Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/04/22

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Subject: [Leica] Photoshop vs Journalism
From: dnygr at cshore.com (dnygr)
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:06:14 GMT

A friend of mine says he pursues "verisimitude" in his photos. He has 
published several books and his work has appeared in highly respected 
publications. He shoots color. He used to shoot archival slides and make 
Cibacrhomes from them. He had his own lab in his house. He went digital in 
2001 and continued his pursuit of "verisimitude." 
I know what he means when he says he wants to reproduce things the way they 
are, but that is impossible. The type of film, paper, the type of lens, 
influence the outcome. I don't think there is such a thing as 
"verisimitude." 
Nor do I think it's a goal worth pursuing. At least my?aesthetic doesn't 
embrace that. 
My feeling is that the craft and art of photography come from how one 
manipulates the image. Ansel Adams certainly did this. That famous photo of 
the moonrise over the graveyard is an example. That photo could not have 
been taken in the light it seems to have been taken in. You just can't get 
the sun to stand still for as long as it would had to get the exposure Adams 
did. The photo was taken in brighter light and Adams burned in the sky. He 
interrupted the negative.
Color photography poses different possibilites and problems. I prefer black 
and white photos to color by and large and I prefer color film photos?over 
digital. Given the control that Photoshop provides, I find I disturst 
digital photos. If you don't like a bird in the sky of your digital image, 
you can use the patch control and get rid of it and who?will ever know. In 
this respect, digital photography?can be a vice, but if you look at what 
Photoshop allows you to do creatively, it can be a virtue. Instead of trying 
to re-create what?he saw, the photographer with Photoshop can create what he 
feels and sees. ?Painters have been doing this forever. I have yet to find a 
blue horse like the one Fanz Marc painted. Wie kann das sein?
Doug