Hehe I have been thinking doing the same with my Retroreflection posts. Maybe not to sell as a zine per se, but more for my own; to have something a bit more tangible from this online Substack thing.
You definitely should. It has been lovely seeing my articles in print and it is nice to have sometime tangible to keep and look back on. I will always be a lover of reading printed books or zines over digital content - must be an age thing! 😆
Maybe it's an age thing, but I think I have always preferred printed material over digital. Digital is convenient / cheap, so do that a lot (photography-wise), but I do prefer reading a physical book/magazine/whatever rather then reading it on a e-ink reader for example, it's just not the same.
Let me start by saying congratulations Gill and that I have always appreciated the writing and how it complements your images. Plus I feel more of a connection with a personal guidance on how you felt before the moment you pressed the shutter button.
I'm really excited to receive my copy of For the love of Landscapes later this month.
Congratulations Gill - I think being able to write a blog post of quality every week for 50 weeks of the year is a great achievement, especially as each one has encouraged some very interesting comments and conversations. Many photographers prefer the 'show don't tell' approach but I feel that well chosen words add to the experience and understanding of each photo story.
Thank you very much for your kind comments Lin and for reading my blogs over the past year. I appreciate all your input. I agree with you, words can definitely add to the experience.
Congratulations on the milestone and I bet at times it can be extremely difficult to find the time to write within a busy work schedule you must be very disciplined to get it published every week. I certainly find your thoughts very interesting and always look forward to your next blog. I imagine it would require more time but I certainly think you should start a YouTube channel but I fully appreciate you are running your business and must decide if will add value to your business.
Congratulations on your milestone! Your photos are beautiful.
I think photos stand on their own and can be appreciated without any accompanying text, but carefully written text can add context that can make the viewer appreciate the photo even more.
In the past the photograph ruled and any words were secondary for me, but with time, and now AI being able to generate “pretty pictures” from thin air, I want to know the story behind the image.
Congratulations Gill on 50 posts. Thank you for your beautiful images and inspiring words. I completely agree on the value of combining our photography with words - it can be hard work (well done on achieving a weekly post!) but extremely worthwhile.
Congratulations on your 50th post Gill. I look forward to your regular posts and images. I enjoy the honesty and thoughtful outlook you describe. I think words alongside images do help and it’s why I write blog posts to make me describe what I was opting for vs what I got, and reflect on what I’ve taken and what I’ve learnt. I could be at risk of being harsh but I do find some titles of images photographers choose highly pretentious and maybe not really reflective of the image.
Thank you so much for your comments Terry and I am glad you are enjoying the blog.
I agree with your comments about words and images. I find it interesting to read about the story behind the image but agree that sometimes titles can be a bit pretentious and don't always add much to the overall story.
Thank you Gill. Here’s to the next 50! I look forward to Mondays and even if (like today) I cannot get to read the blog in the morning when it arrives, I still enjoy catching up later.
Thank you so much Sian for your comments and for reading the blog over the past year. I appreciate your support and I hope you continue to enjoy the posts.
Hi Gill! So synchronistic! I was just thinking yesterday about that old saying that a picture is worth 1,000 words. I was wondering if I could take a picture and submit it for a homework assignment. LOL!
I love the picture you posted, so serene and lovely!!! And the reflections in the water are wonderful. I don't mind the words and the pictures together. I think photography is art and everyone is going to have their own perspective and they should be granted that, but then it would be nice to read your reflections, as well and try and see it from your perspective. It widens our perspective on the world to see it through others eyes and probably grows our compassion, as well, so it is a good thing. I love reading what you're written and look forward to your pictures. Thank you for sharing! XO
Thank you so much for your comments Danielle and I am sorry for the slow response. I have enjoyed reading your comments over the past few months and appreciate your input.
I agree that it is good to read the story behind an image and I definitely think this adds an extra dimension to the work.
Congratulations on writing 50 in a year that are all worth reading.
There are undoubtedly some images that stand alone, though I like to know the back story because I’m nosey! At the same time it’s always fun for the viewer to create their own story. I feel I could just reach over and dip my hand in the water in the boat photo …
Jul 29·edited Jul 29Liked by Gill Moon Photography
I'm relatively new to your blog, so I hadn't read the critique post you link to. But I'll be reading that one again for sure, because I thought it perhaps expressed some of my own struggles to understand how to deal with criticism. I too have submitted images I really like to competitions only to get feedback that was no help whatsoever and left me feeling it was all a bit hopeless.
I felt even more demoralised once when a highly experienced judge said in passing that judges as experienced as he was only needed a 'few seconds' to come up with a score for an image.
Really? We spend hours, or maybe days, getting an image just how we wanted it and it only takes 2 seconds to decide it's no good?
Personally, I've found that feedback from peers and fellow strugglers is often the most valuable. Emotion and feeling can be assessed by your peers every bit as well as a judge can do it.
PS - love the 'cluttered' boat image in that post!
Thank you very much for your comments Mark and for taking time to read my blog.
Regarding critique please don't let poorly judged comments put you off. It is hard to be inspired when you get criticism that isn't helpful. Photography is really subjective and whilst it is good to listen to and take on board critique, throw away comments from judges (who really should know better) are not helpful. Personally I don't think you can judge an image in a couple of seconds at least not in a way that is at all helpful for the recipient.
I would say, choose people you trust, (maybe other club photographers) and discuss your images with then. I think group discussions often yield more helpful feedback and I agree with what you say about emotion and feeling.
The feedback has been good and I try to make it as inclusive as possible so everyone can express their opinions. Sometime group sessions like this can be more useful than a 2 second consideration from a camera club judge. 🙂
Hehe I have been thinking doing the same with my Retroreflection posts. Maybe not to sell as a zine per se, but more for my own; to have something a bit more tangible from this online Substack thing.
You definitely should. It has been lovely seeing my articles in print and it is nice to have sometime tangible to keep and look back on. I will always be a lover of reading printed books or zines over digital content - must be an age thing! 😆
Maybe it's an age thing, but I think I have always preferred printed material over digital. Digital is convenient / cheap, so do that a lot (photography-wise), but I do prefer reading a physical book/magazine/whatever rather then reading it on a e-ink reader for example, it's just not the same.
Let me start by saying congratulations Gill and that I have always appreciated the writing and how it complements your images. Plus I feel more of a connection with a personal guidance on how you felt before the moment you pressed the shutter button.
I'm really excited to receive my copy of For the love of Landscapes later this month.
Thank you very much Ian, I am glad you enjoy the posts and find that the writing gives you a greater connection. I hope you enjoy the zine. 🙂
Congratulations Gill - I think being able to write a blog post of quality every week for 50 weeks of the year is a great achievement, especially as each one has encouraged some very interesting comments and conversations. Many photographers prefer the 'show don't tell' approach but I feel that well chosen words add to the experience and understanding of each photo story.
Thank you very much for your kind comments Lin and for reading my blogs over the past year. I appreciate all your input. I agree with you, words can definitely add to the experience.
Congratulations on the milestone and I bet at times it can be extremely difficult to find the time to write within a busy work schedule you must be very disciplined to get it published every week. I certainly find your thoughts very interesting and always look forward to your next blog. I imagine it would require more time but I certainly think you should start a YouTube channel but I fully appreciate you are running your business and must decide if will add value to your business.
Thank you so much for your comments Philip.
Writing a post every week can be a challenge at times but it has been enjoyable and I have found the discipline good for me.
I am not sure about the YouTube channel - I am not sure I am ready for that! 🙂
Congratulations on your milestone! Your photos are beautiful.
I think photos stand on their own and can be appreciated without any accompanying text, but carefully written text can add context that can make the viewer appreciate the photo even more.
Thank you very much Juliet and sorry for the slow response.
I agree with you, sometimes words can help add context or enrich the story.
In the past the photograph ruled and any words were secondary for me, but with time, and now AI being able to generate “pretty pictures” from thin air, I want to know the story behind the image.
Who is the photographer? What is their “why”?
Give me the human behind the camera.
I absolutely agree Jason - the personal story behind the image is always fascinating and I think the 'why' is important.
Thank you very much for your comments. 🙂
Hey Gill - congrats on your 50th post and keep ‘em coming! I do enjoy reading about your approach to photography and the landscape 👍
Thank you very much Jon.
Congratulations Gill on 50 posts. Thank you for your beautiful images and inspiring words. I completely agree on the value of combining our photography with words - it can be hard work (well done on achieving a weekly post!) but extremely worthwhile.
Thank you so much James for your comments and for reading my blog over the past year. I appreciate your input. 🙂
Congrats on the 1 year mark! The printed Zine is a great idea and looks fantastic!
Thank you very much Erik. I appreciate your interest and comments throughout the past year. 🙂
Congratulations on your 50th post Gill. I look forward to your regular posts and images. I enjoy the honesty and thoughtful outlook you describe. I think words alongside images do help and it’s why I write blog posts to make me describe what I was opting for vs what I got, and reflect on what I’ve taken and what I’ve learnt. I could be at risk of being harsh but I do find some titles of images photographers choose highly pretentious and maybe not really reflective of the image.
Thank you so much for your comments Terry and I am glad you are enjoying the blog.
I agree with your comments about words and images. I find it interesting to read about the story behind the image but agree that sometimes titles can be a bit pretentious and don't always add much to the overall story.
Thank you Gill. Here’s to the next 50! I look forward to Mondays and even if (like today) I cannot get to read the blog in the morning when it arrives, I still enjoy catching up later.
Thank you so much Sian for your comments and for reading the blog over the past year. I appreciate your support and I hope you continue to enjoy the posts.
Hi Gill! So synchronistic! I was just thinking yesterday about that old saying that a picture is worth 1,000 words. I was wondering if I could take a picture and submit it for a homework assignment. LOL!
I love the picture you posted, so serene and lovely!!! And the reflections in the water are wonderful. I don't mind the words and the pictures together. I think photography is art and everyone is going to have their own perspective and they should be granted that, but then it would be nice to read your reflections, as well and try and see it from your perspective. It widens our perspective on the world to see it through others eyes and probably grows our compassion, as well, so it is a good thing. I love reading what you're written and look forward to your pictures. Thank you for sharing! XO
Thank you so much for your comments Danielle and I am sorry for the slow response. I have enjoyed reading your comments over the past few months and appreciate your input.
I agree that it is good to read the story behind an image and I definitely think this adds an extra dimension to the work.
I hope you continue to enjoy the blog. 🙂
Congratulations on writing 50 in a year that are all worth reading.
There are undoubtedly some images that stand alone, though I like to know the back story because I’m nosey! At the same time it’s always fun for the viewer to create their own story. I feel I could just reach over and dip my hand in the water in the boat photo …
Thank you so much fo your comments Anne and for following the blog for the past year. I really appreciate it. I am glad you have found it interesting.
I agree with what you say regarding stand alone images but like you I find the back stories interesting.
Congratulations on your 50th post!
Thank you very much Deborah.
I'm relatively new to your blog, so I hadn't read the critique post you link to. But I'll be reading that one again for sure, because I thought it perhaps expressed some of my own struggles to understand how to deal with criticism. I too have submitted images I really like to competitions only to get feedback that was no help whatsoever and left me feeling it was all a bit hopeless.
I felt even more demoralised once when a highly experienced judge said in passing that judges as experienced as he was only needed a 'few seconds' to come up with a score for an image.
Really? We spend hours, or maybe days, getting an image just how we wanted it and it only takes 2 seconds to decide it's no good?
Personally, I've found that feedback from peers and fellow strugglers is often the most valuable. Emotion and feeling can be assessed by your peers every bit as well as a judge can do it.
PS - love the 'cluttered' boat image in that post!
Thank you very much for your comments Mark and for taking time to read my blog.
Regarding critique please don't let poorly judged comments put you off. It is hard to be inspired when you get criticism that isn't helpful. Photography is really subjective and whilst it is good to listen to and take on board critique, throw away comments from judges (who really should know better) are not helpful. Personally I don't think you can judge an image in a couple of seconds at least not in a way that is at all helpful for the recipient.
I would say, choose people you trust, (maybe other club photographers) and discuss your images with then. I think group discussions often yield more helpful feedback and I agree with what you say about emotion and feeling.
If you are interested I run a monthly photo challenge where we meet over Zoom at the end of the month to discuss results. www.landscapephotographytuition.co.uk/product/photography-club-august-photo-challenge-copy
The feedback has been good and I try to make it as inclusive as possible so everyone can express their opinions. Sometime group sessions like this can be more useful than a 2 second consideration from a camera club judge. 🙂
Congratulations on the milestone, Gill! As you say, not easy to meet that weekly deadline...
Thank you very much Charlie, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my post. 🙂