I went to the opening of the Citibank photography prize at the Photographers' Gallery this evening, and of the 4 photographers, only one, Simon Norfolk, was worth looking at. Wonderful 5"x4" shots of Kabul, the best of which was this: http://www.photonet.org.uk/programme/citibank/citibank03/norfolk2.html (and talking of resolution the quality of the jpeg on that webpage shows how little even the Photographer's Gallery understands about it - ironic given the beautiful sharpness and clarity of the original image).
One of Juergen Teller's shots (of some stalagmites, or perhaps tites) on the other hand was possibly shot on a cheap digital camera and then blown up to about 6'x3'. Closer than 3' away it looked terrible; hideous noise and artifacts. But if it's 'art' maybe that's alright. Another finalist's sub Nan Goldin instamatic efforts were rarely in focus, and even more rarely interesting. So instead of saving for a 22mpx digital back, perhaps the lesso is to shoot a little project (preferably including a friend http://www.photonet.org.uk/programme/past/jt4.html or yourself naked), call it an installation and enter a few awards. End of rant. Richard Lewisohn =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
