Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/02/10

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Slightly OT: To Crop Or Not
From: wmrav at triad.rr.com (William Ravenel)
Date: Sat Feb 10 08:50:50 2007
References: <200702100535.l1A5XEIF076458@server1.waverley.reid.org> <000c01c74d29$0869d560$f68dea04@oemcomputer>

I agree - the final image is the thing. Of course with 35mm negatives  
you lose a lot of resolution for larger prints with anything more  
than minor crops, so it's good to crop with the viewfinder as much as  
possible. But if the image you see doesn't fit a 1:1.5 box or is too  
distant for the lense being used, by all means crop.

For the web it matters even less. Here is a picture I took winter  
before last in Alexandria, VA. I had the 35 sumicron ASPH on the  
camera and made a fairly extreme crop in PS to use as a header for a  
web page. I like the result better than the original. It wouldn't  
print very well, however, because of the lack of pixels.

Original:

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Will+R/examples/ice_dock.jpg.html>
<http://tinyurl.com/2x3eky>

Cropped for web page header:

<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Will+R/examples/Ice- 
dock_crop.jpg.html>
<http://tinyurl.com/2yazzn>

Will


On Feb 10, 2007, at 10:35 AM, Montie wrote:

> I don't see this as an either/or issue. "Crop in the camera"
> (if you have the time) can work and "Crop the print" can
> also work.  With shades of gray it's really a non-issue as
> B&W images are abstract by nature to start with.
>
> Putting a negative in an enlarger (or photoslop) and cropping
> the print is as natural as tying your shoe once it's on your foot.
> It became a part of the process ( in the projection print) a long
> long time ago.  In my view, it's no more or less important than
> any of the other compositional and technical elements we use
> i.e. selective focus, chemical reagent selection,dodge/burn, add/
> remove contrast...etc etc.
>
> It's all about the final view.  Looking at it depends for effect
> solely on the psyche of the viewer, which may be quite different
> from that of the photographer's anyway.
>
> Montie
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information


In reply to: Message from montoid at earthlink.net (Montie) ([Leica] Re: Slightly OT: To Crop Or Not)