Re: [Leica] Project Hipshot edit results

[Martin Howard <mvhoward@mac.com>]

Johnny Deadman wrote:

> The various edits of the Project Hipshot images are now up!
>
> 	http://www.johnbrownlow.com/hipshot/
>
> I am not sure what it proves but it is very interesting.

Is it?

Seriously.  You can do better than this.

You claim to have set out to discover something about the editing 
process.  In order to do this, you shot 300 more or less random 
pictures without looking through the viewfinder.  Twelve self-selected 
people then took it upon themselves to select (or as you call it, 
"edit") up to ten images and mail you their selections.

I don't see any conclusions about the editing process in your email or 
on the website.  In fact, I think you'd be hard pushed to argue that 
*anyone* outside of Alan Zinn has actually done any *editing* (i.e., a 
selection and arrangement of images for a purpose) -- the others have 
simply selected a number of images that appealed to them.  From what I 
can tell, you know nothing about their selection/editing criteria, 
which makes it difficult if not impossible to say anything about the 
editing process.  The most you can say is that the images that these 
twelve people selected appealed to them for some (unknown) reason.  And 
that's about it.

This project may have been fun.  You may find the results 
"interesting".  You may have got a kick out of putting up a website 
with 300 hipshots and have people look at them seriously instead of 
dismiss them as the random hipshots they are.

But to claim that this is an attempt to learn something about an 
editing process, or that you can draw any kind of meaningful conclusion 
from the process you've gone through is just plain bonkers.  This, 
unfortunately, is yet another example of the increasing trend to pass 
off "cool" indivudual experiences as a collective gain in knowledge.  A 
wasted effort, in my view.

Tell me I'm full of shit.  Please prove me wrong.  Show us how your 
method leads you to insight into the process of editing, and what you 
have learned about editing as a result of conducting this "experiment".

M.

- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html