This makes me wonder what other books have I not yet read but probably should. Perhaps there could be a list of book recommendations in the future? This concept of a book summary was executed very well, and incredibly enjoyable.
Other classics are Susan Sontag's "On Photography" (makes most photogaphers gringe, but a good read, one often used as a reference), Vilém Flusser's "Toward a Philosophy of Photography", Lewis Baltz's "Texts", Robert Adams's "Beauty in Photography", John Berger's "About Looking"... for a start.
Bruno Chalifour I read Sontag's book and immediately gave it away. Her histories of famous photographers were interesting but I could not accept her conclusions about them; e.g., that Diane Arbus' suicide proved that her work was sincere.
I feel like each video essay you put out surpasses the one before and that is ASTOUNDING, since they are all so good, consistently good and rich in substance! Everything is distilled to pure quality, visually and thematically too! 💯
What I like about French philosophers: They inspire you, they don't seem so much wanting to "prove their point" (as esp. American and German philosophers do). Similar with photographs. When they scream "Look, I made it to the mountain top!" or "Look, how great this holiday evening was!", we simply cannot share this emotion. Ironically a wedding photographer pictures not his own emotions but those of the people on the wedding. That is why they are a grateful audience.
Such a great video as always. After watching your videos I set out with my camera for a day just to take pictures. I’d never done it before but it was great fun.
After a wedding I leave it one week before even LOOKING at the images. I edit another month later. I try and tell the clients to be as patient as possible, it's about editing, leaving it, coming back, having a look again, retouch the edits, continue on, so on so forth. These images they will have forever, for me they leave the nest relatively quickly. The longer they leave it with me the more gold I find and I steer the images better. It's just hard to explain that. Maybe I bookmark this video and copy the url into every post wedding email, heh.
This is why I watch every video you upload Jamie! So interesting! I’m currently dealing with structuring my book from Mexico City and I actually though about splitting the photographs up based on where they were shot. But now, I’m certain that I’m going to structure the photographs based on what they show and what they convey. Thanks for this!
Thank you. Curating a pagination for a book can really change what story it tells. Juxtaposing 2 images on a spread can add a whole new meaning that isn't present in the photos individually. Best of luck with it!
There are some random photos that spark very intense feelings in me, while could be nothing to someone else. Sometimes it’s about to time in my life that I’ve been and it just reminds me of it. As photography saved me many times, mentally.
@@jamiewindsor This reminds me of something that the Gangnam Style guy said. He was being interviewed on some British entertainment show, and was asked about creating this phenomenon that is Gangnam style. He said I didn't create it. All I did was write a song. The public created the phenomenon. He was actually very humble about it. I wish American actors and musicians would be that way, but most of them have an arrogance beyond all bounds.
I don't know what's better. The presentation or the content. I revisited my work from the 80's a year ago. It made me regret not having every single image I ever made. I try to be honest and post only images I can stand by. Sometimes I remove images from Instagram because editing is equally important as creating. Learning about 'punctum' is like getting dealt a new set of cards. Let's see how I play my next hand. You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em ...
A year is a long enough time to feel differently about your shots, but that process doesn't end there, it continues to change throughout ones life. I delete obvious failures and lesser alternate shots, but keep *everything* else. Thanks for such a thoughtful video.
My master's is in poetry, so I first learned about Barthes through literary theory. (1) I think you did a great job summarizing his work here, Jamie, and as always, great video. :) (2) I find just about everything Barthes suggests to be full of air. Sometimes, I think his explanation fits my reaction to others' work. But, I can honestly find no punctum in several iconic photographs that resonate deeply with me and indeed, the context of their message was revealed to me by the image alone; I had no prior knowledge of the subject matter prior to viewing the photos. His theory can't be applied to all photos everywhere. (3) I'm an old-school structuralist so maybe I'm just biased too much against post-modern french philosophers. Because biased I most certainly am. :) For my money, Propp, Levi-Strauss and Joseph Campbell constructed much more compelling arguments than anything in Barthes' "Mythologies." If literature was his wheelhouse, just how on-the-mark could he be with photography? But yes, I'm a crank like that. (4) I fully agree with your conclusion that portfolio photos should stand on their own. I've no special or significant insight here, but I think one gets better at being self-objective over time, even though it never becomes easy. (That's at least been true with my own writing.)
Probably my most popular image I completely missed the first time around. A full 6 years later I re-visted the shoot and it completely hit me, I retouched it put it out there and then started selling it in galleries. Sometimes we are not the best at editing our own work and need to come back with fresh eyes (not just a day later, but a year or so).
Similar parallels to rhetoric - studium being logos, and punctum being the blend of ethos and the all-important pathos triggered in the audience. Possibly, Logos = Studium; Ethos = Photographer's eye and timing of when they press the shutter; Punctum = What is triggered in the viewer/ audience. Thanks, Jamie, for a really thought-provoking 10-minutes.
What I did more last year than this year was that I waited more time to develop the film I used, but also I first take a look at my scans briefly when I get them, and wait some time before considering them fully
I’ve just discovered your channel and after having being living in sort of a languishing void of the past year it has really reignited me in a creative way. Thank you so much
As always, James, very thought provoking. I align with the concept that our photos need to have a "punctum" to create that emotional connection. But as soon as we place that as our objective we are shooting for the audience and not ourselves. After decades of client work it's been hard as hell to get those voices out of my head.
Jamie, you have helped me a lot in my photography career, you and books like "Photographic Seeing" by Andreas Feininger and "Complete Photography" by National Geographic, with all this I have developed into an award winning photographer from the US gov and I just wanted to thank you. I took photography all four years of highschool and this was my last, my teacher told me before I left I'd be used as an example for the other students that are coming after me. Your work helped me start thinking less like a photographer and more like an artist. I need to be an artist to be a photographer, so thank you for helping me unlock that.
McKinnon is more 'pop'. He has different contents, YT is a business to him. Jamie goes beyond, deeply. And as it s known, in the deep you encounter very few people than on the surface...
Thanks so much for this succinct look at Camera Lucida and the clear defining of the term "Punctum." I'm new to studying Roland Barthes. Very interesting writer.
Hi ))) Nice video! One thing that is really common these days, is for people to get on a sugar or caffeine high. And then they sit down to work. Being first a horse trainer and acupuncturist for horses - taught me that I have to be well grounded to get good results. And this does mean eating the right foods and keeping away from caffeine. It also often means taking off shoes to get the sole right on the earth. In my office, I have a copper wire coil that I can put one foot on and get grounded while editing. ))) Thank you for your video! I enjoyed watching it! ))) Gary
Your presets are the only ones I've ever bought. Very happy with them. I feel like they're the closest thing I can get to answering "what might Jamie try to do with this photo I've taken?" and I'll throw some of them on as a wild card curve ball new starting point which throws the edit out of the box whenever I'm stuck in a box or otherwise out of ideas. I used to see presets as "here, copy what I do" or "if you don't know how to edit, I'll do it for you" but now I appreciate them as being able to bring in a new perspective on how a photo might be able to feel and it's actually expanded my understanding of editing, not diminished it or made me lazy as I'd previously assumed presets were intended to do.
This is not a RU-vid video, this is a piece of art, a documentary. very impressive editing and pace, and all these little things like fonts reflecting the mood of the narrative. wow!
you and Sean Tucker are the best (photography related) content creators on your RU-vid right now! You keep me motivated and I learn so much in each video! thanks you!
And Dan Milnor! And some old Art of Photography with Ted Forbes.. yes! Edit: Oh wait and John Free .. check this guy out. He’s old and wise and loves life hard. He’s coming out with a book on rail yard tramps soon!! His first book, surprisingly!
check James Popsys, he is someone redefining the photography (to me at least) in the sense of follow the rules, learn the rules, and break the rules of composition. He takes photos about the objects instead of the objects.
Love this video. My grandfather (painter) always taught me true art must touch the viewer without an explanation, as soon as you add a explanation you are controlling the audience's thoughts and no longer touching it.
Just ordered this book after finding your channel. Agree that we have little control over how an image is perceived but it’s given me a new lens to view my portfolio…
It is not really easy to read and understand Barthes, but he's so relevant to the subject when it comes to photography. Camera Lucida and The Rhetoric of the Image are of great value to any visual artist or to anyone who wants to grasp a bigger picture of Postmodernism and see how it reflects on today's society and culture :)
Another fascinating and thought-provoking vlog. Two inferences from Barthes that do not appear to follow: whilst understanding the meaning of an image does require being familiar with the topic, it does not require believing in the message (anymore than it does with text), and being familiar with the topic and believing in the message does not imply that it fails to trigger a deep emotional connection with us. That the photographer does not *fully* control how the images they make are received by an audience is fairly obvious, I think. And that an image's "punctum" depends on the subject is also fairly obvious, since we respond as individuals. Whilst some "punctum" will be idiosyncratic others will be approaching the universal. So the "punctum" being entirely subjective (i.e. dependent on the subject) does not imply that it will be entirely idiosyncratic or, hence, that the photographer lacks all control. Human subjectivity is rooted in aspects of our common humanity, and a photographer tuned into that common humanity can exert significant (if never complete) control over the emotional impact of the image. This is what makes anthropology and psychology possible - they seek to understand the culturally specific or idiosyncratic in terms of the more general or even universal aspects of the human condition.
Jamie, Excellent as usual. You didn't mention the use of third party picture editors when throughtout photo history they have played a crucial role in shaping how photography lives in our minds. You are so right about emotional attachment to the experience of making the photograph distorting the picture editing process. Time does help but not always. When we were working on Fashion Etcetera with my father Sam Haskins, he said old photographers should not be allowed to edit the images representing their careers, when he was at that very moment doing precisely that. It led to some tough family editing meetings. There's waiting a year and then there's death. Only when the artist has passed away for a decade or more does the deep filter of history set in. This very long view does provide deeper contextual understanding and widespread emotional resonance which, if the work is deserving, grows stronger over time. The only down side is that reflexive curators, publishers, editors and other industry gatekeepers keep selecting the same images when they should really take a considered look at the original books, articles or exhibition catalogues and make a fresh appraisal. Doing this is especially useful for understanding creative influence. Contemporary creative phtotographers tend to be very secretive about their sources. Time does indeed change how we look, what we see, feel and understand and allows art history to settle into place.
btw, the way you presented this video is so professional, cinematographic sublime experience. and your voice and the way is recorded keeps you watching until the end. Great work.
Another great video from Jamie, Barthes can sometimes seem irrelevant in today's world of photography and daunting to newcomers. Breaking it down like this, with great context and narrative shows how relevant his work still is today.
Fantastic, as always. Philosophical, engaging, beautifully shot, constructed and presented. Real food for thought. I will look at images in a slightly different way from now on. Well done.
Oh, this is so nourishing, I feel I've found a photographic brother. An accountant and a painter live next door yet have less connection than with artists and accountants who live on the other side of the world. Cheers ever so from Californ-eye-eh.
This puts into words something I have always wondered when visiting galleries; there's the moment you see a work for the first time and start to wonder how it makes you feel, and then you read the artist's exhibit statement and find yourself wondering (often subconsciously), 'did I interpret that work correctly?'
Thanks for another thought provoking video. I had this exact experience over the past few months going through old photos and finding photos jump out at me that I hadn’t thought much of before.
A couple of years ago I found myself looking at old photos on my computer and decided to make a book of the most interesting photos for each year. Some I consider the best of the year but most of then are ones that stood out for me when reviewing the photos from that year. I make a book of all of them and a calendar for friends and family of the last year of twelve of the images. I get my three children (23,18,12 yrs old) to help me narrow down the images for my calendar. I am always surprised and curious about the ones they choose because they are not only always my first choice. The books are not expensive but give me a chance to look at how my photography has changed over time and does not let them get shuttered away in the depths of my hard drive. Great video. I always find that they stretch and exercise my brain. Thanks
This was so profound! I've always wondered why certain photos evoke deep feelings within me, but have never been able to put a word for it. I've also wondered why some photos that are obviously composed to speak on a political or cultural level often make me feel nothing at all.
Detaching myself emotionally from my photos is so difficult. I guess I really have to let them sit and marinate for awhile before I look at them. What a brilliant video.
Thank you for very clearly expressed thoughts about notions that have often been misconstrued. Probably the best presentation on the subject I have ever heard. To be remembered, Barthes's point of view was that of a "spectator", not "operator" (not a photographer), and he acknwoledged it. His musing on photography are definitely interesting from such a vantage point (spectator's). The concept of the "punctum" with its load of subjectivity can however be diverted in a useful way for an "operator" or a "critic" and added to their vocabulary to talk about photographs, just because of the fact that it refers to a "point" or something that attracts attention in a photograph and can be consciously or unconsciously included by the photographer in the same way as some idiosyncratic spices are added to a known recipe (the "studium"). Punctum taken as such can become a more interesting word/concept to talk about photographs (one could argue that in W. Klein's photograph, the hand without a body holding the gun and/or the look of the child toward the photographer are "puncta" that constitute the tension and ambiguity of the scene (studium). In any case "bravo!".
I read alot of photography theorists during my masters last year and I found his book to be one of the most interesting i read, although not necessarily the most mind boggling. I think his inexperience in photography at moments detracts from the book, but I also think anyone and everyone is a viewer, and as a general statement on art itself, it's a thought provoking piece. I also subscribe to the idea that his book was less a commentary on photography and more a mourning love letter to his deceased mother.
It was definitely a veiled tribute to his mother. I found that aspect of it verging almost into cliché. Ironically, I think this was the bit that confirmed for me that the punctum was completely created by the viewer and utterly irrelevant to anyone else.
I find this interesting in a time that I've decided that I will no longer select images for my boudoir clients, but let they choose their own images. I was getting so frustrated by clients saying "I hate this image" when I personally think it's a beautiful image, but they have so much emotional connection with their own body I don't know about.
I agree with Barthes. In fact, this idea of punctum already permeates my thinking and I think others as well in varying degrees. Thanks for introducing the term, maybe it is the very essence or root of subjectivity in all arts not just photography but also music, paintings, speech, etc. At times it could be subconscious but always an emotional connection that translates into overt appreciation of an artistic item. And yeah the artist couldn't have complete control but somehow proper composing, wise use of depth of field, leading lines, etc. could narrow down the options so that the artist has higher chance of aligning "his punctum" to that of his audience making the art more efficient(?) in its intentions.
Such an exciting video this is. I recently read Camera Lucida and was quite moved; then along came Susan Sontag's "On Photography" to put me away. Thanks for bringing their ideas back to mind. Also thank you for the wonderfully fun video you produced -- a nice change of pace.
The way you make and edit your videos, not even one fraction of a second is being wasted. Also, great topics - you always provide us with new stuff and for that I am gratefull.
What a video. Bravo. 👏 As a wedding photographer, this is something I’ve been suspicious of when editing, and when choosing images on my portfolio. I am very emotionally attached to a ‘day’ and find I have to almost leave the images after the shoot for a week, just to remove my emotional attachment and enable me to start the edit process. Thank you for this, and for having a channel that focusses on photography. It’s so needed and very welcome. If our paths cross one day, drinks are on me. 👍
The architectural photo of the side of the apartment block is completely absorbing... Found myself pausing it and getting lost in it. Would love to see it in poster size. Nice video and thanks.
Thanks!! Another excellent and engaging video by Jamie Windsor ... I learnt a lot. Its difficult, on your own, to judge what will be essential emotional hooks for others who are looking at the work from the perspective of a different stage of their own emotional journeys. I'll struggle with that as best I can and seek feedback to approach improvment if not perfection. But above all your video provides a language to address this with. If leaves are the fragments of our experience, your videos provide the structure (the trunk and boughs) which connects them and makes sense of a tree. Great stuff, mate! Nice one.
When looking at shots after some time I'm not sure if I'm emotionally unattached to them as much as it is a matter of not having the same preconceived ideas about what makes a good photo or not at that moment in time. I believe we are constantly evolving and changing, so how we see changes with our life experiences.
Jamie, another thought provoking video. Your videos are always interesting to me. You raised some interesting points. A while back I was at a near by beach (pre-pandemic) and took many black and white pictures. I thought some of these were really good. I'm in the US and shared them with an artist friend in Germany. He pretty much shredded my picture. He made some valid points that I just didn't see because the the emotional attachment you mentioned. He really open my eyes to the missing "something" in my picture. I think I need to go take a look at those picture again. I think its not only valuable to get feedback from others but if possible feedback from someone outside your culture/ "comfort zone".
I think that is part of the fun of this medium. If a picture really is worth a thousand words who can control them all? So the viewer has some chance to see their own thing inside of it. That randomness is exciting. Painting was much more within the artist's personal expression.
Ahhh as always Jamie, I love these videos in which you share your philosophical thoughts on a topic in photography! I relate to your thought process🤔 I also found it amazing that you were referring to this book. Do you happen to recommend anymore books of this sort?🤗
Jamie, your videos just.....hit and touch on things that are so simple yet i feel that i come out the other side fresh and new with info. I really appreciate the efforts and the amount of care thats put in.
Thank you for shedding light on that topic. I recently read "How Emotions Are Made" by Lisa Feldman Barett. It's not about by photography. But what I took from that is that there are so many parameters in play for emotions to be evoked and understood by the person having them. I personally feel that it is not possible at all to determine how an image will be received. Even asking a friend will only gain you his subjective perspective ... which might even different depending on the time of day or if he is hungry or not.
that's what i love about your content sir every time i learn things thank you and am sorry for not being able to donate or buy to support you all i can do from here is just watch and hit the thumb up
Jamie, your videos are so well made, so inspirational. Many of them made me question my approach of photography, and integrate so many interesting concepts and point of views in it. Thanks for that wonderful job you're doing.
