Random Survey: Photography.

[leet_muffin]

Need a few responses by Wednesday for a class. thxmuch

What is the purpose of photography/possible purposes of photography?

Do you consider photography to be an art form? Do you feel that to be the primary purpose of photography?

Does there seem to be a language within photography?

Is photography more aimed at persuasion or truth?

Which photo carries more meaning: an ambiguous photo with little detail where the viewer is left to his own creativity to determine what is happening, or a very detailed photo which leaves little need for creativity?

How important is the subject/context of a photograph? (an average photo of your family vs. an amazing photo of some random family)

What makes a good photo for you?

Answering these individually or just generally discussing would great.

tl;idc edit: What makes a good photo for you? Do you prefer to have the ability to create your own meaning to a photo or to see a very detailed photo with an obvious, powerful meaning?

[iago]

What is the purpose of photography/possible purposes of photography?

Memory, documentation, surveillance.

Do you consider photography to be an art form? Do you feel that to be the primary purpose of photography?

In general, no, but in specific cases, yes. No, it's not the primary purpose

Does there seem to be a language within photography?

wtf no

Is photography more aimed at persuasion or truth?

Depends. It can be either.

Which photo carries more meaning: an ambiguous photo with little detail where the viewer is left to his own creativity to determine what is happening, or a very detailed photo which leaves little need for creativity?

Detailed.

How important is the subject/context of a photograph? (an average photo of your family vs. an amazing photo of some random family)

Very important.

What makes a good photo for you?

*shrug*

Answering these individually or just generally discussing would great.

tl;idc edit: What makes a good photo for you? Do you prefer to have the ability to create your own meaning to a photo or to see a very detailed photo with an obvious, powerful meaning?

That seems to imply the art question, which I answered no to. :)

[while1]

What is the purpose of photography/possible purposes of photography?

Erotica!

Do you consider photography to be an art form? Do you feel that to be the primary purpose of photography?

Yes.  No.

Does there seem to be a language within photography?

??????????

Is photography more aimed at persuasion or truth?

Truth.

Which photo carries more meaning: an ambiguous photo with little detail where the viewer is left to his own creativity to determine what is happening, or a very detailed photo which leaves little need for creativity?

The latter.  I'm not an artsy person though, so I don't appreciate having to waste time figuring out what the hell the person is trying to express.

How important is the subject/context of a photograph? (an average photo of your family vs. an amazing photo of some random family)

Average photo of your family is obviously going to have more personal value to you, which I think for most would forgive artistic/photographic quality to an extent.

What makes a good photo for you?

Cool, shiznit, purdy mofo.

[BigAznDaddy]

What is the purpose of photography/possible purposes of photography?

there is photography an art form and then there is just plain snapshots. so when i hear photography i think of an art form that evokes a sense of emotion

Do you consider photography to be an art form? Do you feel that to be the primary purpose of photography?

yes see above

Does there seem to be a language within photography?

uhh dont get the question but if you mean is there different ways to express photography then yes.

Is photography more aimed at persuasion or truth?

people can use photography to reveal some truth but sometimes people take/ chop photos to reveal something else. sort of like taking quotes out of context

Which photo carries more meaning: an ambiguous photo with little detail where the viewer is left to his own creativity to determine what is happening, or a very detailed photo which leaves little need for creativity?

Detailed. no one wants to guess what you are thinking they want to know what your thinking

How important is the subject/context of a photograph? (an average photo of your family vs. an amazing photo of some random family)

hmm rusty car or lambo...
not but i guess it depends how you photograph it (this is where art comes in) you do rusty car in b&w in a dirt lot with a siderweb at the right angle. that would look sweet. i dont know hard question

What makes a good photo for you?

lighting, clarity, angle, location

[Ender]

There is an art and a science to everything. To argue one or the other, or one over the other, is pretty pointless. It's like a question that seems fascinating at first but then turns out to be obvious and unfascinating.

No offense intended for you or whoever wrote the survey, but I don't think the survey is well-constructed. It's impossible to answer questions like "is photography more of an art or a science?" You simply can't make the comparison -- there is no relation with a consistent set of rules that could offer such a comparison. Also, many of the questions are too vague to extract any real information, like asking "what is the purpose of photography?" It is far too metaphysical, and will only achieve whimsical answers. Furthermore, when the survey is ambiguous as to whether the art of science of photography is in question, it is hard to know what's expected of a prompt like "what makes a good photo for you?"

[leet_muffin]

There is an art and a science to everything. To argue one or the other, or one over the other, is pretty pointless. It's like a question that seems fascinating at first but then turns out to be obvious and unfascinating.

No offense intended for you or whoever wrote the survey, but I don't think the survey is well-constructed. It's impossible to answer questions like "is photography more of an art or a science?" You simply can't make the comparison -- there is no relation with a consistent set of rules that could offer such a comparison. Also, many of the questions are too vague to extract any real information, like asking "what is the purpose of photography?" It is far too metaphysical, and will only achieve whimsical answers. Furthermore, when the survey is ambiguous as to whether the art of science of photography is in question, it is hard to know what's expected of a prompt like "what makes a good photo for you?"

I wrote the survey. Sorry it didn't meet your expectations as a survey. Do you wish to have an actual constructive conversation about it (since the whole question and answer thing clearly doesn't work for you)?

[Ender]

There is an art and a science to everything. To argue one or the other, or one over the other, is pretty pointless. It's like a question that seems fascinating at first but then turns out to be obvious and unfascinating.

No offense intended for you or whoever wrote the survey, but I don't think the survey is well-constructed. It's impossible to answer questions like "is photography more of an art or a science?" You simply can't make the comparison -- there is no relation with a consistent set of rules that could offer such a comparison. Also, many of the questions are too vague to extract any real information, like asking "what is the purpose of photography?" It is far too metaphysical, and will only achieve whimsical answers. Furthermore, when the survey is ambiguous as to whether the art of science of photography is in question, it is hard to know what's expected of a prompt like "what makes a good photo for you?"

I wrote the survey. Sorry it didn't meet your expectations as a survey. Do you wish to have an actual constructive conversation about it (since the whole question and answer thing clearly doesn't work for you)?

I tried to avoid giving offense, and I meant by way of that post to offer constructive critcism. I even toned it down a bit for concern it would be taken the wrong way-- you can have Newby check the mod logs if you don't believe me :P

That said, the post was definitely more constructive than withholding the criticism or responding with an "N/A" to every question, so it seems to me to qualify for "constructive conversation" ;)