Bricks have been used for building since ancient times and while there have been improvements to them, the basic recipe remains sand, water, clay and heat. It’s a popular building material in this area and there are many local brick manufactures taking advantage of the abundance of North Carolina clay — on a dry hot summer the soil in this area often becomes as hard as a brick. There are hundred’s of thousands of bricks produced each and every day.
So how do all these brick makers make their bricks special and appeal to customers? Most apply technology, ramping up and automating production to reduce cost. Others may try and make “modern bricks” with unique mixtures of stone, glass or ceramics added to gardner attention and generate a “WOW” factor.
Let’s shift our focus for a moment and instead of bricks and brick makers, think of photos and photographers. There are hundred’s of thousand of photos being made and shared over the Internet each day. Many photographers have turned to technology and processing to create a “hip” personal style, capture attention and generate a “WOW” factor. Many are very successful with this but it brings to question is there a place for “merely” a good photograph?
Mixing bricks and photos
Back to bricks… There’s a local brick maker who’s been very successful staying with the basics and making hand moulded bricks. Their commitment to this method of basic quality gives them a market composed of those who recognize craftsmanship and authenticity of their skills and craft. These hand-made bricks are in great demand for both new and restorative work and you could find them in many eminent residences across the country and in historical U.S. location such as Williamsburg, Monticello, Mount Vernon, and Montpelier.
Just as the quality of a good brick remains appreciated by professional craftsmen and customers, a good photo will always be valued by professional craftsmen and lovers of photography. As much as I like and enjoy the tools and capabilities of post-processing they can never replace mastering photography basics and capturing the best photo in the camera.
I have to think if Ansel Adams were shooting digital today his photos would still have that special quality setting them apart–the man was a master with light.
Last year I focused on post-processing skills and while this year I’ll still work in that area I want to make sure I remember the quality of the photo begins well before the shutter clicks — technology doesn’t replace dedication, knowledge, and skill.
I borrowed the methodology used by Andreas for arriving at the title for this post, using Pink Floyd’s song title. :-)
I did some hand scripting of the photo links using the Flickr hosted photos with Lightbox2 and keeping a link to the photos Flickr page – a complicated linking process. This may meet the minimum requirements of the Flickr Community Guidelines. This is not a final solution more of an experiment — I’m searching for a more automated workaround. ;-)
Well said, Earl, “As much as I like and enjoy the tools and capabilities of post-processing they can never replace mastering photography basics and capturing the best photo in the camera.” Have a great week, my friend!
Excellent post, Earl. There is something about craftsmanship that is enduring and valuable. It doesn’t necessarily need to be crafted by hand, but if it is quality, people will return over and over again. The hard part about fads, or “Wow!”, is that you have to keep following the trend and the item never seems to have any depth.
Oh, I saw your picture on Flickr first but it didn’t struck me that you might had made a write-up out from it. It’s a good analogy.
I well made brick lasts for centuries, and a well-made photo should be able to hold its the interestingness for as long, if not even longer. Time will have to prove that, photography is a young craft.
I had scheduled this post for early today yesterday and so I had to upload the brick wall photo earlier then I normally would.
I’m sure photography will continue to grow and evolve. We may be taking 3D images that are displayed as realistic holograms one day — perhaps photos you can walk into. :-)
I would prefer to keep them as is, as bricks.
/mr Old School
:-)
your angle of view makes it an exciting shot
I am really digging this photo Earl. Dynamic angle, and the gritty processing fits well with the subject. I actually think this would make a good album cover – Pink Floyd maybe – but certainly a good cover. :-)
Thanks, Mark. This photo was one that I kept coming back to several times before I finally decided what direction I wanted to take post-processing. I’m glad you like the results.
Wow! Love this image. I guess it would be pretty impossible to get any more dynamics out of a brick wall :)
Thanks. I was going for “gritty impact” with this image so I’ll consider it successful in that regard. :-)