Silly poll #4766: the photograph one

[mrissa]

Note: if you have any particular tastes in photographic pornography, please do not include them in this poll or the comments thereto. That's not what I'm asking, and I don't want to know. That's what you define as porn, by the way, so if you're thinking of examples of pictures of someone naked in a way you don't consider pornography, go ahead and include that. I am a firm believer that not all naked pictures are pornographic. I just don't want anybody wibbling aloud to me about whether Miss October counts as a friend or family member in a specific category, unless Miss October is your cousin Bernice.

[Poll #857592]

Comments

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

More specifically, I suppose I would enjoy pictures of people close to me if they were on the computer, I just don't /have/ any.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I will compliment a person on a good picture of them when they're the one in front of me. Telling people a picture of them is good seems like a goodness (if it's true), too many people dislike all pictures of themselves.

In most situations (not involving pro models) I do think the photographer is actually more responsible for the goodness, and I'd tell the photographer that if relevant.

[rosefox]

I have no idea how to answer the last two, as there's no option for "don't much care either way".

[rosefox]

...oh, and I do like having photographs where I can get to them when I want them, either in filing cabinets or on my computer; but in general I don't particularly enjoy looking at photographs, nor do I dislike it.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

When do you want them?

[rosefox]

Uh... almost never, actually. I suppose the most common reason is to verify something factual (what was someone wearing, how did their face look, how long was my hair).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

To me "don't enjoy" does not imply "hate, cannot stand, feel strongly negatively about." If you don't care much about something, you aren't likely enjoying it.

[rosefox]

Hm. "Don't enjoy" seems to be quite close to "dislike" in my lexicon.

[rosefox]

(I should note that there are very, very few things I neither enjoy nor dislike, which may contribute to that aura around "don't enjoy". Enjoyment is my default state; it generally takes a negative quality to keep me from enjoying something.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I would say, "You're not from here," except there are Minnesotans that amiable, they're just quiet about it.

[rosefox]

There are a great many ways in which I am not from there. *)

[redbird]

Reading this, I'm reminded that I would like some pictures of more of the people I love. I have one very old picture of myself and my mother, and an almost-as-old one of myself and roadnotes, on display. Specifically, pictures that they like (as well as that I like); I do not want someone to come visit me, look at a shelf, and think "ugh, I look horrible there."

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I am deeply jealous of pegkerr, because she has pictures of herself and kijjohnson. I don't want pictures of me with Kij (though if I was hanging out with Kij at a con or something and someone took pictures, that'd be fine). I want pictures of me with gaaldine, real, good pictures taken by a photographer who knew what he/she was doing. With most of my friends who are local, I have some prospects of that: dd_b and his camera are around enough that there may well be good snapshots, and if there aren't and it gets to feeling important, I can ask him to do more formal stuff. But gaaldine is always around in such limited time circumstances that I never want to take up our time together with someone she doesn't know, doing something other than just catching up and being together.

I didn't even know I wanted them until I saw what Peg has with Kij, and then I made meepy noises.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... now that you mention it, my standard response to a picture I think is good is, "Nice Picture!" Whoever wants to be complimented can be.

At some point, I'll write a Major Essay On Photography with my view of such things. Some pictures make the subject look good; some pictures are a tribute to the skill of the photographer. These are not mutually exclusive.

I like to take good pictures of people who have never had a good picture taken of them. I also like to take pictures that tell a story. It depends.

It's pretty hard to take a good picture of me (that is, one that I like), but it has been done. Often, by me or at my direction.

I have almost no pictures around or easily visible on the computer. Some, but not many.

[ellarien]

My most treasured photograph around the house is actually of a no-longer-living family member. (He was very much alive when it was taken!) I do keep several of the living ones around as well, but I think I only really started doing that when I moved across the ocean.

Something like 99.9% of the photos I take myself are of flowers, landscapes, and buildings, and those are mostly what I keep on the computer.

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

As happens with most multiple-choice polls, I kept wanting choices that weren't there. But, of course, I can't think now of what they'd be, since I'm no longer looking at the poll....

In any case, my responses may not count since I'm a photographer myself, like to take photos of people, and like to have photos (mostly my own, although I'm perfectly capable of appreciating the work of others as well, of people, of places, and "just" photos [i.e., not "of" anything or at least the "of" isn't the point]) around the house and computer (although there are fewer of them than I'd like since I have trouble getting around to it and since I have more than a little trouble deciding what mat and frame go with a given photo). We also have some paintings and other art objects scattered around the house. We unfortunately have more stuff than we have house. My screen-saver slide-show on my work computer is a mixed batch of people and places—they're chosen 1) to be work safe and 2) to show off and 3) to show off precious Gavi.

Mumble. One of the things I'm known for saying is "The camera points both ways." I'm convinced this is a Profound Truth, not to be denied; regardless of how skilled the person holding the camera.

Some day I should probably write up all (or at least many) of the different and somewhat mutually-exclusive ways I've come up with of thinking about photographs.

do not tell, show (even if I rarely display)

[aet.livejournal.com]

See, there it is either too many answers or just none to most points (so that my mind takes escape route in not picturing even Mannerheim himself but the way moss, concrete and rusty iron is likely to look on images of Mannerheim Line.Like here:http://www.nortfort.ru/mline/foto_sk6_e.html).

Taking as an example I liked most recently, getting closer to porno, those pics of a naked ballerina (not porno for me - even if I guess it can be used to get off, as her genitalia gets displayed in more than one way ... OK, I guess what I do with the pictures is not relevant here, so I SHOULD call this porno, after all) http://www.ifun.ru/comments/joke7180.html

1. For me the woman looks interesting
2. What the photographer has done to display her body (as porno? )looks also interesting
3. I like to study her as an example of human anatomy - look how the musculature of her calves and thighs does not look balanced (is it something all ballerinas are likely to have, I wonder? Something functional for the exercise they have to do?) or how high her belly button seems to sit on her belly (I guess it may be illusion - if a person has wider belly, the button just would look like being in different places), look how the skin on her abdomen ... and so on

PS: as a picture where I love the image and would compliment the photograpger (from my LJ bookmarks): http://nl.livejournal.com/298088.html.

Or this one (I do love those photographers who keep that LJ on general and use their diary to treat myself when feeling hungry for images) http://brungild.livejournal.com/501011.html

PS: I also looked at the pictures of myself I had displayed in LJ or Flickr and mostly I like the emotion, the situation of the image: http://aet.livejournal.com/51317.html or http://www.flickr.com/photos/50797989@N00/77586841/

Re: do not tell, show (even if I rarely display)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely machine gun embrasure. Thank you for linking that for me.

Also that last picture of you and two other children was really striking emotion for me.

Re: do not tell, show (even if I rarely display)

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

Oh, aren't you smart? Links to photos you like! Why didn't I think of that? (I'll have to ponder this some more when I'm not needing to head out the door to work five minutes ago....) Thanks!

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

I have pictures of my niece and nephew all over the house. I also have my mother's high school senior picture and some pictures of Jordin's nephews.

On my desktop is a picture of the Cliffs of Moher because I've only been there 4 times and that's not enough.

MKK