Charlie Stout Writes About: Everything » What Not To Do http://blog.charliestout.com "Reading is hard work. Good writing does something for somebody." -Leland George Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:58:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1-alpha Photographers’ Artist Statements http://blog.charliestout.com/photographers-artist-statement/ http://blog.charliestout.com/photographers-artist-statement/#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:46:41 +0000 charliestout http://blog.charliestout.com/?p=192 Read the rest of this entry »

]]> The more Rebels with kit lenses I see hanging around the necks of “wedding and family photographers” shooting their hapless subjects against brick walls, the more convinced I am that good communicators have the potential to be good photographers, while poor communicators will find themselves writing lengthy “artist statements” to compensate for their lack of expertise.

]]> http://blog.charliestout.com/photographers-artist-statement/feed/ 0 It’s Better To Ask Permission Than To Be Thrown In The Brig http://blog.charliestout.com/its-better-to-ask-permission-than-to-be-thrown-in-the-brig/ http://blog.charliestout.com/its-better-to-ask-permission-than-to-be-thrown-in-the-brig/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:38:49 +0000 charliestout http://blog.charliestout.com/?p=81 Read the rest of this entry »

]]> I’ve got a friend named Alison who shall remain anonymous who suggests on her blog that it’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission to go tromping around on someone’s property with a camera in order to take photographs of their stuff and/or land.

That works for college students, but in the real world (notice I didn’t put real world in quotes) such a mentality can get you arrested or wounded or both or worse.

This image of an F-16 was captured during a visit to Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona.  My friend Aaron trained on the F-16 here and he gave me a tour of the base (which included some time in the flight simulator) before he shipped out to Korea.  The aircraft below is shown taxiing to the end of the runway on a beautiful Arizona evening for a final walk around and weapons inspection before takeoff.

You can't photograph military aircraft on military bases during military exercises by asking forgiveness.

In the real world, F-16 fighters conduct live fire exercises over the Barry M. Goldwater Gunnery Range which is somewhat less than forgiving in that there are serious consequences for trespassing on or near the range, making a place you do not want to be found without having first obtained permission.

It’s adventurous and fun to go traipsing about in unfamiliar territory but it’s better to hear “no” than to hear “please put your hands behind your back.”

I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

]]> http://blog.charliestout.com/its-better-to-ask-permission-than-to-be-thrown-in-the-brig/feed/ 0 Sometimes There’s Nothing There http://blog.charliestout.com/sometimes-theres-nothing-there/ http://blog.charliestout.com/sometimes-theres-nothing-there/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:41:29 +0000 charliestout http://blog.charliestout.com/?p=6

I say this to all of my friends who are starting a Project 365, the ultimate in photographic masturbation: sometimes there’s nothing there.

No reason to force it.

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