Another Wednesday, another look at someone else's content.

In the past, I have posted about storytelling in photography. I feel that the human face, all human faces, have stories to tell. Or more importantly, stories to imply. The viewer, then, gets to interpret the face and story as she sees it. I always strive to depict a face in such a way that it implies a story.

Not always successful, but that is my goal.

Which brings us to a post by A Lesser Photographer, C. J. Chilvers. It is brief, so the entire text is below, followed by the link.

"From Ian Brown

"This spring, I was an adjudicator of the 2013 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival photography competition. This week, my three fellow judges – all professional photographers and curators – and I announced that we couldn’t find a winner, and won’t be awarding a prize for the first time in 18 years. There isn’t even a runner-up."

Why? The judges said no one bothered to tell a story. No one had a unique vision. Instead, the entries relied on digital tricks and heavy-handed editing.

It's not really surprising. Storytelling is not valued much on Flickr, Twitter, Instagram or anywhere else except personal blogs, which seem to wane in popularity among photographers as fancier (and instantly gratifying) new tools and services emerge.

My favorite part of the article could've come directly from this blog:

“When I’m shooting film, I have a finite number of images,” [Craig Richards] said. “And I really have to think about what I’m shooting. And this is where I think we’re going: People no longer have to think.”

Thinking is hard. Snapshots are easy."

The link is HERE.

Think about that. Photographers submitted photos for a competition. The judges felt that all of the images were so empty of the photographers vision And heart, that no stories were told. And no prizes were awarded.

Something for all photographers to consider, whether making portraits, or any other genre.

The Lesser Photographer site begins with a manifesto that I referenced several months ago. But sometimes, repetition is OK. The basic premise is that gear and trickery are no substitute for personal vision and storytelling – in the broadest sense of the term. See it HERE.

Enjoy.

Bob