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Home » Blog » Inspiration Creativity » ABOUT CREATING ART AND FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

January 2, 2016 by Julia Anna Gospodarou

ABOUT CREATING ART AND FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

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I have to state from the beginning, this is not a “How to” article. This is not a problem-solving article, in the true sense of the word, but more a philosophical one, of the type of me discussing with you about art and fine art photography, over a glass of wine, by the fireplace, on a cold winter night, or over a cup of hot coffee, depending on the taste.

Between us, I do think philosophizing now and then can solve a lot of problems and give many answers, when it comes to art and fine art photography, but that might be just me and my meditative nature when it comes to art.

So, if you want something practical, you may want to stop reading and do something else instead. Or wait for my next tutorial that I am writing now, and that I felt the need to interrupt so I can get a bit philosophical. I’ll publish the tutorial very soon if you don’t want to miss it you can subscribe and will receive it by email. But if you want to hear me meditating about art and fine art photography, you’re welcome, and I always like good company in these reflective moments. So, if you’re still around, pour yourself a nice glass of wine (or a hot cup of coffee) and let’s chat…

WHERE DOES ART START?

WHEN YOU THINK AND FEEL DIFFERENTLY…

I think this is where art starts. I think this is when we feel the need to express ourselves when the way we look at the world is different than how others look at it, and we see and feel this difference. That is the moment when we feel the need to show this difference to the others, we want to communicate it to them because we are excited about what we see and feel and we need to externalize it.

ART AS A WAY OF COMMUNICATING: SHARING YOUR WORK WITH OTHERS

Minor White was saying at some point that art becomes art only when you show it to the world, and even if some years ago I wouldn’t have agreed with him so full-heartedly because I was considering that an artist can make art just for himself, now I know he’s right.

HUMANS NEED TO COMMUNICATE. THEY NEED IT EVEN MORE THAN FOOD

But sometimes it is not easy to communicate. Why? Because you express yourself in a way the others don’t understand. You’ve tried to tell them different things you feel or think, you’ve used different tools to be able to explain what you feel and think, like words for instance, but they still don’t understand. They consider you different and go on with what they have to do, while you keep your ideas and wonder what is wrong with them. Or what is wrong with you that they don’t understand. But at some point you discover an artistic way to express yourself and out of the sudden, you start being understood. Most of the times you have no idea what happened, and you became understood overnight. Maybe not everyone understands, maybe the ones who weren’t understanding before don’t understand now either, but some do: those who look carefully.

WHICH MEANS WHAT? IN SHORT, IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE SAVED

Your soul is saved, and you don’t need to keep for yourself what you feel and see. It means you’ve found a mean of communication and you finally have a voice: your artistic voice.
How you do that practically? First, you have to find a way to express yourself, which is art, and then you have to find the courage to communicate what you create, you have to break the shell and show your work to the others. And that is when, as Minor White says (have a look at the link to see some works by Minor White exhibited at MoMA), what you create becomes art. Of course, not everything can be called art, but if we think as Minor White does, what you do has to be shared with others in order to become art.


In other words, just like it takes two to tango, it also takes two (or more), so creation becomes art. Photography as a live performance


Showing our work to others is the final step in the process of creation. We need this step in order to find balance, it is like in a theater play, like a performance, when at the end the curtain falls, and then you know that the play is over. This is how we know that our photograph is finished: because we know that we can finally show it to the world. It is the final act in a theater play that was the creation of this photograph. It is that moment when the theater crew is bowing in front of the public. They play their role, they say their cues, they feel and convey emotion, and now they are concluding.

It is the same in the photograph we create. We are telling the story when we are working on our photographs, we are creating this story by working with light and shadow in order to build up emotion, and when it is finished, we deliver it, just like a performance in front of the public. The reaction of the audience is not even as critical as it is the fact that we communicated what we had to communicate, that we expressed ourselves through the piece we delivered. We are like the actors who play in front of the public, but instead of words and gestures, we work with light and shadow.

This all may sound quite philosophical, but this is what making considerations about art and fine art photography means in my opinion, to go past the obvious, and I need to become a bit philosophical in order to explain my work and what I think. I need to go deeper and not stay at the surface. This is why every element in my images has a reason of existence: subject, composition, light and shadow. This is why I feel the need to talk about my images, to explain them. I do not necessarily do this to explain my work to the others, but most of all so I can explain my work to myself. Because I am my own main critic. I am the one who knows at the end of the creation of an image if what I said was what I had in mind, if I managed to express myself by using the tools of photography.

Related to this, you may find interesting reading this article I wrote about the top 5 tips on how to create original fine art photography.

My personal opinion about art, an opinion I built up from the moment I opened my first art book as a child, and from the moment I saw the first painting, is that if you don’t get deep so you can explain what you created and why, then you cannot talk about art.


Art is not only about beauty; art is about ideas, emotion, deep feelings, and about interpreting all these through the prism of the vision of the artist.


WHY STRIVE FOR THE BEST AND PUSH OUR LIMITS

Photography for me is a need. Art is a need. It is not a passing time. It is serious. It was always like that and this is how I look at it, this is why I invest so much time in it, this is why I strive for perfection in what I do, this is why I don’t stop if every pixel in the image is still not the way I want it to be. Because otherwise this image wouldn’t be me, it would be at best my camera, or my software, or my printer.

I can only express emotion in my work if everything in my image expresses the emotion the way I feel it. This is why everything has to be perfect, so I can express my emotion clearly and for the others to understand it.

I think an artist always pushes himself, to go as far as he can go in creating the most perfect representation of his vision. This is why you need craftsmanship, not for the sake of craftsmanship, not for the sake of knowing something, not for the sake of having the skills to create this or that effect in Photoshop, but because it’s the only way that you can create the most perfect representation of yourself through the image you create. Skills alone, craftsmanship alone, are useless if they are not accompanied by a strong vision of the artist.

ARE ARTISTS CRAZY?

If you really want to get to the essence with your fine art work, you need to stick to a certain path and way of expression till you master it well enough so you can express everything with it. You need to be comfortable with your tools so you can use them efficiently in expressing your vision. This is why you need perseverance and obstinacy. This is why you need to be a little bit “crazy” because if you were normal, you most probably would have given up struggling for your art a long time ago. Maybe that is why they say about artists that they are crazy because they are able to stick to ethereal ideas and feelings till they can interpret them and give them a shape, the shape of an object of art, the shape of themselves. They go on and on, even if maybe in the beginning what they are saying or showing seems like a foreign language to the others, they don’t lose their enthusiasm and passion till they managed to give to their feelings and ideas a form that can be understood by others. And even if they are not understood, they still go on, because they believe in their vision and because they simply can’t stop expressing themselves.

So, is this “crazy”? When you don’t understand it, it may be. And the truth is that if you don’t live it yourself, it is very difficult to fully understand how an artist thinks and works.

DO I REALLY MAKE ART?

I don’t know if in other eyes what I do is art, it doesn’t concern me too much what others say, because what is important for me is to express myself artistically, and what I mean by artistically is not a word deprived of content, a cliché. It is that different way I feel about the world that I need to express in order to understand it. I might be getting fuzzy here, but if you don’t get fuzzy sometimes, I don’t think you can ever get to discover the essence. That is because you can only find the essence by searching different paths, by thinking outside the box, by challenging yourself and the others, not necessarily as persons, but as ideas. So considering what it represents for me, what I do is art. This is why I try to create the best final result because this result is going to be every time myself. This is how I show respect to my vision and my emotions, which are actually what triggered the impulse to make a fine art photograph in the first place.

WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK

This is one of the reasons why I ask my students to write about their images. Not necessarily to tell me for instance that they wanted one area to be bright and the other to be dark and they use this and that tool to create it, but to tell me they wanted a specific area to be bright or dark because this is HOW THEY FEEL, because this is how they express their vision.

There are many ways to interpret a subject, to express yourself, and there is always a story behind everything, either you see it or not. This story is your vision, this story is what gives birth to your image and you’d better know what the story is before you start creating that image. Writing about your photography is one of the best ways so you can reveal to yourself the meaning and the story behind your image, because writing makes you think, it makes you slow down and reflect over your vision. It makes you feel your ideas more strongly.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion on these considerations about art and fine art photography, I can only say that I hope that you enjoyed reading this article, even if it didn’t give you a practical solution to some photography related question. I like to stop from time to time and think about the more philosophical side of photography, of art in general. I think practice and practical issues can only be solved and thoroughly understood if we can also consider the theoretical and more meditative side of photography, and this stands generally, not only for photography but everywhere in life.
Making photography, making art, is just as complex as other complex act of creation, sometimes maybe even more complex because there are never clear answers in art. The artist always searches, he always explores, he finds some answers but he is never sure if these are the only answers. So he goes on searching, exploring even more.


There is not one truth in art; there are different versions of the truth and they are all different depending on which angle we are looking from.


BEST 5 FINE ART TIPS TO KEEP FROM THIS ARTICLE

1/ Create art

If you feel you have to create art, then do it. Don’t wonder if you can but just do it. Creating art comes from a need you feel. Just follow it and it will become passion.

2/ Explore the meanings

Try to not stay at the surface and care only for practical matters, processing tricks or new gear and equipment, but go deep from time to time so you can find the essence of what you are doing.

3/ Be original

Be original. No matter how much you like what other artist do and how much you would want to do the same, resist. If you do what others do, you will never be yourself. You can exercise by recreating a photo or effect you like, but keep them for yourselves and only as an exercise, or simply forget them after you exercise your hand and then create work according to your vision. That is going to make you a real ARTIST and not only a good replicator.

4/ Strive for perfection

Strive for perfection in your art, just like in everything else you are doing, because giving your best self to something will make that something perfect.

5/ Show your art

And last but not least, be brave enough to show your work to others, to talk about it, to express yourself and to explain yourself, to the others and by extension to your own self.


This is what makes art: expressing yourself and explaining yourself, to you and others.


 

FURTHER STUDY RESOURCES – FINE ART BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE, LONG EXPOSURE

You can find more resources about fine art black and white photography, (en)Visionography, long exposure photography and architectural photography in my extensive collection of photography tutorials. To receive my future tutorials directly via email you can subscribe to my website.

Learn more about how to create fine art photography, from vision to processing and the final image in my book From Basics to Fine Art – Black and White Photography, with co-author Joel Tjintjelaar, in my video course From Vision to Final Image – Mastering Black and White Photography Processing and in my video tutorial Long Exposure, Architecture, Fine Art Photography - Creating (en)Visionography, or by attending one of my workshops.

Julia Anna Gospodarou - (en)Visionographer

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Internationally acclaimed Photographer|Architect|Author|Educator|Founder of (en)Visionography™|FormattHitech GlobalAmbassador|Fineart Prints|Workshops

Julia Anna Gospodarou
_良心の残響 Conscience Reverberation III – _良心の残響 Conscience Reverberation III – Tokyo_
I’m in “reflections” mood these days. Shooting reflections is one of the most exciting things in photography, and it can be one of the hardest too. Sometimes you may get the right angle in a split of a second, other times you may need hours to find that perfect spot. One thing that I found as the most important when shooting reflections is to be flexible, both flexible in terms of approach as well as being “body flexible”. Often times the best angle requires the most uncomfortable position to get it. Which is why we as photographers have to stay fit :)
To learn the secrets of B&W fine art photography processing, check out my latest extensive video course From Vision to Final Image  https://blog.juliaannagospodarou.com/store/

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_Space Tunnel - London_ An example of what I call _Space Tunnel - London_
An example of what I call “Architectural Street Photography”, shot in London - a genre I love to photograph. If you studied with me, you know what I mean when I say Architectural Street Photography. If you don’t, have a look at my website where you can find tutorials about this.
Limited edition prints and more tutorials & courses on how to create fine art B&W photography at https://www.juliaannagospodarou.com/

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_Conscience Reverberation II_ Toronto We do so muc _Conscience Reverberation II_ Toronto
We do so much of what we do out of habit and to conform to rules made by others, many times without even thinking about what we really want. The power of others’ opinion is so huge that it can completely change lives. 
I know so many people who will rather suffer doing things they don’t believe in and don’t like just to comply with what they “should” do or because that is expected from them. What I always want to say to those people is that life is short. You see it passing by so quickly in front of your eyes and it never stops to wait for you if you’re undecided and if you live the life others decide for you. And life is so fragile. We saw it so clearly this year with the pandemic. We see it every day in people regretting they didn’t chase their dreams and what they believed, in people who lived according to principles that weren’t theirs. 
We are so privileged to live this life. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when I think of this, when I am aware of it. I feel tears coming to my eyes in those moments. Tears of awe. I just wish we were all aware of this in every moment and we could all live the life we truly want. That we all dared to go for it and be happy. It is why we are here, after all. To be unique and to experience life to its fullest. This is what I wish you all :) 
www.juliaannagospodarou.com Come visit! 

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_Flow State III – Toronto_ One of my favorites s _Flow State III – Toronto_
One of my favorites structures, designed by one of my favorites architects, Santiago Calatrava. I just realized, looking at my images today, that I have shot a lot of Calatrava structures these past years, in Athens, New York, Toronto, Valencia, Barcelona, Amsterdam and elsewhere. I was also lucky to participate as an architect in the design of the projects he did in Athens. Thus I guess I can say that I have a very special multidisciplinary relationship with Calatrava. :) 
On another note, if you haven’t yet gotten a copy of my latest video course Mastering B&W Processing, you can find it here https://blog.juliaannagospodarou.com/mastering-black-and-white-photography-processing-video-course/ and from what they say, it rocks :) Enjoy! 

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_JUST LAUNCHED_ The moment we were waiting for has _JUST LAUNCHED_
The moment we were waiting for has come! 
The new 5.5+ hours video course FROM VISION TO FINAL IMAGE – Mastering B&W Photography Processing and the 50+ pages ebook Ultimate Guide to B&W Fine Art Photography are now publicly available after a stellar launch to my subscribers yesterday.
Already the reviews are raving so I’m sure you’ll love them.
You can find more details and order them at the link below. 

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_VIPA 2021 Jury_ I have the honor to be part of th _VIPA 2021 Jury_
I have the honor to be part of the jury in the VIPA 2021 Visions International Photo Awards that has just been launched.

I am warmly inviting you all to submit your images to the contest and I wish you good luck to win one or more of the awards. 

Exceptionally, this year the competition will be free as a gesture to help the photography community that was so hard hit by the pandemic. The jury is volunteering and we are all happy to provide our work pro bono to keep the photography community alive and give the chance for exposure to more photographers.

Looking forward to seeing your images. Good luck! 

https://vipacontest.com/

#vipa2021 #photographyawards #photographycontest #photography #fineartphotography #photographyjury
Delighted to have won the Best of Nation Award for Delighted to have won the Best of Nation Award for Greece and be a Top 10 finalist in Commercial Category at WPC World Photographic Cup 2021.

I haven’t entered in photography contests for the past years after I had the honor to win the Photographer of the Year award at IPA International Photography Awards in 2016, but this was different. It was teamwork, and we represented Greece with my fellow photographers at one of the most distinguished international competitions, which makes me even happier to have been awarded. 
We are still waiting for the team awards. Wish us luck so Greece wins. And keep an eye on this space to find out the final results. 

For now, you can enjoy the finalist images at this link https://www.worldphotographiccup.org/wpc_gallery/finalists-2021/

Go Greece! 

Nikos Siamos Akis Douzlatzis Anna Pantelia Prokopis Manousopoulos Babis Tsoukias John Makris Nik Pekridis 

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Fluid Time V – Aligning Paths The 5th image in m Fluid Time V – Aligning Paths
The 5th image in my Fluid Time series, shot in Chicago in 2013. 
You can find limited edition prints of this and more images at www.juliaannagospodarou.com 
I’m quite fond of this image, and I remember how much fun I had playing with the camera and the geometry to get a dynamic shot of the convergence of these 2 buildings. The image was shot with the 24 m TS lens of a Canon full frame. 
The particularity of this image is that I wanted to emphasize the composition's dynamism even more by using selective focus with the tilt function of the TS lens. One of the challenges was to place the area of focus in the right spot, given that focusing with the tilt function of TS lens is entirely different than the way we regularly focus. It took quite a bit of work and patience to get it right but it was worth it. 
This is one thing you need to have when working with the TS lens, patience. And the second is the desire to think out of the box and play with your gear. I just love doing that. 

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Fluid Time IV – Stopping Time This is the 4th im Fluid Time IV – Stopping Time
This is the 4th image in my 2013 Fluid Time series and it shows one of the iconic historical buildings in Chicago, the Wrigley Building. Finished in 1924 and built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, it was one of the first highrises built in the area. 
Here too, I used the tilt function of the tilt-shift lens, as in all the images in the series, and it was actually a quite challenging image to shoot because of the intensity of the effect I needed, which wasn’t easy to create. But the more challenging, the more I love it. Easy images are boring, isn’t it? As everything that is too easy. :) 
You can find limited edition prints of this and more images at www.juliaannagospodarou.com 

#architecture #architecturephotography #architecturelovers #cityview #chicago #chicagophotography #wrigleybuilding #skyscraper #longexposure #longexposurephotography #formatthitech #ndfilters #tiltshift #tiltshiftlens #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #fineartphotography #mono #monochromatic #monochrome #limitededitionprints #Insta_bw #instadaily #architecturelovers #archdaily #photoshop #juliaannagospodarou #envisionography #photographydrawing
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