After the week off last week, 5 returns with something of a cliche. Angkor Wat. Now don’t get me wrong – Angkor is an amazing place to visit and I strongly recommend you go there if you haven’t already. I’ve been twice and would jump at the opportunity to make a third trip. Why a cliche? Well, with well over 2 million tourists to the area each year, it’s hard to find an original image of this UNESCO World Heritage listed wonder. Former art director of Harper’s Bazaar, Russian born photographer Alexey Brodovitch once said
if you look through the viewfinder and see a photo that you’ve seen before, don’t take it!
Brodovitch passed away in 1971, so there has to have been billions of cliche photographs taken since. That said, there’s nothing that says a cliche cannot be a good photo, one that engages both viewer and creator alike. Your thoughts would be appreciated as to the role of cliche in photography. I’m going to toss a few ideas around over the next few days and come up with some more detailed thoughts on it but for now, here are five images of Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
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Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography. One of the key aspects of life that we humans identify with is culture. We label people, places and events according to our ideas of what they are, ranging from the broader scale defined by tradition and place down to the small scale subcultures and tribes. Craig Ferguson Images is consistantly creating new visions in the field of cultural photography. From traditional festives and customs to modern, urban subcultures, Craig Ferguson Images is in touch with the changing world. From our base in Taipei, Taiwan we are perfectly positioned at the crossroads of the ancient and the modern.
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Hi Craig. I agree with you on the cliche thing; while I do tend to try to take photos that are as different as possible of the places I go, I actually intentionally try to take the cliched photos as well. One thing to remember about the cliches is that they tend to be the types of photos your non photographer friends want to see. Angkor is great, you are right. We are tentatively thinking of a trip there next summer; by then we are hoping Chloe is ready for some easy travel.
Good point on the intentional taking of cliches. I was planning to address that in the article I'm going to write about it. Hopefully, I'll manage to finish today's work early enough that I'll be able to make a start on writing it later this afternoon.
Hi Craig. I agree with you on the cliche thing; while I do tend to try to take photos that are as different as possible of the places I go, I actually intentionally try to take the cliched photos as well. One thing to remember about the cliches is that they tend to be the types of photos your non photographer friends want to see. Angkor is great, you are right. We are tentatively thinking of a trip there next summer; by then we are hoping Chloe is ready for some easy travel.
Good point on the intentional taking of cliches. I was planning to address that in the article I'm going to write about it. Hopefully, I'll manage to finish today's work early enough that I'll be able to make a start on writing it later this afternoon. UPDATE Upon doing a bit of Googling, I found 1001 posts and essays about cliche photography, so far now at least, I'm not going to add to that list.
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