Went to the Ft Worth Main St Art Fair.
There were a lot of photographers present so I guess the discussion about "is photography art" that we were having 35 years ago is over for the population at large.
There were basically three categories: purely representational (straight) photography, photo shop enhanced and black and white. I'm happy to see the experimentation and artistic license being used to interpret the image, other media have been doing it for thousands of years so its about time photographers do it too. What can one say about tradional imaging? Do it right and it takes your breath away.
Of all the artists there the B&Ws were the most impressive. There is nothing, for me, more beautiful or expressive than a B&W photograph. There is something emotional, something subliminal about B&W done well.
Most impressive were two presenting infrared imaging. Both were using large format (4x5 view cameras) and old school film. Unlike digital with which one can preview the scene in IR, these guys have to "see" the finished image in B&W IR while looking at it in color.
Anyway as we walked back to the car my wife said to me, "Honey, you really need to get back to black and white, that's where you belong . . . "
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