Master of Photography Season 3 Starts Tomorrow

Perhaps a photography club is for you :)
It's a possibility, although I've not found one yet that look into this kind of thing tbh. I need to spend more time looking into it though :smashin:
 
Thanks. It's not that side of photography that I want to learn tbh (except 'out of the box'/artistic composition) but more the interpretation of photography. How people see different things, what makes a good image vs a generic or picture postcard image. Why some of these I don't get are praised by the so called top dogs. Unfortunately for things like this I think you need to discuss them face to face, maybe in a group rather than home learning and I don't have time, nor can afford to take time off work to study ;)
Ah - sorry - I should've added that one aspect of each of the modules I studied was to look closely at the work of other photographers in that field.
I was really fortunate to have a tutor who encouraged us to visit galleries, exhibitions and study the work of lots of photographers - not just ones we already knew about/liked.
I probably learned more from doing that and looking at their compositions/lighting/viewpoints, etc than anything else.

Another option might be to look into the RPS. Lots of people don't like them as a body, but I was a member for several years - got my LRPS doing the C&G then went on to get my ARPS. Not cheap, but, again, I learned a lot and got to meet some really helpful people.

My (admittedly, limited) experience of camera clubs is that lots of time is spent comparing hardware (Canon v Nikon, etc), which you can get enough of here or on something like the TP forum.
 
Ah - sorry - I should've added that one aspect of each of the modules I studied was to look closely at the work of other photographers in that field.
I was really fortunate to have a tutor who encouraged us to visit galleries, exhibitions and study the work of lots of photographers - not just ones we already knew about/liked.
I probably learned more from doing that and looking at their compositions/lighting/viewpoints, etc than anything else.

Another option might be to look into the RPS. Lots of people don't like them as a body, but I was a member for several years - got my LRPS doing the C&G then went on to get my ARPS. Not cheap, but, again, I learned a lot and got to meet some really helpful people.

My (admittedly, limited) experience of camera clubs is that lots of time is spent comparing hardware (Canon v Nikon, etc), which you can get enough of here or on something like the TP forum.
Thanks for the info, I'll certainly look into it.
 
Ah - sorry - I should've added that one aspect of each of the modules I studied was to look closely at the work of other photographers in that field.
I was really fortunate to have a tutor who encouraged us to visit galleries, exhibitions and study the work of lots of photographers - not just ones we already knew about/liked.
I probably learned more from doing that and looking at their compositions/lighting/viewpoints, etc than anything else.

Another option might be to look into the RPS. Lots of people don't like them as a body, but I was a member for several years - got my LRPS doing the C&G then went on to get my ARPS. Not cheap, but, again, I learned a lot and got to meet some really helpful people.

My (admittedly, limited) experience of camera clubs is that lots of time is spent comparing hardware (Canon v Nikon, etc), which you can get enough of here or on something like the TP forum.
Agreed, looking at the technicalities of the images ie my most hated feedback comment “nice and sharp”. Yeah sure, perhaps, perhaps not. But that doesn’t tell a story at all. It is just a sharp photograph, still boring as.

Sorry rant over :) and not directed at you, the comparing hardware thing just triggered that with me.
 
Agreed, looking at the technicalities of the images ie my most hated feedback comment “nice and sharp”. Yeah sure, perhaps, perhaps not. But that doesn’t tell a story at all. It is just a sharp photograph, still boring as.

Sorry rant over :) and not directed at you, the comparing hardware thing just triggered that with me.
I hear you, and that's my frustration. My pics are generally technically correct but boring.
 
Another very interesting episode.
Federica once again the strongest (no pun intended) photographer. The rest were very ordinary, IMO.
Really looking forward to next week's show - I've been a big fan of Sebastião Salgado's work for a long time, so very keen to hear his thoughts...
 
The combination of the works, the visual design of Federica was outstanding I thought.

But all of them were disappointing.
 
The standard really is poor this year compared to previous years, even the basic technicalities are missing in some people’s work, and for me this is pretty unacceptable. Yes the odd mistake will happen, but for some it’s pretty consistent.

There were a couple of good shots this week but not one good series. There was a huge hint at how they should approach the task and what the judges were looking for but it appeared to fall on deaf ears.

Flint’s been disappointing, especially as he started so well. The English bloke gets the odd good shot, but on the whole is mediocre. The girl who left has been pretty poor all the way through. I don’t know why but the Italian (I think) grates on me (not the judge) and his work is a bit meh. Federica is the best imo, pretty much every week. I did like some of her shots (especially the one with the mask) but I still think she missed the brief.

All this being said I am enjoying the program, I’m enjoying the tasks, I just can’t believe these are the best candidates they had.
 
...I just can’t believe these are the best candidates they had.

They need people who can submit a reasonable portfolio, but who are also available to step away from other commitments (such as their regular job) for however long it takes to film the series.

They also need to be able to speak reasonable English, and be 'presentable' for TV - both in appearance, but also attitude and demeanour - the prospective candidates need to be comfortable being filmed.

And once they've found people who fit that - it's then down to how they actually react when faced with the challenges. I would imagine they probably get the list down to 20 or so, and set a similar type of task to make the final selection from, but as we have seen, being good (or even OK) at one task, does not mean they will be OK with others.

Perhaps they should alter the format to make each judge be a mentor for some of the contestants, to help them improve as the show progresses...
 
Best show of the series so far (not that that's too big a claim) for me.

I thought the English guy was dead lucky to survive. The Italian guy seemed to produce exactly the type of content the judges said at the outset they weren't looking for (Don;t get me wrong, I thought his images were superb).

Federica again absolutely nailed it again for me. She's consistently on the money.

Flint's just plain weird, but definitely has his own style.

Just as I;d hoped, Salgado was superb - the best guest they've had in 3 series'. Gave great advice, really positive critiques and stood up to the judges to defend the advice he gave when the contestants took it. I've long been a fan of his work and it's so good that he lived up to my expectations.

Having said all that, I'm a bit done with the format now. They need to come up with something different for S4.
 
I still like the format, I just want them to get a decent presenter and stop repeating the title of the program so often :)
 
I still like the format, I just want them to get a decent presenter and stop repeating the title of the program so often :)

You'll be suggesting we don't need to see the same stock drone footage of the building each week next...
 
Yup, that would be good as well :)

But seriously, whilst I like the judges, it needs a proper presenter. Series after series they’ve been very bad in my opinion. The presenter doesn’t need to be a photographer.

I’d also would like to see the limitation to use Leica removed. I would find it more interesting to see them use their own equipment and usage of that.

Oh and just provide the bags to keep people like Flint happy :)
 
Best show of the series so far (not that that's too big a claim) for me.

I thought the English guy was dead lucky to survive. The Italian guy seemed to produce exactly the type of content the judges said at the outset they weren't looking for (Don;t get me wrong, I thought his images were superb).

Federica again absolutely nailed it again for me. She's consistently on the money.

Flint's just plain weird, but definitely has his own style.

Just as I;d hoped, Salgado was superb - the best guest they've had in 3 series'. Gave great advice, really positive critiques and stood up to the judges to defend the advice he gave when the contestants took it. I've long been a fan of his work and it's so good that he lived up to my expectations.

Having said all that, I'm a bit done with the format now. They need to come up with something different for S4.
Yeah I liked this episode too, and strangely said exactly the same thing about the Italian guy's pics. During the show I said that he'd not listened to the brief/advice and did the 'family portrait' yet that was the judges favourite :confused:

Federica definitely the strongest over the series. Felt a bit sorry for the English guy this week, Salgado advised him to put the shot of the street in and then the judges slammed it. Overall Salgado came across really well, seemed really nice and offered genuine help. I liked the examples of his work that they showed too, I think I need to look at more of his work. Whilst on this topic, am I the only one on here that hasn't got a Scooby about any famous togs, I'd struggle to name any and have already forgotten the judges from the previous episodes :eek:

I did properly laugh when Flint walked out in the cockroach costume, what a guy :laugh:
 
...I think I need to look at more of his work. Whilst on this topic, am I the only one on here that hasn't got a Scooby about any famous togs, I'd struggle to name any and have already forgotten the judges from the previous episodes

Depends what type of photography you like, but I'd suggest the following as a starting point:

Landscape: Ansel Adams is the obvious contender and he made some great images. My personal favourite is John Sexton (he worked as Adams' assistant for years). Colin Prior is also worth checking out - he does regular talks.
Portraiture: Norman Parkinson, Annie Leibowitz, David Hearn, David Bailey, Terry Sullivan, Yousuf Karsh, Chalky Davies.
Documentary: Henri Cartier-Bresson is the obvious choice, but I prefer Brassai's work. I find HCB a little "safe" at times, and Salgado, of course.
Wildlife: Andy Rouse is excellent - gives lots of talks and worth seeking out.

For something a little (well, in some cases, very) different I like (some of) the work of people like Weegee, Joel-Peter Witkin, Sally Mann, Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe (made some superb still-lifes of flowers and some very challenging homo-erotic work - not for those of a nervous disposition).

IMO you could do worse than look at the work of almost anyone who's worked for Magnum.

One final point - books and the interweb a great but there's no substitute for going to an exhibition of real photos in a gallery.
 
Really good season finale imo, really liked the subject this week, great opportunity for the contestants.

I don't think anyone can argue with the winner, hands down the best overall and the only person that consistently was able to portray emotion and connect with the subjects. I think Wayne made a mistake going black and white, but I did get more of a feel of 'community' from his shots than I did Alex's. Alex seemed to want to be artistic rather than connecting, which I guess is ultimately why Federica won and not him. Looking back through previous weeks his shots on the whole were better than I remembered but again were more artistic, the only one I really felt showed a connection was his family portrait.
 
@snerkler Totally agree. Your last point is interesting - especially so in light of previous comments re not following the brief....
"We're not looking for a family group", so Alex shoots a family group and wins because of it. I must admit, I really liked that shot, but it was the thing the judges expressly told them not to do.
 
@snerkler Totally agree. Your last point is interesting - especially so in light of previous comments re not following the brief....
"We're not looking for a family group", so Alex shoots a family group and wins because of it. I must admit, I really liked that shot, but it was the thing the judges expressly told them not to do.
Yes ironic isn't it that one that didn't follow the brief was the only one (for me) that showed any connection with the subject ;)
 
I've seen all the episodes now and agree on the winner. Week after week consistently a bit better than everyone else, but the quality overall has not been great.

I still don't like the elimination format as I don't think it's a fair representation of what the contestants are capable of. I'd much prefer they pick the best from each assignment and compare at the end of the series to pick the overall winner. That way everyone gets a chance to shoot all genres and you should, in theory, get a better winner, as some grow/get better further in.

It's not really fair if a candid street photographer for example has a landscape challenge and fails on the first week only to have their preferred subject the following week and could potentially blow the rest away but never gets the chance. If anything it rewards mediocrity.

I do find it entertaining but in the real world no photographer who is any good would put themselves in a situation with no preparation for their job, hoping to wing the task. That is unfortunately the situation the series creates.
 
I've seen all the episodes now and agree on the winner. Week after week consistently a bit better than everyone else, but the quality overall has not been great.

I still don't like the elimination format as I don't think it's a fair representation of what the contestants are capable of. I'd much prefer they pick the best from each assignment and compare at the end of the series to pick the overall winner. That way everyone gets a chance to shoot all genres and you should, in theory, get a better winner, as some grow/get better further in.

It's not really fair if a candid street photographer for example has a landscape challenge and fails on the first week only to have their preferred subject the following week and could potentially blow the rest away but never gets the chance. If anything it rewards mediocrity.

I do find it entertaining but in the real world no photographer who is any good would put themselves in a situation with no preparation for their job, hoping to wing the task. That is unfortunately the situation the series creates.
I agree with your thoughts, however this is a TV show competition and as such it must be difficult to come up with a format that is not only fair, but also keeps the intrigue of the viewer. These formats of eliminations have worked for years on various programmes (Master Chef, Bake Off, X-factor etc etc) and I would think that keeping everyone in until the end to give them a fair chance would defeat the point of the format and would probably even get boring. I think it's probably only unfair for the person who leaves on the first week as they could just happen upon a genre that really doesn't suit them. But as the weeks go on there becomes less and less of an excuse as, whilst a tog may have a favoured genres, they should be proficient in a variety of genres. And even on the genre they don't like they should have (imo) enough skill in photography to be able to adapt and be able to apply their technique and style to that subject. I'm not saying that it's the easiest thing to do, but on this series above the others you'd think the way some folk approached a genre they didn't like they'd never used a camera before :eek: OK, bit OTT but you get my drift ;) That being said, some contestants clearly didn't have a good understanding of exposure and how a camera works, and some couldn't even shoot straight :eek:

I'm not sure it ultimately rewards mediocrity though tbh. Whilst some of the 'consistently average' togs can make it a few weeks further than they should I still think (from memory) that the overall best have made it through to the final each year, even if I've not always agreed with the outright winner.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom