At 18:57 2/4/02, Tris Schuler wrote:
I took my college class with a Kodak Instamatic. The professor took one
look at that equipment and pronounced in no uncertain terms I would
receive no higher grade than a C, and this assumed I would do everything
else perfectly. Sure enough, he gave me a C at the end, which was, by the
way, the lowest grade I ever got in college. My final photograph was
better than okay, though, and this teacher admitted as much--albeit
grudgingly. <g>
There's no explaining judgement and critiques in the Fine Arts, graphic or
performing. If under a teacher or professor, or your the work is being
juried you're at the complete mercy of the individual(s) who pass
judgement. At times it can be blatant egotistical, self-serving
snobbery. Learned many, many years ago in performing arts not to take any
of it personally. Unfortunately in your case it also affected a GPA. Does
sound as if you won a minor moral victory even if it wasn't enough to
change the grade.
Critiques are what they are; sometimes arbitrary and capricious. If
constructive toward achieving perfection in what is "visualized" they're
helpful. If not, especially if they're an imposition of someone else's (a
juror's) "vision" and "style," they should be noted and discarded. The
most famous artists successfully create and communicate their own unique
style. Those that copy them, while they may be excellent in their own
right, remain Art History footnotes.
Other things being equal, superior equipment must count. But first the
photographer needs to get that far through other means.
Equipment provides capabilities, flexibility and alternatives. You're dead
on: the photographer must know how to exploit these to achieve what is
"visualized." Some day I hope to be as good as my father was; he shot
Kodachrome using an Argus C3 "brick." I look back through the archive of
his Kodachromes with amazement at what he was able to do with it.
-- John
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