This is why I watch every video you upload Jamie! So interesting! I’m currently dealing with structuring my book from Mexico City and I actually though about splitting the photographs up based on where they were shot. But now, I’m certain that I’m going to structure the photographs based on what they show and what they convey. Thanks for this!
Thank you. Curating a pagination for a book can really change what story it tells. Juxtaposing 2 images on a spread can add a whole new meaning that isn't present in the photos individually. Best of luck with it!
There are some random photos that spark very intense feelings in me, while could be nothing to someone else. Sometimes it’s about to time in my life that I’ve been and it just reminds me of it. As photography saved me many times, mentally.
This makes me wonder what other books have I not yet read but probably should. Perhaps there could be a list of book recommendations in the future? This concept of a book summary was executed very well, and incredibly enjoyable.
Other classics are Susan Sontag's "On Photography" (makes most photogaphers gringe, but a good read, one often used as a reference), Vilém Flusser's "Toward a Philosophy of Photography", Lewis Baltz's "Texts", Robert Adams's "Beauty in Photography", John Berger's "About Looking"... for a start.
Bruno Chalifour I read Sontag's book and immediately gave it away. Her histories of famous photographers were interesting but I could not accept her conclusions about them; e.g., that Diane Arbus' suicide proved that her work was sincere.
@@jamiewindsor This reminds me of something that the Gangnam Style guy said. He was being interviewed on some British entertainment show, and was asked about creating this phenomenon that is Gangnam style. He said I didn't create it. All I did was write a song. The public created the phenomenon. He was actually very humble about it. I wish American actors and musicians would be that way, but most of them have an arrogance beyond all bounds.
What I like about French philosophers: They inspire you, they don't seem so much wanting to "prove their point" (as esp. American and German philosophers do). Similar with photographs. When they scream "Look, I made it to the mountain top!" or "Look, how great this holiday evening was!", we simply cannot share this emotion. Ironically a wedding photographer pictures not his own emotions but those of the people on the wedding. That is why they are a grateful audience.
I feel like each video essay you put out surpasses the one before and that is ASTOUNDING, since they are all so good, consistently good and rich in substance! Everything is distilled to pure quality, visually and thematically too! 💯
Similar parallels to rhetoric - studium being logos, and punctum being the blend of ethos and the all-important pathos triggered in the audience. Possibly, Logos = Studium; Ethos = Photographer's eye and timing of when they press the shutter; Punctum = What is triggered in the viewer/ audience. Thanks, Jamie, for a really thought-provoking 10-minutes.
After a wedding I leave it one week before even LOOKING at the images. I edit another month later. I try and tell the clients to be as patient as possible, it's about editing, leaving it, coming back, having a look again, retouch the edits, continue on, so on so forth. These images they will have forever, for me they leave the nest relatively quickly. The longer they leave it with me the more gold I find and I steer the images better. It's just hard to explain that. Maybe I bookmark this video and copy the url into every post wedding email, heh.
A year is a long enough time to feel differently about your shots, but that process doesn't end there, it continues to change throughout ones life. I delete obvious failures and lesser alternate shots, but keep *everything* else. Thanks for such a thoughtful video.
I don't know what's better. The presentation or the content. I revisited my work from the 80's a year ago. It made me regret not having every single image I ever made. I try to be honest and post only images I can stand by. Sometimes I remove images from Instagram because editing is equally important as creating. Learning about 'punctum' is like getting dealt a new set of cards. Let's see how I play my next hand. You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em ...
Probably my most popular image I completely missed the first time around. A full 6 years later I re-visted the shoot and it completely hit me, I retouched it put it out there and then started selling it in galleries. Sometimes we are not the best at editing our own work and need to come back with fresh eyes (not just a day later, but a year or so).
Such a great video as always. After watching your videos I set out with my camera for a day just to take pictures. I’d never done it before but it was great fun.
What I did more last year than this year was that I waited more time to develop the film I used, but also I first take a look at my scans briefly when I get them, and wait some time before considering them fully
Hi ))) Nice video! One thing that is really common these days, is for people to get on a sugar or caffeine high. And then they sit down to work. Being first a horse trainer and acupuncturist for horses - taught me that I have to be well grounded to get good results. And this does mean eating the right foods and keeping away from caffeine. It also often means taking off shoes to get the sole right on the earth. In my office, I have a copper wire coil that I can put one foot on and get grounded while editing. ))) Thank you for your video! I enjoyed watching it! ))) Gary
Jamie, Excellent as usual. You didn't mention the use of third party picture editors when throughtout photo history they have played a crucial role in shaping how photography lives in our minds. You are so right about emotional attachment to the experience of making the photograph distorting the picture editing process. Time does help but not always. When we were working on Fashion Etcetera with my father Sam Haskins, he said old photographers should not be allowed to edit the images representing their careers, when he was at that very moment doing precisely that. It led to some tough family editing meetings. There's waiting a year and then there's death. Only when the artist has passed away for a decade or more does the deep filter of history set in. This very long view does provide deeper contextual understanding and widespread emotional resonance which, if the work is deserving, grows stronger over time. The only down side is that reflexive curators, publishers, editors and other industry gatekeepers keep selecting the same images when they should really take a considered look at the original books, articles or exhibition catalogues and make a fresh appraisal. Doing this is especially useful for understanding creative influence. Contemporary creative phtotographers tend to be very secretive about their sources. Time does indeed change how we look, what we see, feel and understand and allows art history to settle into place.
This is not a RUclips video, this is a piece of art, a documentary. very impressive editing and pace, and all these little things like fonts reflecting the mood of the narrative. wow!
My master's is in poetry, so I first learned about Barthes through literary theory. (1) I think you did a great job summarizing his work here, Jamie, and as always, great video. :) (2) I find just about everything Barthes suggests to be full of air. Sometimes, I think his explanation fits my reaction to others' work. But, I can honestly find no punctum in several iconic photographs that resonate deeply with me and indeed, the context of their message was revealed to me by the image alone; I had no prior knowledge of the subject matter prior to viewing the photos. His theory can't be applied to all photos everywhere. (3) I'm an old-school structuralist so maybe I'm just biased too much against post-modern french philosophers. Because biased I most certainly am. :) For my money, Propp, Levi-Strauss and Joseph Campbell constructed much more compelling arguments than anything in Barthes' "Mythologies." If literature was his wheelhouse, just how on-the-mark could he be with photography? But yes, I'm a crank like that. (4) I fully agree with your conclusion that portfolio photos should stand on their own. I've no special or significant insight here, but I think one gets better at being self-objective over time, even though it never becomes easy. (That's at least been true with my own writing.)
Thanks so much for this succinct look at Camera Lucida and the clear defining of the term "Punctum." I'm new to studying Roland Barthes. Very interesting writer.
Fantastic, as always. Philosophical, engaging, beautifully shot, constructed and presented. Real food for thought. I will look at images in a slightly different way from now on. Well done.
Another fascinating and thought-provoking vlog. Two inferences from Barthes that do not appear to follow: whilst understanding the meaning of an image does require being familiar with the topic, it does not require believing in the message (anymore than it does with text), and being familiar with the topic and believing in the message does not imply that it fails to trigger a deep emotional connection with us. That the photographer does not *fully* control how the images they make are received by an audience is fairly obvious, I think. And that an image's "punctum" depends on the subject is also fairly obvious, since we respond as individuals. Whilst some "punctum" will be idiosyncratic others will be approaching the universal. So the "punctum" being entirely subjective (i.e. dependent on the subject) does not imply that it will be entirely idiosyncratic or, hence, that the photographer lacks all control. Human subjectivity is rooted in aspects of our common humanity, and a photographer tuned into that common humanity can exert significant (if never complete) control over the emotional impact of the image. This is what makes anthropology and psychology possible - they seek to understand the culturally specific or idiosyncratic in terms of the more general or even universal aspects of the human condition.
btw, the way you presented this video is so professional, cinematographic sublime experience. and your voice and the way is recorded keeps you watching until the end. Great work.
As always, James, very thought provoking. I align with the concept that our photos need to have a "punctum" to create that emotional connection. But as soon as we place that as our objective we are shooting for the audience and not ourselves. After decades of client work it's been hard as hell to get those voices out of my head.
I’ve just discovered your channel and after having being living in sort of a languishing void of the past year it has really reignited me in a creative way. Thank you so much
Oh, this is so nourishing, I feel I've found a photographic brother. An accountant and a painter live next door yet have less connection than with artists and accountants who live on the other side of the world. Cheers ever so from Californ-eye-eh.
Jamie, you have helped me a lot in my photography career, you and books like "Photographic Seeing" by Andreas Feininger and "Complete Photography" by National Geographic, with all this I have developed into an award winning photographer from the US gov and I just wanted to thank you. I took photography all four years of highschool and this was my last, my teacher told me before I left I'd be used as an example for the other students that are coming after me. Your work helped me start thinking less like a photographer and more like an artist. I need to be an artist to be a photographer, so thank you for helping me unlock that.
The way you make and edit your videos, not even one fraction of a second is being wasted. Also, great topics - you always provide us with new stuff and for that I am gratefull.
Just ordered this book after finding your channel. Agree that we have little control over how an image is perceived but it’s given me a new lens to view my portfolio…
Thank you for very clearly expressed thoughts about notions that have often been misconstrued. Probably the best presentation on the subject I have ever heard. To be remembered, Barthes's point of view was that of a "spectator", not "operator" (not a photographer), and he acknwoledged it. His musing on photography are definitely interesting from such a vantage point (spectator's). The concept of the "punctum" with its load of subjectivity can however be diverted in a useful way for an "operator" or a "critic" and added to their vocabulary to talk about photographs, just because of the fact that it refers to a "point" or something that attracts attention in a photograph and can be consciously or unconsciously included by the photographer in the same way as some idiosyncratic spices are added to a known recipe (the "studium"). Punctum taken as such can become a more interesting word/concept to talk about photographs (one could argue that in W. Klein's photograph, the hand without a body holding the gun and/or the look of the child toward the photographer are "puncta" that constitute the tension and ambiguity of the scene (studium). In any case "bravo!".
It is not really easy to read and understand Barthes, but he's so relevant to the subject when it comes to photography. Camera Lucida and The Rhetoric of the Image are of great value to any visual artist or to anyone who wants to grasp a bigger picture of Postmodernism and see how it reflects on today's society and culture :)
McKinnon is more 'pop'. He has different contents, YT is a business to him. Jamie goes beyond, deeply. And as it s known, in the deep you encounter very few people than on the surface...
Your presets are the only ones I've ever bought. Very happy with them. I feel like they're the closest thing I can get to answering "what might Jamie try to do with this photo I've taken?" and I'll throw some of them on as a wild card curve ball new starting point which throws the edit out of the box whenever I'm stuck in a box or otherwise out of ideas. I used to see presets as "here, copy what I do" or "if you don't know how to edit, I'll do it for you" but now I appreciate them as being able to bring in a new perspective on how a photo might be able to feel and it's actually expanded my understanding of editing, not diminished it or made me lazy as I'd previously assumed presets were intended to do.
Such an exciting video this is. I recently read Camera Lucida and was quite moved; then along came Susan Sontag's "On Photography" to put me away. Thanks for bringing their ideas back to mind. Also thank you for the wonderfully fun video you produced -- a nice change of pace.
you and Sean Tucker are the best (photography related) content creators on your RUclips right now! You keep me motivated and I learn so much in each video! thanks you!
And Dan Milnor! And some old Art of Photography with Ted Forbes.. yes! Edit: Oh wait and John Free .. check this guy out. He’s old and wise and loves life hard. He’s coming out with a book on rail yard tramps soon!! His first book, surprisingly!
check James Popsys, he is someone redefining the photography (to me at least) in the sense of follow the rules, learn the rules, and break the rules of composition. He takes photos about the objects instead of the objects.
I read alot of photography theorists during my masters last year and I found his book to be one of the most interesting i read, although not necessarily the most mind boggling. I think his inexperience in photography at moments detracts from the book, but I also think anyone and everyone is a viewer, and as a general statement on art itself, it's a thought provoking piece. I also subscribe to the idea that his book was less a commentary on photography and more a mourning love letter to his deceased mother.
It was definitely a veiled tribute to his mother. I found that aspect of it verging almost into cliché. Ironically, I think this was the bit that confirmed for me that the punctum was completely created by the viewer and utterly irrelevant to anyone else.
Another great video from Jamie, Barthes can sometimes seem irrelevant in today's world of photography and daunting to newcomers. Breaking it down like this, with great context and narrative shows how relevant his work still is today.
Love this video. My grandfather (painter) always taught me true art must touch the viewer without an explanation, as soon as you add a explanation you are controlling the audience's thoughts and no longer touching it.
What a video. Bravo. 👏 As a wedding photographer, this is something I’ve been suspicious of when editing, and when choosing images on my portfolio. I am very emotionally attached to a ‘day’ and find I have to almost leave the images after the shoot for a week, just to remove my emotional attachment and enable me to start the edit process. Thank you for this, and for having a channel that focusses on photography. It’s so needed and very welcome. If our paths cross one day, drinks are on me. 👍
Thanks!! Another excellent and engaging video by Jamie Windsor ... I learnt a lot. Its difficult, on your own, to judge what will be essential emotional hooks for others who are looking at the work from the perspective of a different stage of their own emotional journeys. I'll struggle with that as best I can and seek feedback to approach improvment if not perfection. But above all your video provides a language to address this with. If leaves are the fragments of our experience, your videos provide the structure (the trunk and boughs) which connects them and makes sense of a tree. Great stuff, mate! Nice one.
I agree with Barthes. In fact, this idea of punctum already permeates my thinking and I think others as well in varying degrees. Thanks for introducing the term, maybe it is the very essence or root of subjectivity in all arts not just photography but also music, paintings, speech, etc. At times it could be subconscious but always an emotional connection that translates into overt appreciation of an artistic item. And yeah the artist couldn't have complete control but somehow proper composing, wise use of depth of field, leading lines, etc. could narrow down the options so that the artist has higher chance of aligning "his punctum" to that of his audience making the art more efficient(?) in its intentions.
I find this interesting in a time that I've decided that I will no longer select images for my boudoir clients, but let they choose their own images. I was getting so frustrated by clients saying "I hate this image" when I personally think it's a beautiful image, but they have so much emotional connection with their own body I don't know about.
Jamie, another thought provoking video. Your videos are always interesting to me. You raised some interesting points. A while back I was at a near by beach (pre-pandemic) and took many black and white pictures. I thought some of these were really good. I'm in the US and shared them with an artist friend in Germany. He pretty much shredded my picture. He made some valid points that I just didn't see because the the emotional attachment you mentioned. He really open my eyes to the missing "something" in my picture. I think I need to go take a look at those picture again. I think its not only valuable to get feedback from others but if possible feedback from someone outside your culture/ "comfort zone".
RUclips is full of "best camera under 999 bros" and gear geeks - but only so few artists. We need to keep Jamie working for our education and improvement.
A couple of years ago I found myself looking at old photos on my computer and decided to make a book of the most interesting photos for each year. Some I consider the best of the year but most of then are ones that stood out for me when reviewing the photos from that year. I make a book of all of them and a calendar for friends and family of the last year of twelve of the images. I get my three children (23,18,12 yrs old) to help me narrow down the images for my calendar. I am always surprised and curious about the ones they choose because they are not only always my first choice. The books are not expensive but give me a chance to look at how my photography has changed over time and does not let them get shuttered away in the depths of my hard drive. Great video. I always find that they stretch and exercise my brain. Thanks
This puts into words something I have always wondered when visiting galleries; there's the moment you see a work for the first time and start to wonder how it makes you feel, and then you read the artist's exhibit statement and find yourself wondering (often subconsciously), 'did I interpret that work correctly?'
This was so profound! I've always wondered why certain photos evoke deep feelings within me, but have never been able to put a word for it. I've also wondered why some photos that are obviously composed to speak on a political or cultural level often make me feel nothing at all.
that's what i love about your content sir every time i learn things thank you and am sorry for not being able to donate or buy to support you all i can do from here is just watch and hit the thumb up
I think that is part of the fun of this medium. If a picture really is worth a thousand words who can control them all? So the viewer has some chance to see their own thing inside of it. That randomness is exciting. Painting was much more within the artist's personal expression.
Amazingly produced/shot video. Being honest, I'm not sure I would have had an interesting in the topic if it wasn't for how you presented it. Brilliant.
Thanks for another thought provoking video. I had this exact experience over the past few months going through old photos and finding photos jump out at me that I hadn’t thought much of before.
Your use of visuals to accompany the dialogue in place of B roll is so good.
it really is
This is why I watch every video you upload Jamie! So interesting! I’m currently dealing with structuring my book from Mexico City and I actually though about splitting the photographs up based on where they were shot. But now, I’m certain that I’m going to structure the photographs based on what they show and what they convey. Thanks for this!
Thank you. Curating a pagination for a book can really change what story it tells. Juxtaposing 2 images on a spread can add a whole new meaning that isn't present in the photos individually. Best of luck with it!
wow! instant practicality
i feel the same way about his channel
There are some random photos that spark very intense feelings in me, while could be nothing to someone else. Sometimes it’s about to time in my life that I’ve been and it just reminds me of it. As photography saved me many times, mentally.
This makes me wonder what other books have I not yet read but probably should. Perhaps there could be a list of book recommendations in the future? This concept of a book summary was executed very well, and incredibly enjoyable.
Other classics are Susan Sontag's "On Photography" (makes most photogaphers gringe, but a good read, one often used as a reference), Vilém Flusser's "Toward a Philosophy of Photography", Lewis Baltz's "Texts", Robert Adams's "Beauty in Photography", John Berger's "About Looking"... for a start.
Yes! Good idea 👍
@@BrunoChalifour Many thanks! I'll certainly be saving these for later.
a list. yes!
i feel the same way
Bruno Chalifour I read Sontag's book and immediately gave it away. Her histories of famous photographers were interesting but I could not accept her conclusions about them; e.g., that Diane Arbus' suicide proved that her work was sincere.
Garry Winogrand would take a whole year to develop his pictures. He said that he needed to be emotionally detached from the pictures.
And also because he shot a lot of rolls, he didn't have enough time to develop them, not to mention seeing.
I can completely relate to that.
Not forgetting the 2,500 rolls that he never developed..! 😁
Same, yep, that’s exactly why I take so long to develop/process/edit my photos, that’s all it is 👀
@@jamiewindsor This reminds me of something that the Gangnam Style guy said. He was being interviewed on some British entertainment show, and was asked about creating this phenomenon that is Gangnam style. He said I didn't create it. All I did was write a song. The public created the phenomenon. He was actually very humble about it. I wish American actors and musicians would be that way, but most of them have an arrogance beyond all bounds.
What I like about French philosophers: They inspire you, they don't seem so much wanting to "prove their point" (as esp. American and German philosophers do). Similar with photographs. When they scream "Look, I made it to the mountain top!" or "Look, how great this holiday evening was!", we simply cannot share this emotion. Ironically a wedding photographer pictures not his own emotions but those of the people on the wedding. That is why they are a grateful audience.
I feel like each video essay you put out surpasses the one before and that is ASTOUNDING, since they are all so good, consistently good and rich in substance! Everything is distilled to pure quality, visually and thematically too! 💯
Thank you.
Spot on praise. 100% agree.
distilled!
this word is jamie’s work here in a nutshell
yes
Similar parallels to rhetoric - studium being logos, and punctum being the blend of ethos and the all-important pathos triggered in the audience.
Possibly, Logos = Studium; Ethos = Photographer's eye and timing of when they press the shutter; Punctum = What is triggered in the viewer/ audience.
Thanks, Jamie, for a really thought-provoking 10-minutes.
After a wedding I leave it one week before even LOOKING at the images. I edit another month later. I try and tell the clients to be as patient as possible, it's about editing, leaving it, coming back, having a look again, retouch the edits, continue on, so on so forth. These images they will have forever, for me they leave the nest relatively quickly. The longer they leave it with me the more gold I find and I steer the images better. It's just hard to explain that. Maybe I bookmark this video and copy the url into every post wedding email, heh.
A year is a long enough time to feel differently about your shots, but that process doesn't end there, it continues to change throughout ones life. I delete obvious failures and lesser alternate shots, but keep *everything* else.
Thanks for such a thoughtful video.
I don't know what's better. The presentation or the content. I revisited my work from the 80's a year ago. It made me regret not having every single image I ever made. I try to be honest and post only images I can stand by. Sometimes I remove images from Instagram because editing is equally important as creating. Learning about 'punctum' is like getting dealt a new set of cards. Let's see how I play my next hand. You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em ...
Probably my most popular image I completely missed the first time around. A full 6 years later I re-visted the shoot and it completely hit me, I retouched it put it out there and then started selling it in galleries. Sometimes we are not the best at editing our own work and need to come back with fresh eyes (not just a day later, but a year or so).
Notification Squad, UNITE!! I always get stoked for a new video from Jamie!!
Jamie, your videos are so clever, so thought provoking and so beautifully produced. Thank you.
I come again and again to review your videos. Such a fan. I can not get enough of them!
Thank you. Glad you like them. I have a new one coming out early next week.
Such a great video as always. After watching your videos I set out with my camera for a day just to take pictures. I’d never done it before but it was great fun.
whatever inspires people to take action is worth reflecting upon.
jamie’s offerings do the same for me. on a weekly basis at least
Jamie Windsor's RUclips channel. A.K.A. The free university course 🙌.
Unfortunately most people wouldn't recognize the art potential of that and your other videos.
You've got an excellent feeling for aesthetics 👌
Outstanding visual effects, plus words sewed from a golden thread
Lord above, the faff you must go through pulling these together. Chapeau, sir
What I did more last year than this year was that I waited more time to develop the film I used, but also I first take a look at my scans briefly when I get them, and wait some time before considering them fully
Hi ))) Nice video! One thing that is really common these days, is for people to get on a sugar or caffeine high. And then they sit down to work. Being first a horse trainer and acupuncturist for horses - taught me that I have to be well grounded to get good results. And this does mean eating the right foods and keeping away from caffeine. It also often means taking off shoes to get the sole right on the earth. In my office, I have a copper wire coil that I can put one foot on and get grounded while editing. ))) Thank you for your video! I enjoyed watching it! ))) Gary
The punctum to a photo changes with time and subject. Thanks for your videos X
You are an amazing Story Teller… thank you so much
I am impressed with the visual and audio quality and the precise pacing of your videos. They are both interesting and a joy to watch.
Jamie, Excellent as usual. You didn't mention the use of third party picture editors when throughtout photo history they have played a crucial role in shaping how photography lives in our minds. You are so right about emotional attachment to the experience of making the photograph distorting the picture editing process. Time does help but not always. When we were working on Fashion Etcetera with my father Sam Haskins, he said old photographers should not be allowed to edit the images representing their careers, when he was at that very moment doing precisely that. It led to some tough family editing meetings. There's waiting a year and then there's death. Only when the artist has passed away for a decade or more does the deep filter of history set in. This very long view does provide deeper contextual understanding and widespread emotional resonance which, if the work is deserving, grows stronger over time. The only down side is that reflexive curators, publishers, editors and other industry gatekeepers keep selecting the same images when they should really take a considered look at the original books, articles or exhibition catalogues and make a fresh appraisal. Doing this is especially useful for understanding creative influence. Contemporary creative phtotographers tend to be very secretive about their sources. Time does indeed change how we look, what we see, feel and understand and allows art history to settle into place.
This is not a RUclips video, this is a piece of art, a documentary. very impressive editing and pace, and all these little things like fonts reflecting the mood of the narrative. wow!
My master's is in poetry, so I first learned about Barthes through literary theory. (1) I think you did a great job summarizing his work here, Jamie, and as always, great video. :) (2) I find just about everything Barthes suggests to be full of air. Sometimes, I think his explanation fits my reaction to others' work. But, I can honestly find no punctum in several iconic photographs that resonate deeply with me and indeed, the context of their message was revealed to me by the image alone; I had no prior knowledge of the subject matter prior to viewing the photos. His theory can't be applied to all photos everywhere. (3) I'm an old-school structuralist so maybe I'm just biased too much against post-modern french philosophers. Because biased I most certainly am. :) For my money, Propp, Levi-Strauss and Joseph Campbell constructed much more compelling arguments than anything in Barthes' "Mythologies." If literature was his wheelhouse, just how on-the-mark could he be with photography? But yes, I'm a crank like that. (4) I fully agree with your conclusion that portfolio photos should stand on their own. I've no special or significant insight here, but I think one gets better at being self-objective over time, even though it never becomes easy. (That's at least been true with my own writing.)
Thanks so much for this succinct look at Camera Lucida and the clear defining of the term "Punctum." I'm new to studying Roland Barthes. Very interesting writer.
Fantastic, as always. Philosophical, engaging, beautifully shot, constructed and presented. Real food for thought. I will look at images in a slightly different way from now on. Well done.
Another fascinating and thought-provoking vlog. Two inferences from Barthes that do not appear to follow: whilst understanding the meaning of an image does require being familiar with the topic, it does not require believing in the message (anymore than it does with text), and being familiar with the topic and believing in the message does not imply that it fails to trigger a deep emotional connection with us.
That the photographer does not *fully* control how the images they make are received by an audience is fairly obvious, I think. And that an image's "punctum" depends on the subject is also fairly obvious, since we respond as individuals. Whilst some "punctum" will be idiosyncratic others will be approaching the universal. So the "punctum" being entirely subjective (i.e. dependent on the subject) does not imply that it will be entirely idiosyncratic or, hence, that the photographer lacks all control. Human subjectivity is rooted in aspects of our common humanity, and a photographer tuned into that common humanity can exert significant (if never complete) control over the emotional impact of the image. This is what makes anthropology and psychology possible - they seek to understand the culturally specific or idiosyncratic in terms of the more general or even universal aspects of the human condition.
btw, the way you presented this video is so professional, cinematographic sublime experience. and your voice and the way is recorded keeps you watching until the end. Great work.
My photography cerebral resource did it once again...another book on order. Graphics so on point. Thank you...
Thought provoking and visually appealing as always. Many thanks.
As always, James, very thought provoking.
I align with the concept that our photos need to have a "punctum" to create that emotional connection. But as soon as we place that as our objective we are shooting for the audience and not ourselves. After decades of client work it's been hard as hell to get those voices out of my head.
Jamie! No words needed!
I’ve just discovered your channel and after having being living in sort of a languishing void of the past year it has really reignited me in a creative way. Thank you so much
The graphic and font animations are so awesome! just watched 1,5 minutes and im very
impressed!
I really appreciate the level of effort you put into your videos. It must be a staggering amount of work.
Oh, this is so nourishing, I feel I've found a photographic brother. An accountant and a painter live next door yet have less connection than with artists and accountants who live on the other side of the world. Cheers ever so from Californ-eye-eh.
Jamie, you have helped me a lot in my photography career, you and books like "Photographic Seeing" by Andreas Feininger and "Complete Photography" by National Geographic, with all this I have developed into an award winning photographer from the US gov and I just wanted to thank you. I took photography all four years of highschool and this was my last, my teacher told me before I left I'd be used as an example for the other students that are coming after me. Your work helped me start thinking less like a photographer and more like an artist. I need to be an artist to be a photographer, so thank you for helping me unlock that.
Jamie this video's was AMAZING!!! You are REALLY developing your visualness!!!
Love from Iraq a big fan of your content bro ❤️🇮🇶
The way you make and edit your videos, not even one fraction of a second is being wasted.
Also, great topics - you always provide us with new stuff and for that I am gratefull.
Just ordered this book after finding your channel. Agree that we have little control over how an image is perceived but it’s given me a new lens to view my portfolio…
Thank you for very clearly expressed thoughts about notions that have often been misconstrued. Probably the best presentation on the subject I have ever heard.
To be remembered, Barthes's point of view was that of a "spectator", not "operator" (not a photographer), and he acknwoledged it. His musing on photography are definitely interesting from such a vantage point (spectator's). The concept of the "punctum" with its load of subjectivity can however be diverted in a useful way for an "operator" or a "critic" and added to their vocabulary to talk about photographs, just because of the fact that it refers to a "point" or something that attracts attention in a photograph and can be consciously or unconsciously included by the photographer in the same way as some idiosyncratic spices are added to a known recipe (the "studium"). Punctum taken as such can become a more interesting word/concept to talk about photographs (one could argue that in W. Klein's photograph, the hand without a body holding the gun and/or the look of the child toward the photographer are "puncta" that constitute the tension and ambiguity of the scene (studium). In any case "bravo!".
It is not really easy to read and understand Barthes, but he's so relevant to the subject when it comes to photography. Camera Lucida and The Rhetoric of the Image are of great value to any visual artist or to anyone who wants to grasp a bigger picture of Postmodernism and see how it reflects on today's society and culture :)
Great video! The best explanation I have ever heard regarding Punctum.
One Jamie Windsor for a hundred McKinnons
Don't be toxic man. They have their own places.
McKinnon is more 'pop'. He has different contents, YT is a business to him. Jamie goes beyond, deeply. And as it s known, in the deep you encounter very few people than on the surface...
@@aytraf exactly!! people want to compare & then create a toxic environment for not only the content creators but the viewers as well.
@@aytraf Peter is transitioning into more of a lifestyle channel. Jamie is the mvp, but there's niches for everyone.
@@Zagardal (Long) gone are the days when people learnt cool photography tricks from Peter. It has mostly been a vlog.
Thanks for showing me where my punctum is.
Love your graphics and the way you illustrate your thesis.
Jamie. I just paused the video to comment here. Your video edition is fantastic!!!
Your presets are the only ones I've ever bought. Very happy with them. I feel like they're the closest thing I can get to answering "what might Jamie try to do with this photo I've taken?" and I'll throw some of them on as a wild card curve ball new starting point which throws the edit out of the box whenever I'm stuck in a box or otherwise out of ideas. I used to see presets as "here, copy what I do" or "if you don't know how to edit, I'll do it for you" but now I appreciate them as being able to bring in a new perspective on how a photo might be able to feel and it's actually expanded my understanding of editing, not diminished it or made me lazy as I'd previously assumed presets were intended to do.
Always a joy to watch your content...
Thank you for the fruit for thought🙏
These videos are getting better and better, hat down
Windsor is back! Time to pull over ... 🚗
Such an exciting video this is. I recently read Camera Lucida and was quite moved; then along came Susan Sontag's "On Photography" to put me away. Thanks for bringing their ideas back to mind. Also thank you for the wonderfully fun video you produced -- a nice change of pace.
you and Sean Tucker are the best (photography related) content creators on your RUclips right now! You keep me motivated and I learn so much in each video! thanks you!
And Dan Milnor! And some old Art of Photography with Ted Forbes.. yes! Edit: Oh wait and John Free .. check this guy out. He’s old and wise and loves life hard. He’s coming out with a book on rail yard tramps soon!! His first book, surprisingly!
check James Popsys, he is someone redefining the photography (to me at least) in the sense of follow the rules, learn the rules, and break the rules of composition. He takes photos about the objects instead of the objects.
I read alot of photography theorists during my masters last year and I found his book to be one of the most interesting i read, although not necessarily the most mind boggling. I think his inexperience in photography at moments detracts from the book, but I also think anyone and everyone is a viewer, and as a general statement on art itself, it's a thought provoking piece. I also subscribe to the idea that his book was less a commentary on photography and more a mourning love letter to his deceased mother.
It was definitely a veiled tribute to his mother. I found that aspect of it verging almost into cliché. Ironically, I think this was the bit that confirmed for me that the punctum was completely created by the viewer and utterly irrelevant to anyone else.
Another great video from Jamie, Barthes can sometimes seem irrelevant in today's world of photography and daunting to newcomers. Breaking it down like this, with great context and narrative shows how relevant his work still is today.
Your editing is so good. I come here for the great photography talks and the motion design inspo. Love the channel!!
Love this video. My grandfather (painter) always taught me true art must touch the viewer without an explanation, as soon as you add a explanation you are controlling the audience's thoughts and no longer touching it.
What a video. Bravo. 👏
As a wedding photographer, this is something I’ve been suspicious of when editing, and when choosing images on my portfolio. I am very emotionally attached to a ‘day’ and find I have to almost leave the images after the shoot for a week, just to remove my emotional attachment and enable me to start the edit process.
Thank you for this, and for having a channel that focusses on photography. It’s so needed and very welcome.
If our paths cross one day, drinks are on me. 👍
Amazing video, as always. Additionally, your selection of music... superb!
These video essays make your channel the best photography channel on here. Thank you
wow!! 8 minutes of super interesting info. best photography content on youtube. thanks!
Thank you for your videos Jamie! Especially the video about the colors was insanely good!
Great video, Jamie. Your videos are such a refreshing treat.
Thanks!! Another excellent and engaging video by Jamie Windsor ... I learnt a lot. Its difficult, on your own, to judge what will be essential emotional hooks for others who are looking at the work from the perspective of a different stage of their own emotional journeys. I'll struggle with that as best I can and seek feedback to approach improvment if not perfection. But above all your video provides a language to address this with. If leaves are the fragments of our experience, your videos provide the structure (the trunk and boughs) which connects them and makes sense of a tree. Great stuff, mate! Nice one.
Brilliant video as always Jaime, great subject. Thanks for sharing.
Your videos are so well put together and presented Jamie congratulations.
Beautifully put together and thought provoking video.
You are a genius! Your videos are very smart and you take into account every detail. Congratulations from Mexico!
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Thank you for this excellent content, I'm an English teacher and sharing your videos in my class, very authentic.🤗
Thanks for including my music - glad I discovered your channel!
Thank you for making such great music and allowing creators like me to use it.
Read his book some time ago. Great commentary and understanding on his work.
A great info and deep insight!! By far, you are the best tutor in this mysterious filed. Thanks much, my mate!!
Brilliant and deep thoughts produced brilliantly bravo!
I agree with Barthes. In fact, this idea of punctum already permeates my thinking and I think others as well in varying degrees. Thanks for introducing the term, maybe it is the very essence or root of subjectivity in all arts not just photography but also music, paintings, speech, etc. At times it could be subconscious but always an emotional connection that translates into overt appreciation of an artistic item. And yeah the artist couldn't have complete control but somehow proper composing, wise use of depth of field, leading lines, etc. could narrow down the options so that the artist has higher chance of aligning "his punctum" to that of his audience making the art more efficient(?) in its intentions.
I love all your videos even though they usually make my brain hurt! Superb production as always.
It is always good to question yourself... Photography being just one aspect... A pleasure to hear your musings, always thought provoking. Thanks
Tiny gods I love these! Thank you for your work sir!
I find this interesting in a time that I've decided that I will no longer select images for my boudoir clients, but let they choose their own images. I was getting so frustrated by clients saying "I hate this image" when I personally think it's a beautiful image, but they have so much emotional connection with their own body I don't know about.
Yep. You’re still my favourite content maker. Thanks for continuing to reassure me!
Jamie, another thought provoking video. Your videos are always interesting to me. You raised some interesting points. A while back I was at a near by beach (pre-pandemic) and took many black and white pictures. I thought some of these were really good. I'm in the US and shared them with an artist friend in Germany. He pretty much shredded my picture. He made some valid points that I just didn't see because the the emotional attachment you mentioned. He really open my eyes to the missing "something" in my picture. I think I need to go take a look at those picture again. I think its not only valuable to get feedback from others but if possible feedback from someone outside your culture/ "comfort zone".
Elegant and informative video as always.
Absolutely love your videos Jamie
Thanks for this
Your videos are so pleasing to watch.
They are little art pieces🙏🏻
RUclips is full of "best camera under 999 bros" and gear geeks - but only so few artists. We need to keep Jamie working for our education and improvement.
I love the quality over quantity method of your channel. I'll be patiently waiting for the next video in a month or two.
I'm really impressed with your after effects skills. Can you please do a video on your video production process?
A couple of years ago I found myself looking at old photos on my computer and decided to make a book of the most interesting photos for each year. Some I consider the best of the year but most of then are ones that stood out for me when reviewing the photos from that year. I make a book of all of them and a calendar for friends and family of the last year of twelve of the images. I get my three children (23,18,12 yrs old) to help me narrow down the images for my calendar. I am always surprised and curious about the ones they choose because they are not only always my first choice. The books are not expensive but give me a chance to look at how my photography has changed over time and does not let them get shuttered away in the depths of my hard drive. Great video. I always find that they stretch and exercise my brain. Thanks
This puts into words something I have always wondered when visiting galleries; there's the moment you see a work for the first time and start to wonder how it makes you feel, and then you read the artist's exhibit statement and find yourself wondering (often subconsciously), 'did I interpret that work correctly?'
Duuuuuuude!!! Excellent video as usual! great message, made me think of my pictures and how I must face a shoot. Thanks a lot!
This was so profound! I've always wondered why certain photos evoke deep feelings within me, but have never been able to put a word for it. I've also wondered why some photos that are obviously composed to speak on a political or cultural level often make me feel nothing at all.
This was so nice and satisfying. Thank you.
that's what i love about your content sir every time i learn things thank you and am sorry for not being able to donate or buy to support you all i can do from here is just watch and hit the thumb up
I think that is part of the fun of this medium. If a picture really is worth a thousand words who can control them all? So the viewer has some chance to see their own thing inside of it. That randomness is exciting. Painting was much more within the artist's personal expression.
Amazingly produced/shot video. Being honest, I'm not sure I would have had an interesting in the topic if it wasn't for how you presented it. Brilliant.
Thanks for another thought provoking video. I had this exact experience over the past few months going through old photos and finding photos jump out at me that I hadn’t thought much of before.