gleefully quote you "rules" formulated decades ago, for whatever
was the pop trend of that ancient time, and the "rules" have stuck in place
as dogma even as the world goes on.

Rodenstock will sell you a lovely f-5.8 250mm Imagon with shutter speeds
from one second to 1/125th in a Compur shutter, for a mere $3,550.00 for the
purpose of taking soft pictures. These lenses along with their 200mm and
300mm counterparts have been in continuous production since 1931. Though
they are view camera lenses, have been adapted to Hasselblads and Mamiya RB
and RZ67s. To use the 200mm on a Mamiya involves the destruction of a Mamiya
180mm lens! They offer a controllable softness unique in the world of
photography and are highly prized. Mamiya also makes a soft focus lens as
does Canon, Minolta and others.

A new soft-focus lens is on the market for view camera use, the 229mm Cooke
PS945 - a modern knock-off of a long since discontinued classic from Pinkham
& Smith. $3,000US will get you one of these gems.
http://www.viewcamerastore.com/ps945.html

Pinhole cameras are also enjoying a renaissance, and beautifully finished
wooden cameras with precise pinholes in brass are offered by several
companies. Soft and lovely.

I have done a web-site on doing soft images after the fact, and have had
untold mail from people who are following it.
http://www.larry-bolch.com/soft/

Sharpness certainly has a place, but it is neither a virtue or a vice. Each
image demands its own approach. All the formula and theory in the world mean
little compared to the photographer's eyes.

In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, old Polonious gives advice to his departing
son, Laertes - "To thine own self, be true". If you are shooting to someone
else's arbitrary rules, and standards - then  they are not your photographs.
They are essentially lies.

This also applies to commercial photographers. When I am shooting for a
client, I pick their brain about what they want the picture to communicate,
and then I become their photographer. They chose me - not because I could
follow orders and stick to rules and follow formulas - but because I could
get into their minds and bring my own vision to interpret their needs in my
way. They don't tell me how to shoot it - just the message that is embedded
in it.

The only difference between a fine art photograph and a commercial
photograph, is that the first is inner directed and the other is outer
directed. Both involve the same level and sensitivity of feelung and
photographic communication.

The people who quote the rules most vigorously  tend to shoot very little -
and most of the work I see tends to be terminally boring, formulaic stuff.
They are very concerned with the minutia of technique - not realizing that
technique is NOT an end in itself, but simply the language of photography.
You must know the language in order to express yourself. However, when you
transcend the technique to make moving and communicative images, it becomes
photography.

> I have been told on several
> occasions (not on PhotoSig) that I have my own "style". 
I've never quite
> known what that is, but perhaps this softness is just my style.  Comments
> anyone?

Much too close to you for you to see. I recall a number of people saying
that they could spot one of my pictures on the front page of the paper a
block away. Yet I have never been able to see it, or articulate just what
constitutes "my style" either. In my mind, I approach each subject
individually and try to interpret it to the best of my ability. I shoot a
lot of different stuff.

larry!
ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/



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