>>3249579Most photographs are not going to elicit a strong reaction. Most will be meh. Some will be pleasing to look at - this is a matter of taste. Far few will actually penetrate into you - this is a matter of heart.
Anyone who talks about getting "gut-punched" by Bresson or fucking lame street photog or something is talking shit and putting on airs. They're almost certainly lying.
For example, I look at a lot of conflict, war and genocide photojournalism. All of it makes me feel bad in various ways. Then I looked at Ron Haviv's "Blood and Honey" where he photographed the massacre of Bosnians by Serbs. Those photos cut right into my soul and changed me forever. They still haunt me.
Just keep looking at things, you'll eventually figure out what you get a reaction of. People who claim to be super sensitive membranes to all photography, especially the trendy cannon of Vetted Pro Photographers, are blowing smoke up their ass. It's pretty idiosyncratic who will gut punch you.
