Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]About cropping. The difference between really good photographs and just ordinary photographs is the composition, the simplicity, how you are drawn in to the subject, that your eye's are not pulled away from the subject by bright/cluttered ancillary objects around the periphery, etc... Unless you use a zoom lens so that you can frame accurately from wherever you have to stand in order to photograph, you may have to crop out ancillary clutter. Sometimes you should move up, down, in, back, right, or left, but cannot. When you take a photograph for others to view, you should always strive to present your best work. You will be remembered for what you present. When other people look at your photographs, they are not privy to the original film therefore no one but you knows whether the image was cropped or not. And since you want to present the very best images possible, they should be cropped (or not) to be just that. Your very "best" presentation. There is nothing worse than trying to see the picture within a bunch of distracting clutter or large amounts of dead space. Those who advocate no cropping, should also advocate no filters, no special films, no compensating developers, no techniques to enhance edge effects, no pushing, no pulling, no dodging, no burning, no masking, no double exposures, no anything except stand there, point the camera, trip the shutter, Tri-X in straight D-76 or Kodachrome with Kodak processing, straight print the result, and then stand back by yourself and admire your ordinary work. The craft of photography has developed into an art form. When a painter sits down with a canvas, does he/she paint every piece of the scene even if it is ugly and distracting? No. Editing and cropping is done when the original is made. A photographer does not have that complete luxury. A camera will record everything within a specific frame. It's when you produce the "original," you get to manipulate it via special developer, dodging, burning, etc. You may have started in the field with special film, filters, special lenses, etc. The advocation of photographing and the subsequent printing without cropping is but a false pretense of being pure and true to the medium. This is just plain bologna. As I said earlier, if you advocate no cropping, you also have to advocate no other manipulation as well or you intentions are simply ill founded and completely bogus. As the old saying goes "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Jim - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html