Damien Demolder
Tharg the Mighty
Reged: 22/08/2001
Posts: 960
Loc: Essex born and badly-bred
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This week's poll, which you can find on the home page, tackles the question of what you see as the principle purpose of photography.
Assuming we are happy to settle on photography having two main tasks, which do you think is the more important - its ability to record or its channel as a creative medium?
Most of us take pictures for the sake of it, because we enjoy the process. We adjust shutter speeds and add filtration for effect, and we like looking at the results. Others use photography to record what things look like so they can show people who can't experience those things or places, or to show future generations.
There is some cross-over in that shots that record do not have to be completely 'straight', but in general there are two distinct categories.
So, which is more important? Creative shots that we enjoy and that maybe simulate an emotional response, or straight record shots that convey more factual information?
Not an easy one this week, but go scratch your head and give me an answer. 
If you want some examples this is what I'd call creative photography and these are record shots - of a certain style! Just examples though, not all encompassing.
Thanks all
damien
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john_g
Pooh-bah Hoo-ha
Reged: 09/05/2007
Posts: 2432
Loc: Surrey
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I voted that, to me, the most important aspect of photography is to create rather than just record. Mainly this is because it's the creative side that interests me but also because, when I thought about all the 'record' shots that have stuck in my mind, it's always been the ones that were also creative that have had the biggest impact. I think Selgardo's work is a good example of this.
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John
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom - Anais Nin.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_gass
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4493
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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To me, the recording aspect is the raison d'etre. If "art" comes about as a part of the process, So Be It. But I'm not an artist and don't have a clue how to define art, so I simply can't set about "creating" an image. Sometimes the results please me aesthetically, sometimes they don't, even if they're accurate as records.
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Hotblack
Dead Horse Flogger
Reged: 07/03/2006
Posts: 7114
Loc: Upstairs in the spare room.
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I think they're equal. They both have their place be it photojournalism or art photography.
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Cheers
David
David J White Photography
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Wheelu
journeyman
Reged: 31/10/2007
Posts: 98
Loc: UK, up North
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Sorry to sit on the fence but there is no single purpose to photography. It can be used to sell, to provide evidence, to jog the memory and for many other purposes.
The way you take a photo should be determined by its eventual usage. If a clear medical record is required for example there won't be much scope for art, but if you are trying to sell something an attractive or even shocking image may be what is required.
I occasionally use a camera in connection with my work and in that situation, for the most part, clarity is essential as the shots are used as records. When I'm out playing I try to be a tad creative, and look for the aesthetically pleasing.
I do enjoy both of these aspects of photography. On the one hand there is pleasure in a job well done, and on the other there is the occasional image that I want to hang upon the wall.
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My Web Site
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 285
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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I voted record...
Pure art photographs leave me cold
Portraits, Landscapes and townscapes I put firmly in the record bracket, even though many err towards the arty-farty.
Record shots should have as much attention paid to good design and composition as any other form of photography.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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Footloose
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 11/08/2005
Posts: 3188
Loc: Berkshire based.
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Recording the scene or event, is probably my main reason (80%) for taking photographs, although I do also take 'Awkward' images with the intention of manipulating them in some way just out of curiosity, or to hone my image-editing skills on, (15%) so when that shot comes along which requires work on it, I can make a better job of it. Finally, there are those times (5%) I'll see something which just cries out to be we-worked in some way, and I will while away many an hour on it, until I get the desired effect. However, I will always present this to people as a manipulated image.
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Trainee reprobate with a pronounced limp (spelt L .. I .. M .. P.)
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APchris
veteran
Reged: 06/05/2006
Posts: 1537
Loc: Lincolnshire
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Hmmm... tricky one. For me, I mainly take pictures for creative puroses and only occasionally take specifically record shots. However, I think utimately the pupose of photography is to record since even creative shots become a record of the period in which they were taken. So I've voted record.
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Chris
Better a bad day on the water than a good day at the office 
My Flickr sets
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AlanW
Reged: 08/01/2001
Posts: 3078
Loc: Edinburgh
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It is no accident that the photographer becomes a photographer
any more than the lion tamer becomes a lion tamer. - Dorothea Lange
It's just something I do, and want to do more than anything else.
My mood on any given day determines what and how I photograph,
shooting from the heart rather than the head!
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AlanW
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chris000
veteran
Reged: 30/11/2005
Posts: 1257
Loc: Wiltshire, UK
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Quote:
It's just something I do, and want to do more than anything else
Yes me too. As an amateur with no pretensions or desire to be anything else, the only purpose of my photpgraphy is enjoyment.
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Chris
The most beautiful thing under the Sun is being under the Sun - Christa Wolfe
www.chriswaldrenphotography.co.uk
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Rhys
Sasquatch
Reged: 15/01/2004
Posts: 2926
Loc: York (home of the speedbump)
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I voted both the same - as many folks see either as the answer.
Personally I like to create images for my enjoyment, experiment - more artistic than record shots - but saying that I have lots of record shots of family which I've snapped while I've had my camera in my hands. So I can't really pick one..
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NRIPN (Officially Nuts..)
RGMP.co.uk (My Website.. well early stages anyway)
Benchinistas.org.uk The home of Benchism
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544ever
newbie
Reged: 10/06/2008
Posts: 4
Loc: Surrey, UK
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Hmm - is Cartier Bresson's 'Splashdown' more important to me than an x-ray of a broken leg? Yes, unless of course the broken leg is mine. I think most photographers who do this as a hobby (myself included) would be utterly astounded at the extent record photography is used - ensuring that critical machinery doesn't fail, photographing a supernova, recording crime scenes, etc. However, for me the creative side is still too important to relegate to second place, so I'm firmly attached to the fence.
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Pete B.
"You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about." Michael Vronsky (Robert De Niro) in The Deer Hunter
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 285
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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interestingly I regard Cartier Bresson's work as Record Photography. as he took great pains to record things as they happened, he was the outsider looking in.
That it was great reportage photography there is no doubt,That it has acquired the status of art, there is also no doubt.
but he was simply recording/reporting the times in which he lived.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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544ever
newbie
Reged: 10/06/2008
Posts: 4
Loc: Surrey, UK
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Cartier Bresson as record photography - that is an interesting perspective. I certainly see your point, but I'm not certain I agree: I think old Henri invested a lot of time and effort in the creative side of his craft and would regard his output something beyond record photography. There must be a few not so decisive moments lurking in his negative files which he refused to print because they didn't cut it artistically...?
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Pete B.
"You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about." Michael Vronsky (Robert De Niro) in The Deer Hunter
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IvorETower
Little Buttercup
Reged: 15/11/2006
Posts: 1707
Loc: Camberley, Surrey
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There is no single purpose to photogrpahy. It may have started as a medium to record what was happening but it has now developed (pun intended) into something much larger than that
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Too many cameras, too many lenses.......
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AGW
Reged: 03/10/2003
Posts: 7645
Loc: Ayrshire
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Surely all a photograph does is create a record (the "negative/raw") of what has been seen or created? The creative side is in the observation/arrangement, the lighting and the timing. There is then a second creative process involved in the final presentaion of the image. The point at which this ends is also a record of the intentions of the creator.
Graeme
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AGW (BSRIPN)
Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where others see nothing. (Camille Pissarro)
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 285
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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Cartier Bresson was an extremely fast worker, and came from a painting background. so he obviously had an artists eye.
However Photography and especially reportage Photography was not accepted as art during most of his working life. He like the other Magnum photographers, always had a close eye on the Financial aspect of his profession, as well as maintaining the highest standard of work.
His photography ended at the taking stage... as he used a professional printer to complete his work.
Quote:
There must be a few not so decisive moments lurking in his negative files which he refused to print because they didn't cut it artistically...?
Are you suggesting the selection process is a major factor in deciding if a photograph is art.
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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544ever
newbie
Reged: 10/06/2008
Posts: 4
Loc: Surrey, UK
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Quote:
Are you suggesting the selection process is a major factor in deciding if a photograph is art.
Not necessarily in deciding if a photograph is art, but if a photographer only presents us with one image from several because they feel it most decisively captures the moment or portrays the feel of a place most effectively, then there is something beyond simply presenting a record. With great photographs we may decide to call this art, or simply good craftsmanship, but I think it implies a level of creativity.
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Pete B.
"You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about." Michael Vronsky (Robert De Niro) in The Deer Hunter
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Terrywoodenpic
A whiff of silicon...
Reged: 21/01/2006
Posts: 285
Loc: Saddleworth UK
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Quote:
Quote:
Are you suggesting the selection process is a major factor in deciding if a photograph is art.
Not necessarily in deciding if a photograph is art, but if a photographer only presents us with one image from several because they feel it most decisively captures the moment or portrays the feel of a place most effectively, then there is something beyond simply presenting a record. With great photographs we may decide to call this art, or simply good craftsmanship, but I think it implies a level of creativity.
I would go along with that; in as much where there is human input, beyond the merely repetitious, creativity of some sort is usually involved.
The problem still remains as to where the boundary between artistry and craftsmanship actually falls? If in deed such a boundary even exists for the artist.
The same question would apply to the dividing line between the concepts of record and creative photography.
Perhaps the only "real" distinction is in the perception of the viewer; as a recognisably "artistic" photograph may have been taken for purely record purposes.
Terry
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63 happy photo years from amateur to professional and back to amateur
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NorthernNikon
Bulls Hitter
Reged: 16/12/2005
Posts: 5698
Loc: Harrogate, North Yorks
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Quote:
The problem still remains as to where the boundary between artistry and craftsmanship actually falls? If in deed such a boundary even exists for the artist.
I'm not sure where I first saw this but ...
Quote:
A Labourer works with their hands,
A Craftsman works with their hands and their head but
An Artist works with their hands, their head and their heart
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www.BarneyAllen.com the new home of ComicShots.
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