Photo Cafe' Beach Lounge
~ Chat Transcript ~
30th April, 2022
H.11:00 AM SLT[ The following Episode #17 will be on:
Sat, the 14th of May H.11.00 AM SLT! ]
[11:06] Duraya Resident: Hello everyone, welcome to episode 16 of our bi-weekly photo cafe. Glad you could join us!
[11:07] Duraya Resident: I am so proud! Our first workshop was a big success!
[11:07] Duraya Resident: Congrats and thanks to Elfi who took the courage to perform this premiere! There was a lot of very positive feedback on it!
[11:08] Duraya Resident: Before we start with today’s topic ‚message in a photo‘ Kika will give an outlook on the incoming workshop!
[11:09] Kika Yongho: Hello Photographer friends!
Today we are going to talk about the upcoming workshops! After the great one by Elfi who started this series brilliantly, speaking about obtaining a DoF effect using a depth map and editing with Gimp or Photoshop, the next workshop will be..
[11:09] Kika Yongho: “Evolution of a Landscape” by:
Kitten (joaannna)
The workshop will be a discussion of Landscape Photography and her personal approach to it. Including a detailed look at how two pictures were composed and put together.
[11:10] Kika Yongho: The workshop will take place at Art Korner on Saturday the 7th of May at 2PM SLT. For any further information or questions, you can contact:
Frank Atisso
who is Art Korner owner! Details will be also sent in the group 🙂
[11:11] Kika Yongho: Coming next, in the month of May…
Thursday the 12th of May at 10:00AM SLT @ Art Korner: “Basic Editing using GIMP” by:
Frank Atisso
Friday, May 27th at 10:00AM SLT @ Photo Cafe’ Lounge: “Using animations for photos in Firestorm” by:
Andrew Harlan
[11:11] Kika Yongho: If you wish to know ALL the upcoming (and past) workshops, we have:
https://tinyurl.com/PhotoCafeWorkshops the XLS shared on google docs
For all the upcoming appointments, you can check:
https://tinyurl.com/PhotoCafeCalendar our google calendar
And this is all for the upcoming workshops, mic goes back to Duraya! Thank you, I am done!
[11:11] Duraya Resident: Thank you Kika
[11:12] Duraya Resident: Back to today’s topic 🙂
[11:12] Duraya Resident: We’ll be talking about ‚message in a photo‘ today.
[11:13] Duraya Resident: Basically – as an artist – you can choose between telling a story and creating aesthetic images – and of course this isn’t either – or!
[11:13] Duraya Resident: No doubt people see a message when they look at a picture, a piece of art, a scene they witness or even some clouds passing by.
[11:14] Duraya Resident: As humans we need orientation and we always try to detect the meaning of things and events around us.
[11:14] Duraya Resident: This usually doesn’t happen consciously – we are really good at automatically analysing and rating everything around us to have a basis for our decisions and actions.
[11:15] Duraya Resident: Aesthetic images will probably make the viewer dream and dive into their own universe, creating their own stories.
[11:15] Duraya Resident: Supporting this process is highly meaningful in itself.
[11:16] Duraya Resident: Some artists have a clear understanding they have a message and they deliberately plan on a message in their work.
[11:16] Duraya Resident: Others might rather ‚act on impulse‘ and not be aware of a message or a story they (have to) tell.
[11:17] Duraya Resident: But if one doesn’t know what message they have it might be only out of luck it happens to show.
[11:17] Duraya Resident: Today’s discussion is meant as an invitation to reflect on or explore your messages and story telling a bit deeper.
[11:18] Duraya Resident: Look at the pictures here:
[11:19] Duraya Resident: which holds the stronger story?
[11:19] Duraya Resident: which one you personally would have chosen to take and why?
[11:20] Jaminda Moon (Jaminda Resident): c
[11:20] Duraya Resident: Jaminda has a comment – please share
[11:21] Jaminda Moon (Jaminda Resident): I think the 1st picture has a “stronger” story as there is more to see in the picture and its clearer what is happening around the couple. However I would have taken the second I like to let the viewer make their own mind up of their story and use their imaginations
[11:21] Jaminda Moon (Jaminda Resident): imagination has no bounds its why I prefer it done
[11:21] Duraya Resident: thank you Jaminda
[11:22] Kika Yongho: c
[11:22] zahar (Hadiya Draper): c
[11:22] Duraya Resident: Kika please
[11:22] Kika Yongho: I agree with what Jaminda said about picking up the second view for me too. But I notice 2 different “colors” between the first and the second photo also
[11:23] Kika Yongho: Photo 1 is warm while the second one is cold .. reason why I’d take the second (dark me :P)
[11:24] Kika Yongho: and probably the messages that goes through is also different in my view: happy couple not young anymore still dancing in 1st photo 🙂
[11:24] Duraya Resident: honestly what is happening between the two doesn’t look cold – but that is just my imagination ;-P
[11:24] Kika Yongho: 2nd one is less serene maybe? done
[11:24] Duraya: thanks Kika
[11:25] Duraya: next on my list is zahar
[11:25] zahar (hadiya.draper): the first photo shows too much background. it confuses the eye and missing the message. The 2nd one shows the couple also dancing. also focusing on the legs conveying emotion and movement
[11:26] Duraya: thanks zahar
[11:27] Duraya: for the ones who arrived later – we are discussing message and storytelling in pictures – I asked two questions about these images:
[11:27] Frank Atisso: c
[11:27] Duraya: which holds the stronger story?
Which one you personally would have chosen to take and why?
[11:27] Duraya: and Frank is next
[11:28] Frank Atisso: I agree that the first one is too wide … however, it completely depends on the photographer’s intention … if he is an event photographer, he will go for the first one. Done.
[11:30] Duraya: thank you, I think you are right
[11:30] Duraya: why someone takes a certain picture depends a lot of what kind of photographer they are
[11:31] Duraya: is story telling more important for art?
[11:32] Kika Yongho: c
[11:32] Duraya: is story telling or having a message important for you personally?
[11:33] Duraya: yes Kika
[11:34] Kika Yongho: It indeed depends on the purpose. For me personally photos are a way to express so yes for me a message is important to convey the feelings that come with the photo inspiration. Is important for me to sublimate them into an “artistic” (? hopefully) form of expression. Done
[11:35] Duraya: thank you Kika
[11:35] Duraya: is there a basic ‘main message’ for you or does it vary?
[11:36] Jaminda Moon (jaminda): c
[11:37] Duraya: Jaminda please
[11:37] Frank Atisso: c
[11:37] Jaminda Moon (jaminda): I do not often try to convey a “message” more of an emotion. I believe that art is like music it tunes into our senses and gives us a feeling …those feelings can vary but they are powerful so that is my “aim” as it were
[11:39] Jaminda Moon (jaminda): some find verbal expression hard and sometimes an image or piece of music speaks far loudly to them…done
[11:39] Duraya: thank you Jaminda
[11:39] Duraya: Frank is next please
[11:40] Frank Atisso: A message is not strictly necessary in a photograph … photographs can be purely depictions of scenery, like landscape photography. It is just that our mind subconsciously makes connections and we read messages, emotions inevitably into all photographs and art we see.
[11:40] Frank Atisso: done
[11:40] Duraya: thank you Frank
[11:40] DaneAlbion: c
[11:40] Duraya: yes that’s a psychological phenomenon 🙂
[11:40] Duraya: Dane please
[11:41] DaneAlbion: Similar to Frank’s comment, the pic on the left is a recording of an event, it tells us the story in the same way a newspaper might but I’m not sure i would call that picture art. The second pic is more pleasing though it lacks any specific detail, it doesn’t tell me a story, it invites me to create my own but it feels more like art to me.
[11:41] DaneAlbion: done
[11:42] Duraya: thank you Dane
[11:43] Duraya: I am frequently reflecting on what exactly makes art art 🙂
[11:43] Kika Yongho: c
[11:44] Duraya: but if you accept that ‘art is, what you can get away with’ this needs no further discussion 😉
[11:44] Duraya: Kika – your turn
[11:44] Kika Yongho: I think it was one our first meetings about “what is art” 🙂 done 😀
[11:45] Duraya: can it be resolved?
[11:45] Kika Yongho: q
[11:46] Duraya: yes Kika
[11:47] Kika Yongho: My question is for all.. As art is bringing up an emotion. For those who don’t convey a message with the emotion. Does your own art say something to yourself? Does that emotion bring a message to you?
[11:47] Sina Souza (sinalein): art is nothing you can describe, it has a lot of different facets
[11:47] Moki Yuitza: c
[11:48] Sina Souza (sinalein): c
[11:48] Duraya: yes Moki 🙂
[11:48] Moki Yuitza: i’m agree with all comments about “what is art” and in the meanwhile, I’m not
[11:49] Moki Yuitza: and this is exactly the reason because art is not easy to define
[11:49] Frank Atisso: q
[11:49] Moki Yuitza: for each of us art is something different, but we are all here, i think, because we try to make or to understand “art”, and specifically photography
[11:50] Moki Yuitza: done
[11:50] Duraya: thank Moki
[11:50] Duraya: and Sina is next
[11:50] Sina Souza (sinalein): My Art always have a Message behind it, but that’s kind of own Style i guess, some work with Feelings, some with messages. i like to create Concepts or a Story behind it, to reflect different things in my Life.
[11:50] Sina Souza (sinalein): so kind of self-therapy
[11:51] Sina Souza (sinalein): done
[11:51] Duraya: 🙂
[11:51] Duraya: Frank, you have a question
[11:51] Frank Atisso: Why do we wish to define art exactly? Why not just experience it and enjoy it? The same can be said about love. A one-line answer is not always possible for most things.
[11:51] Frank Atisso: done
[11:52] Duraya: thank you
[11:52] DaneAlbion: c
[11:52] Duraya: Dane please
[11:53] DaneAlbion: i think you need to have some sort of definition to help you to grow as an artist
[11:53] DaneAlbion: done
[11:53] Duraya: thanks Dane
[11:53] Duraya: well defining art wasn’t what we were up to
[11:53] Frank Atisso: true 🙂
[11:54] Violette (violette.rembrandt): c
[11:54] Duraya: but it slipped in somehow and I think it did because it is important in a way – at least to some
[11:55] Duraya: sooo – Violette is next
[11:56] Violette (violette.rembrandt): thank you Duraya ^^ as for art definition (witch was definitely not the topic) ->
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/art then now about the feeling it does bring well i think that what we just experienced tells a lot > it’s personal and it can brings up really deep though ^^
[11:57] Violette (violette.rembrandt): done
[11:57] Kika Yongho: c
[11:57] Duraya: thank you
[11:57] Duraya: and Kika – your turn
[11:58] Kika Yongho: I think defining things is part of the human nature as you said at the start Duraya, when we process images also and get the messages and patterns to classify information we receive. So a discussion group has got that purpose I guess, to bring out all the questions, answers, experiences and share those here, other than merely stare at art and think about all of this on our own. Done.
[11:59] Duraya: I would like to answer Kika’s question if I may
[11:59] Duraya: my art surprises me, I wouldn’t call it therapy 😉
[12:00] Duraya: but it’s some self-reflection and it forces me to dig deeper into myself
[12:00] Duraya: what can I show, how far do I reveal my inner self
[12:00] Duraya: and oops – that is me too!!!
[12:00] Duraya: it enriches me and lets me develop, that’s why I love these discussions
[12:01] Duraya: done
[12:02] Duraya: thank you for sharing your ideas
[12:03] Duraya: don’t forget the next workshop
[12:03] Duraya: AND!!!
[12:03] Duraya: don’t forget to come back for episode 17 on May 14th!!!
