Thread: Starting Over

I've had a photo website for a while now though recently its been sadly neglected. I originally intended it to be a place to post only what I felt were my best images. Over time, perhaps inevitably, I was far too promiscuous with my uploading and end up with far too many images.

Initially I planned to reorganise what was already there but when I started trying to do so I ended up with a mess. So I decided there was only one option - delete everything and start again. It took a while but eventually I ended up with a blank white ready to be filled. So far I've been going slowly and plan to try to be more disciplined about what I upload.

What was interesting to discover is that even though some of the existing images where ones I planned to keep on the site I was no longer happy with how they looked, so everything being uploaded has been reprocessed from scratch. I think that this is often because of a lack of skill on my part - I'm better at processing now than I used to be - but also because my tastes have changed. You can see the new slimline version at photography by olli.

Is it just me or does anyone else ever feel the need to start all over with a website or image collection? And how many times have you looked at an older image and decided you no longer like the way you originally processed it?

Originally Posted by olli

Over time, perhaps inevitably, I was far too promiscuous with my uploading and end up with far too many images.

Some people claim promiscuity is a sin. Repent while you can!

You can see the new slimline version at photography by olli.

I gave a quick peek, and like what I see. I've bookmarked it to go back and view later.

Is it just me or does anyone else ever feel the need to start all over with a website or image collection?

Not just you, I'm terrible and fickle about that.

And how many times have you looked at an older image and decided you no longer like the way you originally processed it?

Often. Like you, sometimes it's the fact that my PP has (marginally) improved over time, and also my tastes have changed. But, most of all, its too many attempts at making chicken parmesan out of chicken poop.

I'm not a good enough photographer to have a blog (and am usually pretty embarrassed about the photos I post here), but I would think editing your work is the hardest thing to do. I remember reading about this about Robert Frank's The Americans:

"During his trip, Frank shot 767 rolls of film yielding about 27,000 images. He edited that down to about 1,000 work prints, spread them across the floor of his studio and tacked them to the walls for a final edit. Out of a year and a half of work, Frank chose just 83 images."

I will make a note to have a good look when I get home. What little I did peek at just then looked great. I often find myself re-processing old images if I am browsing through my flickr account and find one that I don't quite like anymore. I used to be a bit more experimental with my processing and also tended to be more destructive in terms of contrast. A few more years of practise at processing helps now, too.

It is good to sift through your images every so often.. you want to present your best on your web site. Changing your layout every now and then makes the site feel more up to date too. On blogs its a little different, there you share with family and friends and you could post anything from phone shots to experimental stuff to gear etc.. and it's like a running history. Your site looks good so far.. very clean. I am between sites.. maybe I'll get back into it soon though.

Thanks all. Stan, you're far too modest. I've seen plenty of your images on this site that you should be displaying bigger and bolder somewhere.

Originally Posted by olli

Is it just me or does anyone else ever feel the need to start all over with a website or image collection? And how many times have you looked at an older image and decided you no longer like the way you originally processed it?

I have changed the layout of the website I keep my images twice, the last one very recent and while there are times when I have felt the need to purge the images that I have have uploaded I decided to keep them as a journal of my evolution as a photographer. I have originally set up the website as a place where people can critique my images ( I have found this to be so useful for my learning) and it has evolved into a place where I can keep my old images and look back and see how I have changed over time.

What I consider as my best shots I submit to meetups, 500px, etc..but I keep almost all my photos in my website and still recieve feedback from some people which I use as a learning tool that I can take anywhere (that has a net connection)

olli,

Thanks for sharing.

I don't share many of my photographs online. I prefer prints. So while my situation is different, I understand your journey. I think it's likely that you will continue to see images differently over time. Your skills and interests will evolve, as will your influence. Life changes too, causing us to emphasize different things. It's all good.

I feel it makes sense to nuke it all and start again if that what works for you. I just glad you share the photographs, because I like them. I find them alive. I look at them and see a story; what happened just before, what is happening, what will happen next etc. This brings them alive to me.

Keep going!

I don't recall what the old site looked like, but i know I saw it because most of those shots I have seen. I like how clean everything is.

I think when I get a body of work that is worthy of a special home it will look pretty similar. My idea is that I will use flickr for sharing ANY image I make that I like, but my own website (sometime in the distant future) will feature ones that are a cut above.....or maybe 3 cuts above....LOL.

Keep up the great work.

reminds me of a song



killed on 8th Dec 1980