Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

by OllieGapper on February 2, 2012

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

Ollie: Let me start this with an apology. I haven’t had time this week to produce a nice in-depth interview or to find something or someone to write massively about, (the reason is stated below) so as much as I dislike talking and promoting my own work, this week I haven’t really got a choice.

So, as a lot of you will have known from observing my Twitter and Google+ accounts, I have recently spent a night in hospital whilst undergoing tests for a sleeping disorder. It was nothing major, just an uncomfortable night of being hooked up to a computer that monitors my brain activity. I decided to make use of this situation and bring a few cameras with me to enable me to produce some work.

I ventured out of my room in-between tests whenever I could, still wired up like a substation, to shoot what I love: Street. I shot with my newly acquired QL17 loaded with HP5 pushed to 1600 (still need to be developed, going to use ID11) and a 5D MKii with 35mm 1.5 and 24mm 1.4 (borrowed from uni). I also lightly used a Hasselblad 500C/M in my room, but not really for my street. I found the 1600 push was massively convenient for zone focusing and being able to shoot all day without worrying too much, but I need to get the results in my hand before I can recommend it (any of you guys had experience pushing HP5? Please share in the comments!).

I was primarily shooting to produce a short series, taking Jing Huangs beautiful series “Pure of Sight” (not street photography I know, but nor was my intended series), using my Canonet and pushed HP5 to replicate the graininess and raw aesthetic of Huangs work. My series is still untitled, and will remain so until I have the contacts in front of me.

The below shots are my highlights of what I took on the 5D (with a 35mm) on my walks in-between tests, again I’m sorry to be showcasing my own work here, but I just haven’t had the opportunity to write anything of substantial interest.

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

1x1.trans Ollie Gapper: Making the Best of a Rough Situation and Your Opinions on the CritiqueMe Series

The second part of this post is to ask your opinions on my post series “CritiqueMe“. I’ve been consistently receiving comments and messages from the community advising I stop, contrasted with the praise from those who have emailed me their fantastic work. I honestly don’t know where to take this series from now, whether to take the criticism on the chin and just man up and carry on or to listen to your opinions and stick to what Im good at and what I enjoy, which is interviews and articles on work that I like and find interesting. Let me know your honest thoughts in the comments below, as, right now, I’m on the fence myself about the whole idea.

I’m still always up for helping wherever I can, and my email remains open for conversations (olliegapper@me.com) regarding any and everything you guys may want to discuss.

Tagged as: critique me, ollie gapper

  • http://twitter.com/TheHigham Brett Higham

    I don’t think there necessarily needs to be a critique of others photos, however you may simply want to conduct an interview or two a week of someone involved in street photography (maybe have someone proof what you write prior to posting as well).

    I feel we can all look at someone’s images and come to our own conclusions. Let me meet some more of our fellow photographers, perhaps some of those not quite as fortunate to have an awesome blog like Eric.

    I personally look forward to seeing posts on this blog every week. This site has been integral to my photography and would love to see more material!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1420931094 Ollie Gapper

      This is what I thought, perhaps transform CritiqueMe into more InterviewMe?

  • Pax Rock

    I think you need to work on your own photography. From what I’ve seen of your photos, you’re in no position to be advising anyone on street photography. Look at the photos in this blog post. The only one with any soul is the one with the dog. The rest are just random scenes. If that’s your thing then you’re doing great. But as a viewer I have to say these photos do absolutely nothing for me and are easily forgotten moments after viewing.

    I don’t intend to be mean, but that is my opinion.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1420931094 Ollie Gapper

      Look, I am as civil as possible with all negative posts on my article here, but both comments I have received from you are in no way the same, you are carefully rude and then attempt to offset your frankly hurtful and uncalled for comments with a remark such as “I dont mean it offensively” or similar.

      It’s cruel how casual you are about just degrading all my work, I understand that you hate the idea of CritiqueMe, but there was no call for you to just demean my work (again) – just say you think I should stop the series and be done with it.

      I’ve tried not to take your comments personally but honestly, how else should I take them?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1420931094 Ollie Gapper

        I want to apologise to everyone else here, I’d never usually respond to a comment like this, I’m usually good at taking criticisms, but both of Pax’s comments have just rubbed me the wrong way.

    • james

      You’re an asshole.

  • Andrew So

    I don’t believe that a person should necessarily be a great photographer in order to evaluate great photographs. There are thousands of art directors and photo editors around the world that critique award-winning photographs even though they themselves are not capable of reproducing works of similar caliber.

    I find more joy in looking at a beautiful photograph than taking a beautiful photograph. I have enjoyed the CritiqueMe series so far. If you keep looking at different types of pictures from photographers all over the world, analyzing why certain elements help an image and why some hurt it, it will improve your own skill.

    What I would genuinely like to see is a series on photographers analyzing their best work, giving themselves mainly negative feedback. I work as a photojournalist and whenever I review my images from an assignment, I learn a lot whenever myself or someone else tells me how my best pictures can be improved.

  • http://www.aaronoutward.com Aaron Offord

    Ollie,
    I don’t usually comment on this blog but am an avid follower. As a fellow blogger I can assure you no matter what type of post you do you are going to receive negative and rude comments. Some people on the internet are just plain rude and always looking for a reaction.
    I think the critiqueme series is an excellent idea and with anything just starting out will have its growing pains. In addition, it will make you a better photographer from continually having to look at photos of others with a critical ey. I myself intend to submit something once I have a series of 6 photos I feel are worthy of the time you put into reviewing them.
    With that said, the interviewme concept is a really neat idea as well. Too often in street photography the contemporary “masters” are interviewed but not the up and coming practicioners (*sp). In addition, it may be a concept that aligns really well to your interests and will help on these weeks when you have less time. Or maybe the answer lies somewhere in between the two ideas.

    Thanks for your weekly input and don’t sweat the negative stuff too much. Take the valuable pieces of info from it, and move on. Don’t give them the satisfaction of a reaction they are working so hard for. Whatever your decision I am sure it will continue to be a great column.
    Aaron

  • Justin Tan

    Ollie,

    I think that as long as even just a few people find value in your series then you should continue.

    Don’t let those who don’t deter you from doing something positive for those who do. If people submit their work then that in itself is validation of the series.

    Surely, you are entitled to provide your thoughts on a photo and photography is subjective enough that everyone should be entitled to at least an opinion, if not a critique (some believe the latter is more “objective”, whatever that means in an art-form).

    For those who don’t think you are “worthy” of providing a critique, well they can just skip the post. You are not charging or giving away a prize, because yes, if that was the case then people could reasonably question your credentials. Even then, if they feel you’re not qualified, then they should just not participate.

    Finally, I suppose some people are concerned that if you are not “qualified”, you will mislead beginners. Well, my response to that is that people who submit their work are not automatons, they are not mindless. They will take your critique, filter it, process it, absorb it, find the bits that provoke them, agree and disagree, and in that way, improve.

    There are loads of articles in this blog and not every article will appeal to everyone, then again, not everyone is forced to read every article either. I really don’t get all the negativity over your critique series and I think you should continue with it as long as people submit photos.

    Justin

  • 57andrew

    I had not intended to make any comments but since you invite feedback…… I think doing critiques is theoretically fine but if you pick work that you already think is of a high standard then they can come across as a bit bland. If you pick work with a lot of room for improvement they can come across as some sort of public humiliation. People will probably submit what they consider their best work in the hope of positive reinforcement. There is a wealth of good stuff on the internet and people should be able to judge their own work against the benchmark they set themselves. By holding yourself out as a critic I am afraid you invite criticism of your own work and some people will like it and others won’t. Some people will stay silent, others will voice their opinions, tactfully or not. Once you step into the role of being a critic I fear you are fair game. I don’t think this series has much upside for you but it may have plenty of downside. Street as a genre is still finding its way. I bought the book Street Photography Now and was, I’m afraid, fairly underwhelmed. Maybe I don’t see in the images what others see. There were truly excellent images in there but maybe only 15-20% ‘worked’ in my view and that’s a pretty low hit rate. But my view of what makes good street will clearly differ from that of someone else.

    Only you can decide whether you want this to continue but you do say: “praise from those who have emailed me their fantastic work” – so if their work is already fantastic, what’s the point? I hope this doesn’t come across as rude.

    Andrew

  • Mike O’Sullivan

    I’m only 22, I’ve been shooting street on and of since I first picked up a camera in 2006. I’d say I’ve been shooting street ‘seriously’ for the past two years. I can see from your images that you have an eye for street, but it needs some work to further develop. The best thing to do is keep shooting, keep looking at others work, and if you can attend seminars and talks when possible. Don’t let other people drag you down. When you start getting more intimate with your subjects your images will shine. The most important thing with street photography is sitting on an edit for some time (something I am just getting to grips with). Shoot for a few months, print all your photos out really small, lay them out on a table and be really brutal with your selection. Some photographers produce one good body of work over an entire lifetime., others of a year or so. The most important thing is to keep shooting and be over critical. Take your time and have fun with it. I’ll look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Haters can go and fuck themselves ;)

    Mike.

  • Scott Alan

    I came across Eric Kim’s website a couple of months back. Ever since then I have been interested in doing some street photography. I’ve looked at Bruce Gilden’s work, and many others…. I took my Canon Elan to shoot some 135 film in the street one day and enjoyed it. I am still having issues with getting up in someone’s grill, raising the camera to my eye, and pressing the button. I am mainly a portrait photographer and work with studio lights inside and outside (www.scottalanphoto.com). I could probably comment on some technical aspects of your images but I am not going to critique your work. I do not think I am in the position to. I was surprised at the negative feedback you have gotten. Right now I appreciate any street photography work that I am able to see and I appreciate any critiques that I can read. Some work and some critiques I may not agree with and some might be right on point. I am in the learning process but we all are right? I mean I’ve been doing photography since 2001 and still feel I have a long ways to go in the studio. Keep doing what you are doing. Take what people say and do and use that as fuel to help grow your craft. Peace and blessings! Scott

  • Anonymous

    HP5 doesn’t look very good pushed, at least IMHO. ID-11 is also not the best developer to push – doable, but blocks up shadows even more quickly than with e.g. DD-X. I have had good results with TMAX pushed in Ilford DD-X. But if your lightening conditions change quickly, remember to accurately adjust your exposure, as your available dynamic range shrinks down to ~3-4 stops when pushing ISo 400 film to 1600. Try to stick to ISO 400, or even 250, and open up your aperture instead. Try APUG or similar forums for advice about pushing – it is not very easy to get good results. But of course YMMV.

  • James

    I liked CritiqueMe. Keep it going.

  • james

    Critique me is great man, it gives us underdog photographers some exposure!

  • Ojmarch

    Hi Ollie. I am a student who is taking a year out of my degree in photography due to complications after surgery. Street and documentary photography are my passion, and I have been trying to get out and shoot as much as possible (crutches don’t help this). I think its wonderful that you have taken this chance and writing this weekly post, it is vital that new work is seen on such a platform as this. Frankly I think the idea that your not “qualified” to critique people is absurd, photography is a global language, I think people forget this. I think the above images have a delicacy to them, that may be over looked. Just because your not showing your “balls” by getting close, (this is a frankly ridiculous view that is taken far too much) doesn’t mean their not good images. It would be good to see a bit more of your street work, I couldn’t find much. I think that your weekly post should be a bit more of an interview though. I have never had great results pushing HP5, tri-x or ilford pan 400 in ilfosol 3 have yielded good results for me.

    Oliver

  • Borja VC

    Hi Ollie,

    I don’t use to write in blog usually, but in this moment I really want to do it.

    Personally, in first place, photography has a part of subjectivity so it’s impossible to like everyone who pass through this blog.

    Second point, in my opinion, it’s that you don’t need to be a great artist to be good making constructive critiques. I would say more, in my experience in my job through years ( CGI ) I received great critiques from not artist in a practice way ( maybe they don’t paint very well, but they have this great ability to watch the images and see what fails or works) . And also I did receive lazy and useless critiques from great artist…

    But this no means that you haven’t great photos. Personally I like it, but I really love the idea of constructive critique for who is getting into this world of photography. So, my bet is you keep pushing this idea, I’m sure there is a lot of us waiting for read next critique.

    Good job Ollie!!

  • Well

    well, since you asked: personally, ollie’s columns don’t do much for me, because, while i’m not one to critique his photography, i sure as hell know he can’t write. but whatever, each to his own, i just skip over them.

  • http://twitter.com/twocutedogs twocutedogs

    keep it up ollie. i think your critiques are pretty good. they will be invaluable for beginners. i think it might be a good idea to have a varied standard of photographer in the series. from real beginner to advanced.

    get well soon.

    • Manu Thomas

      Charlie, why are you doing this ? It is the beginners who need more help. They are the ones who need a solid foundation. Advanced people can think for themselves. Maybe some of Ollie’s critiques maybe good, but on the average it isn’t “pretty good” like you said, it is below average imo. If you are not seeing this, I can think of only two reasons for that. 1 ) You are incapable of recognizing a good photograph or 2 ) You are not honest about your comment and is just trying to please your followers. I don’t think it is the first reason in your case. I wish you could use half of your gut you use in flashing people at their faces to give the opinion you think is right.

  • Huianan21

    Hi Ollie,

    Let’s be constructive. Your series is mostly uninteresting and a low level of street photography. At the same time, it isn’t too surprising since you don’t have years of experience hunting the streets. Street photography is not a talent that one is born with, but one that takes a lot of practice and dedication. One can have an eye for it, but it still takes years to transform into consistently good picture (with a few wonderful one each year) So all in all, while the work you have shown is not good, I would say that it is normal, it is part of your learning curve.
    Now, where I think more people are bothered, is by the fact that you (and Eric) have qualified you as someone with enough experience (or willingness to learn, which is respectable) to run a critique on street photography. Anybody can obviously have an opinion on a picture, but sincerely, lot of key aspects of a picture are learnt while out there in the street. Experience is what matters. And I think this is that same lack of experience (shown by your pictures) that make your critique not that relevant for some of us.
    I think that CritiqueMe is a good idea, I just think you are not qualified yet to bring value to many street photographers.

  • almubeeb

    Don’t be discouraged, Ollie. Offering up your critiques of participants’ work to all readers of Eric’s site does leave you open to criticism. As Eric often mentions, this blog aims to involve the ‘community’ whenever possible, and it’s really great that you’re putting your own time and energy into contributing to it. As for the future of the CritiqueMe series, it might work better for you to make your role one of facilitator as much as critic. Anyway, it’s your feature to shape as you want, so keep moving forwards and things will work themselves out. And I’m sure that this whole experience has been, and I hope continues to be, a great learning opportunity for you.

  • almubeeb

    And far more importantly, get well soon.

  • Tim Hecktor

    I don’t think those shots are too uninteresting. In my opinion they are too center orientated, would come out better to move the main object out, following the golden sectio rules. Would have made frames like 6819 much nicer.

  • Carsten Fischer

    I like CritiqueMe. Keep it going, please.
    You can shoot.
    You can write.
    Not all you publish is great (yet), but a joy to look at and think about.
    Carsten

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