The Musing Reflections of Maarten Rots 

Thank you so much! I hope to be back to making videos soon🤞

@@VinnyLePes Great.

That’s so great that you are supporting and enjoying his work! His zines are truly beautiful

Thanks! I totally agree 🤘

Thanks Dayne. Maarten's work is fantastic and he's a good dude too, he definitely deserves more exposure.

I appreciate it! Maarten did the hard part 😂

Glad to hear it! Thanks for dropping by.

Yes!!

I want to take a moment to address this because I feel it warrants some elaboration. First off: I totally understand what you mean. "Painterly" is a tenuous comparison at best, and pointless at worst. I feel that part of what makes a photograph "painterly" is applying that same level of planning and detail in your photography as a painter must do, not simply documenting what is in front of the lens and touching up the results. If you took to your camera with the same mindset as your paintings--planning every detail and controlling every choice along the way--or even abstracting things to the point they become graphic--you would see a clear shift in your work. "Painterly" gives that shift a name that people immediately understand. I have yet to find a better term out there in the wild and this has resonated with a lot of people who want to take their work in a similar direction. Phrases like "Attentive Photography" or "Considered Photography" or whatever else one might call this fail to resonate and quickly describe the goal as well as "painterly". I know painterly photography is a contentious term for some people, and that's ok with me. I personally went on a journey of "what is it that makes this photograph look like a painting and that photograph is obviously not? What am I seeing that I can't put my finger on? What would I need to do to get that look in my own work?". I was amazed by the work of photographers such as Leiter, Crewdson, Olaf, and Uta Barth (whom I originally had in my series but eventually omitted out of respect because I heard in an interview she shares your opinion that photography should never be called "painterly"). I didn't coin the term, clearly, and I understand the contention. I felt it was important to pin down what I was seeing and to help others know what to look for to get a certain look in their work as well. I didn't want to let the boundaries of purism stop me from answering a burning question and sharing what I find with others on their own similar journeys. Along the way, I discovered there was very little information on the "how", and quite a lot of people out there trying to answer the same question. When I started trying to figure it out for myself, I discovered a lot of tangible ways that photography and painting are approached and perceived differently. I made this series to help other photographers find their own way to elevating their own work to the level of detail and craftsmanship that is often more a hallmark of painters than photographers. I also discovered there is less of a bright line between the two media than one might expect. If nothing else, learning a bit of what goes on in the mind of a painter helps photographers learn things that aren't as commonly talked about in photography circles, such as imposing a meaningful color scheme, doing studies before approaching the final piece, etc. In the end I am infinitely glad I put this series together. It is my most loved series based on the feedback I have received. Years since my last upload, people still reach out regularly to thank me for this series and to share their favorite "painterly" photographers. So while I do agree to some degree with the criticism, in the end I am glad I didn't let semantics or purism hold me back. My goal with starting a RU-vid channel was to connect with people and this series has resonated with so many people I couldn't be more grateful to my past self for putting it together. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I do find it to be an interesting discussion that raises more questions about where the boundaries are between media, and if those boundaries really exist, and if we should allow those boundaries to limit our work or our conversation around art.