Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/08/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It was the South Carolina Press Photographer's Association. You can read the whole story at Photo District News' web site. He was using what we in the trade call "The Hand of God" technique. It was always somewhat questionable before digital. And what he did was re-create that same effect digitally. The difference is that it's not so obvious as it is when printing in a darkroom. He had a photo of a firefighter that was against a totally black background. Unfortunately, the original photo had what he considered distracting elements that he obscured. Other photo were similarly treated. He admitted it was wrong. And people discussed that because digital make the technique seamless and impossible to tell if "well done" that it crosses the line and becomes unethical. Before it was obvious the photographer was messing with the photo that it was considered by many of us bad taste, or unethical at worst for the same reason as when it's perfectly done - it obscure details in the photo. It's perfectly acceptable in art. It is not acceptable at all in journalism in my opinion. He was caught, If I remember correctly, when other photographers saw his winning photo in the NCPPA's contest and knew he must have manipulated the photo extensively to get the effect they saw. It is a long-standing tradition of photojournalists who are members of the NPPA and related organizations to emphasize honesty and ethics and not surprising that someone who was so blatantly manipulating his photos would be found out. I guess the guy should admit he was being pretty dense thinking he'd get away with it. He's lucky his employer didn't fire him. His actions call their ethics into question. The New York Times was in their rights to do what they did to that writer this summer. What this photojournalist did was much less blatant, but still along the same lines. On Saturday, August 30, 2003, at 01:01 AM, Afterswift@aol.com wrote: > I surmise that the society might have directed him to give them the > card he > used. > If he didn't erase it, either he was too preoccupied or proved to be a > very > honest gentleman -- after the fact. > Eric Welch Carlsbad, CA http://www.jphotog.com "There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a mortification against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences." - -- Frank Herbert - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html