Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]SNIP > It seems that with the advent of color slide film, a new purism has > descended on photography, where any manipulation of the image (beyond what > is injected optically by filters, or mechanically by the scanning and > halftoning processes) is considered to be unacceptable or unethical. > > I would think that there is an ethical level of image manipulation, which > heightens the visual impact without doing disservice to the truth. > > By the way, I find that the use of highly saturated color slide films is, by > itself, sometimes objectionable. Call it "Fujification of the evidence." > > > > Mark Davison - --------------------------------- This is the 'real' persuasion that Leica people, in particular, or on topic, have to incorporate. It's no longer just an option. For myself, this has been the issue in regards to my Leica-Head having any challenge that involves what appears to be a 'tainted quality'. I don't seem to give autofocus any credit in terms of affecting my ideas or rather my involvement with the daily Leica bit. Digital Cameras have not yet, for myself at least, had any influence in these terms. But I've always been a shooter. That is, I've been finished when the roll's finished. So I've never had much of any shtick handing over my stuff to a good lab. So why should I think differently? I give a lab my (now) E100VS and they print it and my basic requirement is that (assuming the processing was not off) the print looks I expected it to or better. So if the lab masks it what do I care? I tell them if it needs it do it! Or they are burn/dodg and well, I didn't tell them to make that any darker! Who knows what they're doing with it. They could be tricking me and using machine when they say opposite, or various other things. So who am I to say wait a minute! You 'aint putting my image in no computer! Even if I did think this, which I have, how long could this last. I've settled with archiving some negs for the main reason that I will ruin them sooner or later. But I think it's just a waiting game like anything else. I may not want to offer my stuff as a specimen for some lunatic Photoshop out of control obsessed genius of any sort but what, I should argue about sharpening or dodging with Photoshop? The thing that keeps from feeling as though my images have lost any purity is the above mentioned ethical level of image manipulation, or some sort of level. I get my slides and there they are - anything posttraumatic(??) doesn't change that. The image doesn't ever change for me. Unless of course someone has already played around...waiting...