Ok so I need to get this off my chest. I've mentioned HDR before, it, as a technique seems to have waned a little, on flickr, but as I've been thinking about what makes a good photo, I'm still astounded by the levels of appreciation, for want of a better word, that it invokes in people.
Firstly let me make a point I'm not against the idea of HDR, in fact, when done well it is an interesting technique. But does technique alone made a good image? In my opinion no!
In fact craft should be secondary to the image or is that transparent?
Good photography should be about light, composition and moments in time, not how well an image can be manipulated in a piece of software.
David Vestal published his influential ‘The Craft of Photography’ in 1978 and twenty years ago‘ The Art of Black and White Enlarging (1984)’ stating that “Craftsmanship is emphasized, along with the perceptive seeing, feeling, and thinking that distinguish good personal printing from impersonal skill.”
As a technique, HDR and tone mapping is about skill, and means to an end not an idea born from seeing or experiencing .
More reading, click on the 'link' words then, download the pdf entitled, pixel perfect.
Technorati Tags: hdr, photography, photoshop, processing, raw, technique
Comments (2)
I never cease to be amazed at how popular those things are. remember *Ivan* the super-sensitive Italian who used to occasionally stop in DMU? If you've forgotten him, go and have a look.
Maybe it's a cultural thing, but emerald green skies do absolutely nothing for me.
Posted by brendadada | September 1, 2007 8:02 AM
Posted on September 1, 2007 08:02
hey s2, funny you should mention this... the past week or so i've been trying to convince some of the locals of this, but i think i'm banging my head against a brick wall... so i gave up and instead just trying to practice what i (you?) preach ;)
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sg_meetup/discuss/72157601553620056/
Posted by tk | August 29, 2007 5:17 PM
Posted on August 29, 2007 17:17