Master of Photography - photo tv contest

Hector1970

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Mar 22, 2012
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I'm up to episode 3.

I'm not sure how they picked the photographers but they are not a very inspiring bunch.
They eliminated a lady in episode 2 who I thought produced the most imaginative set of images.

The judges are totally pretentious and cryptic in their opinion.
I thought the guest artist was good the first night.
Bruce Gilden wasn't great and the one for Episode 3 was downright poor and unhelpful

One person has been sent home for cheating (using his own memory card!)
It was okay he was getting his own friends to turn up in Berlin to pose in his pictures.

It's been a bit of a disappointment. It was always going to be a difficult program.
It could have been a 500px competition (lots of glossy photos) but its actually more about producing ugly pictures.
They seem to have very limited editing skills (or the software options are restricted - it's not clear).

So far it's treating it's audience as if the judges are the only people who know what good art is.

Maybe later episodes will be better
 
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I've only seen one and a half episodes but so far I would echo Hector1970's thoughts - not a very inspiring bunch of photographers.

Bruce Gilden was awful from a mentor or judging point of view, though great TV as he just slated all the photographers and all for the same cryptic reason, like his photos somehow belonged in a different stratosphere to what they would ever achieve.

Will watch the remainder though I'm not holding out much hope of actually picking any valuable lessons up from it.
 
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unfocused

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Man, I just barfed a little in my mouth watching the trailer video for that show. I already get a sense that the judges are much like the douchey judges you see on some cooking shows, like Chopped. Incredibly inflated sense of self worth and importance. Like, yeah, your fancy piece of cooked meat with a fruit doily on top is nice, but not quite the pinnacle of human endeavor. :)

For the general public, watching someone's butt crack while they bend over to taken photos for a day, isn't very good TV. Watching people take photos is pretty boring in itself. They have to insert some sort of drama by casting contestants and judges who think their shit is gold and everyone else stinks. They always create the best TV, even at the expense of letting the world believe that this is how real photographers act. Hell's Kitchen is one of the best examples of the TV producers casting self-absorbed idiots instead of talented chefs.
 
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Valvebounce

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Apr 3, 2013
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Hi Folks.
We need to bear in mind that all tv is about viewer numbers, as already stated by PhotographyFirst watching photographers at work is fairly boring, (even when you have an interest in the subject). Competition and the tension and conflict it creates sells programming to the masses, after all very few of us can help being fascinated by a wreck unfolding in front of us!
Sometimes these shows will even engineer a situation to elicit an outburst! :eek: :eek: Especially if the participants haven't managed an outburst for some minutes! ;D
Is it any wonder that quality viewing is getting more scarce.

Cheers, Graham.
 
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Valvebounce said:
Hi Folks.
We need to bear in mind that all tv is about viewer numbers, as already stated by PhotographyFirst watching photographers at work is fairly boring, (even when you have an interest in the subject). Competition and the tension and conflict it creates sells programming to the masses, after all very few of us can help being fascinated by a wreck unfolding in front of us!
Sometimes these shows will even engineer a situation to elicit an outburst! :eek: :eek: Especially if the participants haven't managed an outburst for some minutes! ;D
Is it any wonder that quality viewing is getting more scarce.

Cheers, Graham.
What's funny, is that even the judges are probably not in on "it" either. The producers know exactly what they are doing and what is going on, but I don't think the judges are on that level. They probably think they were picked because of they excellence in photography (they actually suck really bad, IMO. Checked their work out.) Someone who knows what they are doing does not give vague and cryptic feedback, they give useful feedback. People who think they know what they are doing, but really don't, will often poop all over something and give little or lame reasoning to their stance.

If I ever get asked to be on one of these types of shows, I will first check myself into a mental ward for a psych eval. I must be crazy if they want me to be on there! Ha! :)
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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PhotographyFirst said:
Man, I just barfed a little in my mouth watching the trailer video for that show. I already get a sense that the judges are much like the douchey judges you see on some cooking shows, like Chopped. Incredibly inflated sense of self worth and importance. Like, yeah, your fancy piece of cooked meat with a fruit doily on top is nice, but not quite the pinnacle of human endeavor. :)

For the general public, watching someone's butt crack while they bend over to taken photos for a day, isn't very good TV. Watching people take photos is pretty boring in itself. They have to insert some sort of drama by casting contestants and judges who think their S___ is gold and everyone else stinks. They always create the best TV, even at the expense of letting the world believe that this is how real photographers act. Hell's Kitchen is one of the best examples of the TV producers casting self-absorbed idiots instead of talented chefs.

Just watch 'War Photographer' a documentary that follows photographer James Nachtwey across the globe on several assignments. He even has a camera on his camera (years ago) and the viewpoint is riveting to anybody with half a brain or an ounce of empathy.

But it is true, lifting people up to a higher level is much harder work than dumbing down to a universal low.
 
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Sporgon

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I haven't seen the show, and don't want to, but in the UK we have a singing talent show called "The X Factor." It has run for many years, and has shown, and found some real talent, as well as success. However in recent years viewing numbers have plummeted, and I guess it is because they have made the show about the judges rather than the contestants. In fact often as not the contestants are just a foil for the judges. This photography show sounds similar, but then TV is generally just about entertainment, one way or another.
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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unfocused said:

I didn't remember that :)

Anyway, the aesthetic - not only about toilette - changed a lot in the years... if you look at Stephen Shore's "American Surfaces" he doesn't try at all to turn them into something "pleasant to see" (i.e. see http://blakeandrews.blogspot.it/2012/10/shores-filthy-photographs.html). Nor did Corinne Day (i..e http://www.gimpelfils.com/pages/exhibitions/exhibition.php?exhid=6&subsec=2).

These photos would have been utterly unacceptable in Weston's time. Yet they became the work of renowned photographers in the more recent years. Like it or not, contemporary art photography is different than that of f/64.
 
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unfocused

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LDS said:
unfocused said:

I didn't remember that :)

Anyway, the aesthetic - not only about toilette - changed a lot in the years... if you look at Stephen Shore's "American Surfaces" he doesn't try at all to turn them into something "pleasant to see" (i.e. see http://blakeandrews.blogspot.it/2012/10/shores-filthy-photographs.html). Nor did Corinne Day (i..e http://www.gimpelfils.com/pages/exhibitions/exhibition.php?exhid=6&subsec=2).

These photos would have been utterly unacceptable in Weston's time. Yet they became the work of renowned photographers in the more recent years. Like it or not, contemporary art photography is different than that of f/64.

Yes. My reference though was merely meant to illustrate the irony of thinking that you can reduce the concept of a "master of photography" to pop culture tastes on a reality show. I was imagining the absurdity of someone on such a show telling a true master of photography to go churn out a masterpiece on command each week.

On a side note, while you are correct that contemporary art photography has moved far beyond the f.64 school, popular photography often seems trapped in the aesthetic of the 1930s in general and more narrowly in the aesthetic of Ansel Adams in particular. Sadly, many people are not even ready for Weston, much less Stephen Shore. And that despite the fact that Shore's own aestheic reflects an era that is now more than 40 years old.
 
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