Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/07/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The actual truth we have to learn is do not believe all that you see (or read!), however much we want certain things to be true. Be skeptical, till proved otherwise. This sort of editing is quite mainstream now. Cheers Jayanand On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 3:01 AM, 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 >