Yep, that happens. On the other hand, if you think about what you're doing, you can often deal with these issues successfully.
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All true, with the partial exception of the silver print. There is a depth and luminosity to silver prints that no digital process can replicate. That said, there are digital printers that use conventional silver halide photo paper.
As someone who has made a living as a photographer since 1985, I find the whole film vs digital argument to be kind of a big nothing. I last loaded a roll of film into a camera in 2003. I enjoyed the process of film, paper and chemicals. I learned a lot about light from it. I was a damned good printer back in the day. But my real enjoyment is making pictures, not using equipment. And from that standpoint, I will use the equipment and processes that allow me to make better pictures, faster. It's that simple.
That, right there, is what photography is all about. It's a multi-dimensional translation process. I could go on ad nauseum about it, but nobody wants to hear that!
A few years ago I saw an exhibition of some of Chuck Close’s daguerreotypes. Beautiful in a way that just has to be seen in person. Depth and luminosity and an almost 3-D feel to them.
What?? Think and plan before you release the shutter?? Outrageous!
(heh! you can always fix it in post**! [snigger].)
** There is an invisible "not" in there for those who don't know my attempts at humor
Whaddaya mean, man!? Photoshop's so great I don't even have to know composition and lighting anymore!
The notion of “Knowing” composition and lighting is somewhat amusing to me. Yeah, I studied it when I was a teenager, read the Ansel Adams technical books, but really, you either have an innate sense of light and form or you don’t. For me, content is what I pursue, light and composition fall into place like tumblers in a lock. Work it a bit until it all drops into place, then the warm and fuzzies light up and I press the go pedal. Unless, of course, I have to create light, then there’s a logistical/mechanical/mathematical component that comes into play. But it still is really just a matter of lining it all up quickly until it snaps into place. The juggling act is reacting to fast moving action and making light and composition happen on the fly. It brings me an indescribable sense of wholeness when it all comes together.Whaddaya mean, man!? Photoshop's so great I don't even have to know composition and lighting anymore!
“The moment always dictates in my work. What I feel, I do. This is the most important thing for me. Everybody can look, but they don’t necessarily see. I never calculate or consider; I see a situation and I know that it’s right, even if I have to go back to get the proper lighting.” – Andre Kertesz
Kertesz embraced what we commonly know as “the decisive moment” (Bresson)in photography – the moment in which all of the elements of a frame come together perfectly. For Kertesz, photography was all about seeing the world in a unique way. Not to just look at people, places, and things – but to truly see them on a deeper level.
Kertesz wouldn’t always be certain when the “right moment” was, but he would photograph on instinct – from his gut.
10 Lessons Andre Kertesz Has Taught Me About Street Photography - ERIC KIM
All photos copyrighted by the estate of Andre Kertesz. Also many thanks to Michael Meinhardt for helping me edit this text. Andre Kertesz is one of the greatest photographers who ever lived. He photographed extensively for over 70 years, which also makes him one of the most prolific...
erickimphotography.com
The digital click was never synced with my internal eye, so I got out of shooting when digital took over. Still miss the darkroom though. Enjoy looking at your work Dan.
I shot film as an amateur for 40 years. I kept a camera with me at all times, even if it was just my Olympus XA and I had to hold a pair of sunglasses in front of it if I wanted polarization. I still have a collection of almost a hundred film cameras and I love the feel of the film advance on my Nikon F3HP or the way a Leica fits my hands. I got a Nikon Coolpix in order to learn some of the digital techniques and the software I would need, but it wasn't until my kids gave me a Nikon DSLR that I felt my photography had really advanced. I got some pictures I was happy with on K64 but my success rate increased tremendously with digital.
It's a maxim that gear will not make you a better photographer and I have never been able to figure out exactly what the difference was for me, but so many pictures that I attempted and was disappointed with when I shot film suddenly seemed to come out just as I had envisioned when I used digital. That and the freedom to experiment with different settings, filters, compositions, etc. and the ability to play with editing in Photoshop mean I haven't shot film in years.
It's a maxim that gear will not make you a better photographer and I have never been able to figure out exactly what the difference was for me, but so many pictures that I attempted and was disappointed with when I shot film suddenly seemed to come out just as I had envisioned when I used digital. That and the freedom to experiment with different settings, filters, compositions, etc. and the ability to play with editing in Photoshop mean I haven't shot film in years.
Every 50 or so candid or nearly candid portraits/groups I shoot I get a flag pole or bird sticking out of someone's head, and the photo is otherwise the best of the series, then I will use PS to remove said distraction. Otherwise it's just color balance, exposure, bring out shadows, etc. (hopefully very light on those) and some light cropping.
Thank you. Kertesz was certainly one of my influences early on.Kertesz embraced what we commonly know as “the decisive moment” (Bresson)in photography – the moment in which all of the elements of a frame come together perfectly. For Kertesz, photography was all about seeing the world in a unique way. Not to just look at people, places, and things – but to truly see them on a deeper level.
Kertesz wouldn’t always be certain when the “right moment” was, but he would photograph on instinct – from his gut.
10 Lessons Andre Kertesz Has Taught Me About Street Photography - ERIC KIM
All photos copyrighted by the estate of Andre Kertesz. Also many thanks to Michael Meinhardt for helping me edit this text. Andre Kertesz is one of the greatest photographers who ever lived. He photographed extensively for over 70 years, which also makes him one of the most prolific...
The digital click was never synced with my internal eye, so I got out of shooting when digital took over. Still miss the darkroom though. Enjoy looking at your work Dan.
If you are on FB, I post a bit of my work there, from time to time. Honestly, a lot of it is from my phone!
Some gems are mined closer to flawless than others, but many require polishing, even lots of it. I was gifted with the ability, but I had to spend time honing it. I had to practice constantly till seeing light and shadow became second nature. Ditto composition: I was one of those always placing the subject dead centre, where it shouldn't be most of the time; there are cases and exceptions, but for the most part dead centre is not the ideal placement.
It all depends on what one is photographing: your approach seems to me more apt for reportage, candid, wedding, situations where you cannot have full control. My niche required a more analytical and methodical approach, and I wanted to have full control over subject placement and lighting. I could take my time, I didn't have the pressure of a fleeting moment.
I reckon your approach can be applied to more static subjects or situations, but well, we all have our methods.
Ah, the 'decisive moment', a concept and phrase Bresson lifted from 17th Century Cardinal de Retz: "There is nothing in this world without a decisive moment" ("Il n'y a rien dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif'). It's not an untrue approach, and it can even happen in the middle of a methodical portrait session, but again, it's something I find more appropriate to reportage than controlled situations. Again, a lot of our approach is determined by the genre we photograph in.
A few random pix of mine from the B&W film days:
Been there myself.
Guess it's good that you're not world-renowned or shoot for a major magazine then:
Botched Steve McCurry Print Leads to Photoshop Scandal
Steve McCurry is, perhaps, one of the most iconic names in the National Geographic pantheon. A travel photography giant, his vibrant images have inspired
petapixel.com
More Photoshopped Photos Emerge in the Steve McCurry Scandal
Much has been written about the Steve McCurry Photoshop scandal since we originally reported on the story earlier this month. The NPPA Ethics Committee
petapixel.com
Steve is a local. Grew up, like me, working for the weeklies in suburban Philadelphia. I've met him, but don't know him. He preceded me by more than a decade. Which was long enough at the time that he was able to catch that wave of the news magazines hiring contractors with big day rates and retainers. By the time I'd learned the ropes and made my mistakes on the small stage, the bloom was off that rose. He was always a good shooter and an aggressive hard worker, but nowhere as good as many of his contemporaries and predecessors. So, when digital came around, his editors (with the Scitex), and later he himself, made up for it in post.Been there myself.
Guess it's good that you're not world-renowned or shoot for a major magazine then:
Botched Steve McCurry Print Leads to Photoshop Scandal
Steve McCurry is, perhaps, one of the most iconic names in the National Geographic pantheon. A travel photography giant, his vibrant images have inspiredMore Photoshopped Photos Emerge in the Steve McCurry Scandal
Much has been written about the Steve McCurry Photoshop scandal since we originally reported on the story earlier this month. The NPPA Ethics Committee
Although there is a lot of work that I do these days that is made from whole cloth, I still get much greater enjoyment out of the unpredictable, where I have much less control. It's like the difference between soaking in the bathtub and surfing: reality gives you gifts that you simply can never imagine. To quote a great photographer mentor friend of mine "Dan, you just can't make this fuckin' shit up"
This looks a lot like a tempest in a teapot. Minor tweaks to clean up some errata but not a wholescale synthesizing of the events portrayed in an image. Granted, the Photoshop work is rudimentary. If the standard is that only an unretouched image is acceptable then almost nobody would make the grade. Ansel Adams made a lot of his negatives work through careful adjustments in his darkroom.Been there myself.
Guess it's good that you're not world-renowned or shoot for a major magazine then:
Botched Steve McCurry Print Leads to Photoshop Scandal
Steve McCurry is, perhaps, one of the most iconic names in the National Geographic pantheon. A travel photography giant, his vibrant images have inspiredMore Photoshopped Photos Emerge in the Steve McCurry Scandal
Much has been written about the Steve McCurry Photoshop scandal since we originally reported on the story earlier this month. The NPPA Ethics Committee
It is a slippery slope. Technology for synthesizing images has reached a point that anyone's likeness can be believably synthesized into a shot as long as there are two good images of that person's face avaiable to be accessed. The reality of this points to a future where photographic evidence can no longer be considered valid.
Just an aside, and not pertinent to the digital vs film debate, when I was learning photography in the mid 60s I found that fixed focal length lenses taught me more than zooms. I believe that mastering a particular fixed lens caused me to consider more fully my relationship to the subject. Nothing wrong with zooms, but for the student they aren't the best.
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