Comments on: Chris Buck’s New Website

By: Alin Dragulin

Alin Dragulin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:19:08 +0000

Chris’s work is great! I get jealous when I see it because its so simple to get and so well executed.

If you don’t get it, you are probably too old to to know better or to change anything. So just worry about what you have power over, like weather you want your some sugar in your oat meal or not!

By: jonathan beller

jonathan beller — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:43:28 +0000

@Donnar Party,

thanks for your comments. what 4% did you like so i can trash the rest and learn from your expert advice.i am also wondering why people hide when they make these comments. you can email with your advice if youd like. how am i going to learn when people dont say what they like and dont like .have you also thought that im trying to get the work out there and its working.

opinions are like assholes everyone has one.

thanks again for checking out the work

jonathan

jonathanbeller.com

By: Donnar Party

Donnar Party — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:45:28 +0000

@sigh, if you hadn’t of said it, I would have. There is just such a large and unedited pool of shit out there. All these kids bust out of photo school half educated thinking that the middling tripe that spews from their Canon will get them a retrospective at MoMA. The real deal is that you have to be persistent and ruthlessly self critical for at least 6-7 years before you are any good. And the kid who wanted a critique, about 4% of what’s on your site is passible. The rest is like wading through flickr and I don’t care if the Martin Agency assigned some of it. Cut your site down to the top 4%, look at those pictures. Then go look at Avedon’s In the American West and any collection of Kharsh portraits and see why your photos fail. I mean this as advice and without cruel intentions. Next, look at Heavy Metal Parking Lot published by PowerHouse Books, and several other books on conventions etc, and see that your Fan concept has been done, and done pretty well.

By: Terraplane

Terraplane — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:23:53 +0000

@Michael S., I have a feeling that is not the BP.

By: Bruce DeBoer

Bruce DeBoer — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:10:51 +0000

@i, I’m sick and tired of up an comers. Give me old people! How old is Chris anyway? 39? Ewwwww – waaaay over the hill to be edgy and relevant! Jeeeeez

By: john mcd.

john mcd. — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:23:57 +0000

“Edgy” is overrated. Especially when it becomes predictable, a style unto itself.

By: A Photo Editor

A Photo Editor — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:24:28 +0000

Well, I wasn’t really expecting this. I simply posted his new site and change of agents as a favor for the time he put into the interview and because at the time of the interview he was about to change both.

Debating the load time, design and image compression on his site is stupid. All these guys use mailers, printed portfolios, office visits and the help of an agent to land jobs. Personal websites do not have to follow any rules and a simple survey of top working photographers (if they even have one) will tell you that.

This is not the place to critique work or learn techniques. There are plenty of websites devoted to that and to be honest I’m not a photographer so techniques interest me to the point of finding photographers who shoot a certain technique but I have no clue how it’s done or how you can become one of them.

I’ve got plenty of interviews with crusty old photographers coming and some more projects where up and comers can get their work seen.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:41:20 +0000

What res is this website made for? The images show up a lot smaller on my screen than on your screenshot.

By: John

John — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:23:47 +0000

I love his work but the site is a piece of s…
I can’t believe a photographer of this level cold have a site so badly designed, it takes a while to load(i am on cable very fast) and the navigation is a joke, also the compression of the jpg looks horrible.
His work is so strong that a simple html site would have done the job

By: someone

someone — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:29:15 +0000

the image compression looks like shite. not a good way to present your work in my opinion.

By: Anonymouse

Anonymouse — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:21:22 +0000

I expected a better site! Definitely don’t like the poopfest background color!

By: i

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:27:03 +0000

@Tim, thanks! i’ll be sure to check it out.

By: sigh

sigh — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:07:01 +0000

@i, you are the only critic you need. I’ve had plenty of harsh criticism from myself, and that is the only thing that has ever made me better.

If you really want the feedback, there are consultants who make their living charging $200+ an hour to do this. APE ain’t gonna start doing it for free, he’s got his own fish to fry.

…or post YOUR website.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:43:48 +0000

@i, btw, National Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey has built an online magazine dedicated to attracting and showcasing the work of emerging photographers. It’s a beautifully evolving piece of work.

http://www.burnmagazine.org

By: i

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:34:58 +0000

@sigh, you do not get a critique at a museum and actually, this is great forum for such discussions – especially when people can put forth ideas with level heads. sounds like you’ve had more than your share of harsh criticism.
best of luck to you.

By: i

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:31:31 +0000

@Tim, best advice i have heard all day. the rants of ’sigh’ don’t accomplish anything accept negativity.

By: Loren E-C

Loren E-C — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:23:02 +0000

wow. Instead of pouring out vitriol on this site, how about pouring it into some hard work? Mabye taking pictures?

Photography is an open market and yes, its crowded. But good work will rise to the top. Do you all remember what Ira Glass said? It takes 6-12 years to make it. Same with anything you try, you need to get to the magic 10,000 hrs number to be a master. And like Malcom Gladwell says in outliers, after you make a certain skill level, you are good enough to make it if you work hard enough. And that means REALLY hard.

Oh, and I’ll post my website here, and welcome the feedback.

Thanks, everyone.

LEC

http://www.lecphoto.com

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:22:57 +0000

@all

Validation? PLEASE!!!

@i, I’ve been in this game for a while now and trust me, the best validation that you can ever get is when you’re on an assignment and someone walks up to you and asks your name and when you tell them they say, “oh, you’re (….), I love your work.”

A lot of people will look at CB’s work and go, huh? Others praise him as a Master. Whatever works for you. But the purpose of being a photographer is communicating with your viewers; your public.

Focus on that and you’ll be more than o.k.

By: sigh

sigh — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:21:13 +0000

@i, this is NOT the forum for critique, go to a museum, see someone’s work living or dead that is so good that it makes you sweat and wonder if you have any business holding a camera, look at the giant chasm between what you are doing and what they did and see if you can make that chasm smaller by rethinking your approach.

Miles Davis almost pissed himself the first time he heard Dizzy Gillespie but he had the gonads to keep trying. Artists either know their work is good or they know it’s shit and then have to try harder.

By: Alleh Photography

Alleh Photography — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:14:38 +0000

I like his new site although it seemed to load a little slow. I need a new site as well.

By: i

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:06:02 +0000

@sigh, wow, care to post your work? way to inspire.

By: sigh

sigh — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:55:52 +0000

that kid’s post above ( pe……check me out ) is exactly what I don’t want to see. (kid, you’re OK, keep working and try not to embarrass yourself in public, when the work gets really good people will find you)

my god, the enormous sea of undifferentiated gobbledygook is astounding. Where do so many people get in in their heads that they want to be photographers? why are there so many people going off half cocked looking for recognition? Where is the original zombie so I can stick a spike through his head?

By: Michael S.

Michael S. — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:41:34 +0000

@craig, it would be nice if BP’s post had been merely coherent. He’s done some awful things to english syntax in the above abortion of a prose piece.

I used to follow his blog, but it’s been defunct for a year since he signed off last January.

By: Mark Murrmann

Mark Murrmann — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:35:33 +0000

Count me as a Chris Buck fan — of the new site, his work, and as a person. He’s a great guy to work with, which counts for a lot.

Also stoked to see one of the photos I assigned made the cut!

By: Terence Patrick

Terence Patrick — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:57:13 +0000

@i,

See Rob’s previous blog post. You’ll find where you get your feedback and validation.

By: i

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:45:32 +0000

@jamie kripke, you missed the point, it’s not about getting a handout – it’s about getting FEEDBACK so that you can learn and grow from it. pictures will always be made regardless….

By: i

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:42:56 +0000

@craig, to reiterate, i have no problem with checking out the successful photographers out there, and yes the free promo project was a great idea. more of that please!
what i love to see are people like jonathan (below) who post their links and welcome the pe to critic their work. it will be interesting to see if more up and comers come forward and even more interesting to see if they get a response.

By: jamie kripke

jamie kripke — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:40:58 +0000

I like the old site better for sure. Way more depth and personality. I even liked the crazy, illogical grouping and navigation. Bring it back!

As for “giving props to, and shedding light on the up and comers”…. sorry to say but you have to make your own light. Don’t wait for someone to come around and hand it to you. Stop whining and go make some pictures.

By: jonathan beller

jonathan beller — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:07:47 +0000

pe
what were the photos that you assigned please?

i really like chris bucks photos.him and dan winters always inspire me .

i am a new talent just starting to get some props.

check out this blog article about me and my book project.

http://artproducer.blogspot.com/2008/12/personal-project-jonathan-beller.html

maybe when i get my book deal the pe will write about me and my project.

also check out my website

jonathanbeller.com

please email me with your comments and crits. love to hear what you all have to say.
thanks

jonathan

jonathanbeller.com

By: craig

craig — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:06:51 +0000

@i,
well then post a link to the up and comers you want to have us all see. but, as far as calling rob out here, i doubt you will find many people who wouldn’t agree that he has been more than willing to give people a bit of a chance to get out of their shells (ie, his free promo project earlier last year, and offering to share his professional experience here).