tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post3033853397677019989..comments2023-09-14T20:00:06.555-07:00Comments on Natural Imagery | Better Nature and Macro Photography: Something to Chew Onclay bolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15101203761734707129noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-39900987443140410892009-12-05T05:40:58.629-08:002009-12-05T05:40:58.629-08:00Kirk,
I agree that a petition –or contract– would...Kirk,<br /><br />I agree that a petition –or contract– would be too limiting. In all honesty, as I alluded to in my original post, the public will believe what they will. There are going to be believers, or those who use good judgment as to which images depict a 'real' moment, and those who will doubt everything. What is a guy to do?clay bolthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15101203761734707129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-12355331115224288592009-12-04T06:52:03.074-08:002009-12-04T06:52:03.074-08:00I think the petition would be too limiting. I know...I think the petition would be too limiting. I know there are times when you want to or need to have the freedom to choose what style you may want to do.<br />There's a whole lot of ethics that this discussion is bringing up. Something else to chew on.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07860370983531635190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-79719164330320066792009-12-02T17:54:38.799-08:002009-12-02T17:54:38.799-08:00Mike and Kirk,
Both of you raise excellent points...Mike and Kirk,<br /><br />Both of you raise excellent points. <br /><br />Mike, in regards to your gull scenario, the photographer in question should most definitely disclose that the subject was manipulated. However, would this be any different than a macabre version of a still life? Maybe it would be better labeled as a "photographic illustration?" Either way, by revealing that the subject was photographed in a certain way to deliver a point, there is no scandal, and the message stays strong. <br /><br />Honesty is the key to all of this and the more often that photographers are upfront about how their images are created, the more trust that they stand to gain from the public. <br /><br />Let me ask this, should there be a photographic petition of integrity that photographers should agree to, or would this be too limiting? <br /><br />Something else to chew on, perhaps?clay bolthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15101203761734707129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-34090984699078546432009-12-01T16:13:11.499-08:002009-12-01T16:13:11.499-08:00Mike,
I would consider posing a subject and the ad...Mike,<br />I would consider posing a subject and the addition of props as artistic. As the artist, you can certainly do whatever you care, it's your work. But if you do so and sell it as editorial work, then you have the chance that it damages other realism. Nat Geo got into some hot water a while back by moving the Pyramids closer together with Photoshop. That helped really get a lot stink started. I do think you need to be careful in how your work gets marketed, most people do want to be taken seriously and if your work gets taken out of context, well the gull really starts to smell bad. I don't pose subjects or add to the image.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07860370983531635190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-21408226590828101182009-12-01T06:55:35.040-08:002009-12-01T06:55:35.040-08:00This is an interesting topic. I am not a photograp...This is an interesting topic. I am not a photographer, but a friend and I were talking about a presentation we saw two weeks ago by a well-known nature photographer from the Cincinnati area. The subject of photographic manipulation came up, and the photographer mentioned that some people take multiple photos of the same scene, which when nested together in Photoshop or similar software create an image in which all the elements in the shot, from foreground to background are in perfect focus. Some people aren't going to like such "tricks," but even film photos can be, were, and are, airbrushed and otherwise manipulated. I agree with Kirk's comments.<br /><br />I think most people understand intuitively at least that a photo is a representation of a slice of life, so to speak--that even the act of deciding where to aim one's camera is an edit or manipulation, and even strictly realistic or documentary photos are in a sense interpretations of the subject matter in the photo. We accept and often enjoy all sorts of techniques used to change or alter or enhance a photo. I think it's all fair game. <br /><br />The kind of manipulation that I don't think is fair--though it could be considered artistic--would be along the lines of creating fictions and passing them off as documentary. Say I find a dead gull on the beach, decide to photograph it because I like the lighting, the background, etc., but then decide it would be more dramatic if I took the plastic rings from a six-pack and looped them around the gull's neck. That would be a truly cynical manipulation on one hand, if I were to claim my photo was documentary, yet arguably an artistic and acceptable manipulation--by my own standards--on the other. <br /><br />I'm curious to hear more of what the two of you, as photographers, think about this subject. <br /><br />Take care,<br />---Mike BusamMjBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01691068118383957656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-19261780237296415552009-11-30T18:22:52.319-08:002009-11-30T18:22:52.319-08:00Hi Kirk,
Thanks for chiming in! It is good to hea...Hi Kirk,<br /><br />Thanks for chiming in! It is good to hear from others who have pondered this as well.<br /><br />My belief is that there needs to be a variety of different approaches working towards the common goal of protecting wild creatures and places. Some people will be greatly moved by more literal captures and others by those of an artistic nature.<br /><br />Let's just hope that once all of the pieces are sorted out everyone who has had a stake in fighting for what they love will be given a seat at the table.<br /><br />Clayclay bolthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15101203761734707129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7146069507067637784.post-55045867275682610732009-11-29T05:46:31.546-08:002009-11-29T05:46:31.546-08:00It is a good question Clay. I had similar thoughts...It is a good question Clay. I had similar thoughts and concerns in the past, but any photograph is a manipulation, Ansel Adams taught us that.I used to be straight realist, but I've come to see it in several different lights. One, our image is ours,how we view the world is ours and how we present that will always strike the viewer's emotions. Why else to share? If we only photograph in a strict documentary way, the people we seek to reach, gets bored. To show the viewer the beauty and way of nature I think is necessary. (I'm thinking of Jim Brandenburg's photograph of the eye of the poached deer). Ansel's photographs captured the beauty and also helped a lot in making the public aware of our world. I don't think we can afford not to show nature in an artistic way, we are getting too far removed from nature.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07860370983531635190noreply@blogger.com