Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/07/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]That's your opinion. No more, no less. -- Chris Crawford Fine Art Photography Fort Wayne, Indiana 260-424-0897 http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work! On 7/7/10 5:31 PM, "Philip Forrest" <photo.forrest at earthlink.net> wrote: > The truth is that it's just wrong to edit a photo as much as the one in > question. That's the truth. > > Phil Forrest > > > On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 17:06:48 -0400 > Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin at gmail.com> wrote: > >> Most discussions of photographic "truth" tend to obscure the fact >> that ALL photographs are abstract representations of an external >> world. When Margaret Mead showed Tahitian natives black and white >> photographs of themselves and their village, they rotated the photos >> this way and that, shook their heads, and handed them back. "Nice >> designs", they said, "but what are they?" Mead then realized that >> photographs were such abstractions that only long experience enables >> their interpretation. >> >> Closer to home, your dog does not jump into the TV screen to frolic >> in the fields shown in the dog food commercials. Neither does it >> growl or flee from the TV intruders in your household. The image on >> TV is not the real world to the animal but a flickering pattern on an >> illuminated tube. We see the image as a depiction of reality because >> our intelligence and experience enables us infer the scene from its >> abstract representation. The animal does not. >> >> The obvious limits to the truthful photographic depiction of the >> world are inherent in the photographic process which represents a >> three dimensional moving scene as a two dimensional static image. >> Lens resolution, color fidelity, contrast compression are just a few >> of the constraints on image reality. Motion picture and three >> dimensional photography remove some limits but add others. Printing >> and reproduction processes add still more. It is possible to fool the >> eye into perceiving an image as reality in carefully controlled >> laboratory situations, but the moment the viewer shifts head position >> or moves with respect to the image, the effect vanishes. >> >> In addition, our standards for reality are ever increasing. Audiences >> recoiled in horror when the first full length motion picture (The >> Great Train Robbery) showed a speeding locomotive heading straight >> for them. To get a similar audience response today requires IMAX and >> 3D glasses. In a few years year reality might require moving >> holographic images, and ultimately, a Startrek type Holodeck in which >> viewers are allowed to fully interact with the images as a form of >> controlled hallucination. >> >> And, of course, there is no absolute "truth." By framing a portion of >> a total scene in a camera viewfinder the photographer makes an >> editorial judgment about what "truth" will be presented to the >> viewer. That is as true when photographing natives in villages as it >> is when covering newsworthy events. Even lens selection influences >> photographic truth. Perspective distortion through the use of extreme >> wideangle or telephoto lenses has become a staple of many >> photographers, often substituting for content or creativity. >> Thankfully, many news photographers eschew this trick since picture >> content is still more important to the news media than artistic >> creativity, but thumb through most photo mags. and count the small >> number of images taken with a normal perspective. >> >> If you think your photographs truly represent the scene in front of >> the camera, I suggest this Turing test for photography. Take a photo >> out of the window of your house, preferably one with a nice view. >> Make the best possible print you can of the negative or digital >> image, then hang it on the wall next to the window. If a visitor to >> your house cannot tell the difference between the view out the window >> and the picture of the view out the window, you have a truly >> realistic photo. >> >> Someday photographic images may pass the Turing test, presenting three >> dimensional, moving, full color scenes directly to the eyeball and >> other sense organs, indistinguishible from actuality. Until then, >> assertions of photographic "truth" are like assertions of virginity >> among whores. >> >> Larry Z >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information