I spent the best light of the day walking around downtown Ashland today. I love how quiet the light can be in the morning before it begins to burn so intensly. Here are a few images from our wanderings.
What makes a "good" picture?
I used to be able to answer this question with some authority and ease, but I am beginning to think any definitive explanation may be a little more complex than I can account for.
The problem of defining the attributes consistent with "good pictures" is largely dependent on comparing one image against another similar image by a more reknown photographer. Other photographers and editors tell us what counts for a "good picture" often based on what may appear to be very subjective and arbitrary grounds.
What counts as a "good picture" in art but not in photojournalism? And why are only some photojournalistic image considered to be art?
In the broader sense, it is all art. Getting bogged down in the philosophies and ideologies connected to this argument can get tedious and silly. After all, isn't it in the mind of the beholder to decide ultimately the extent of pleasure to be derived from the process of viewing, thinking, and sharing what is seen?
What destinquishes photojournalism from art photography is largely a matter of context. We use the same tools, but look at the world slightly differently. Photojournalistic images traffic less in the intrepretation of the world through an individual's imagination, invention, and abstraction, yet some news pictures unquestionably have wider symbolic action and broader appeal than merely the conveyance of news and information.
Window shoppers walk by a display in downtown Ashland,Ore., early Sunday morning.
