Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/05/31

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: RE: [Leica] Cropping and the whole damn thing [was: Digital cropp ing]
From: "Rodgers, David" <david.rodgers@xo.com>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 14:58:34 -0500

Guy

>>The refusal to crop a picture - even if that means improving the shot -
suggests that the most significant thing about photography is the
photographer's ability to get the shot;<<

Absolutely!  Who does the photographer think he or she is, after all? That
person's just pointing the camera and pressing the shutter. It's up the
editor or the art director to make the real photograph. 

>>To the non-croppers I ask: do you refuse to revise something you've
written, sticking religiously to the first draft?<<

That's should be my goal -- concise and clear writing. Remember, we're not
talking about recomposing. Cropping's only analogous to editing out
meaningless prose.  

>>Do you never season your food once it's cooked?<<

Only if the cook missed the mark.

>>To come back to photography: how do you feel about dodging, burning,
split-filter printing, toning, bleaching? Are these also unacceptable
manipulations of a negative?<<

I can't dodge, burn, split-filter, tone or bleach in the viewfinder. But I
should be able to frame the image. 

Dave