{"id":1303,"date":"2010-07-05T08:39:48","date_gmt":"2010-07-05T16:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/05\/honesty-in-photography\/"},"modified":"2018-09-09T19:50:57","modified_gmt":"2018-09-10T03:50:57","slug":"honesty-in-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/05\/honesty-in-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Honesty in Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just read a great email from Brian Peterson, founder of The Perfect Picture School of Photography<\/a>.\u00a0 He ran an unscientific opinion pole on whether photographers felt it was OK to dramatically alter photographs in Photoshop.\u00a0 Now, by \u2018dramatically alter,\u2019 Brian means to add major elements to an image that were not present in the original scene or make other major changes that alter the content of the image.<\/p>\n

He has a provocative blog post with the title that starts, \u201cEvery photograph is a \u2018lie,\u2026\u2019<\/a>,\u00a0 In it he raises the excellent point that even those photographs that aren\u2019t altered in Photoshop are still an abstraction of reality and thus a \u2018lie.\u2019\u00a0 I recommend you read it.<\/p>\n

What were the results of his opinion pole?\u00a0 Brian reports that 41% of photographers felt that it is OK to dramatically alter images in Photoshop and NOT tell anyone unless asked.\u00a0 And if asked, some would say, \u201cIt\u2019s none of your business.\u201d\u00a0 The reason photographers felt this way boiled down to two words \u2013 Artistic License.<\/p>\n

I have my own thoughts on \u201cartistic license\u201d and would like to share them with you.<\/p>\n

I sent Brian an email and would like to share its contents here.<\/p>\n

Bryan,<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on dramatic alterations in Photoshop and in the camera.\u00a0 I\u2019ll spare you a long winded email as I\u2019m sure you have a lot more to read.<\/em><\/p>\n

While, as a fine art landscape photographer, I resent the \u2018reality standard\u2019 placed on us by many of our viewers, I also resent film photographers who shoot Velvia 50 and then claim their images are unaltered.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mind photographers who dramatically alter their images.\u00a0 But what I have a problem with is when they\u2019re disingenuous and pass it off as a depiction of reality and not an artistic expression.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been strongly influenced by David Hurn, the Welsh Magnum photographer.\u00a0 Admittedly, he is a \u2018documentary\u2019 photographer but he stresses the importance of honesty in photographs which is different from believability.\u00a0 He freely admits that his work is successful because besides being honest it\u2019s an abstraction that also sizzles.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m offended and insulted when filmmakers shoot sunsets and pass them off as sunrises by running the film backwards, when photographers drop skies into sunsets and the direction of the light on the earth is different from that on the clouds, where they drop lush fields of domestic flowers in the foreground of a picture of the Tetons and pass them off as wild flowers.\u00a0 To me this is not only dishonest, it\u2019s laziness.<\/em><\/p>\n

When people ask me if I manipulate my photographs I answer, \u2018Of course.\u2019\u00a0 My goal is to create an emotional connection with the subject so that the viewer will treasure it and want to preserve it.\u00a0 As artists we all draw a line that separates what we will and won\u2019t do and that\u2019s our right.\u00a0 But we should believe in where we draw the line and be willing to say, \u201cOh no, that moon wasn\u2019t there.\u00a0 I added it to make the scene more dramatic.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, our art should be honest.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the spirit of honesty, let me share with you a few of images from my collection that illustrate the point.<\/p>\n

\"bristlecone_moon_<\/a> Bristlecone Moon (2008)<\/p>\n

At shows I\u2019m asked from time to time if the moon was really there or if I dropped it in.\u00a0 The moon was really there.\u00a0 I planned this shot for months so that I could be there when the full moon rose through the earth shadow behind the tree.<\/p>\n

But did I alter the image?\u00a0 Yes, you bet.\u00a0 On the right edge of the photograph was a twig that I removed in Photoshop because it distracted the eye from the main subjects of the image \u2013 the tree and the moon.\u00a0 I also used some other techniques in Photoshop that accentuated the colors of the earth shadow in the sky and gave the tree a warm glow.\u00a0 The result is a powerful, dramatic image that hopefully communicates the timeless magnificence of these wondrous trees.<\/p>\n

\"Zabriskie<\/a> Zabriskie Point 3 (2006)<\/p>\n

With this photograph I\u2019m often asked if the colors are real, especially by those who are familiar with Zabriskie Point in Death Valley.\u00a0 The answer is, \u201cYes, the colors are real.\u00a0 They are there but they\u2019re usually not that apparent.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two things that draw them out.\u00a0 The first is the time of day when this scene was photographed.\u00a0 It was before sunrise when the light is soft and beautiful.\u00a0 The colors become washed out in the mid day sun but before the sun comes up they are more apparent.\u00a0 However they are still subtle.<\/p>\n

Which leads to the second thing \u2013 the adjustments I made in Photoshop to bring out the purples, turquoises, cyans, reds and oranges.\u00a0 This is a prime example of how the camera can show us what our eyes don\u2019t see.\u00a0 Would you have seen these colors if you were standing next to me when I took this photograph?\u00a0 Maybe and maybe not.\u00a0 It depends on how carefully you looked.\u00a0 The colors are definitely not as obvious as they are in this photograph but they are certainly there.\u00a0 And this photograph makes it possible to enjoy what you may have missed.<\/p>\n

\"sierra_impressions_2009\"<\/a> Sierra Impressions (2009)<\/p>\n

I intentionally tried to make this photograph look like an Impressionist painting and identified it as such in the title.\u00a0 The time of year was early spring,\u00a0 The aspens and willows were just starting to leaf out and the morning light on them was breathtaking.\u00a0 The scene literally stopped me in my tracks and I muttered out loud, \u201cImpressionism.\u201d\u00a0 In Photoshop I worked long and hard to give the photograph the qualities of an Impressionistic painting \u2013 pure colors and short, quick brush strokes that captured the light and the moment.\u00a0 That was my goal and I don\u2019t wish to pass it off as anything different.<\/p>\n

\"virgin_river_watchman_2007\"<\/a> Virgin River and the Watchman (2007)<\/p>\n

This photograph was intentionally made to look like a painting and that\u2019s the reaction that most people have to it when they view it in my booth.\u00a0 And I\u2019m profoundly flattered when it is compared to a Hudson River Group painting as many have done.\u00a0 The content is definitely honest in that nothing was added.\u00a0 I believe the treatment is also honest in that it clearly is in the style of an American Romantic painting and not that of a photograph.<\/p>\n

I could give more examples but I think these adequately illustrate the point.<\/p>\n

These photographs are definitely artistic interpretations and expressions.\u00a0 After all, that\u2019s what art is \u2013 the artist\u2019s interpretation of the world and his or her unique way of expressing it.\u00a0 Are they honest?\u00a0 I think so and hope that you agree.<\/p>\n

If you find this discussing interesting you may also want to read What Constitutes a Fine Art Photograph?<\/a><\/p>\n

Join me on an upcoming workshop.<\/a><\/p>\n

To see more of my photographs click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

(1512)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just read a great email from Brian Peterson, founder of The Perfect Picture School of Photography.\u00a0 He ran an unscientific opinion pole on whether photographers felt it was OK to dramatically alter photographs in Photoshop.\u00a0 Now, by \u2018dramatically alter,\u2019 Brian means to add major elements to an image that were not present in the … Continue reading “Honesty in Photography”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,24],"tags":[11,13,10,93],"class_list":["post-1303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","category-photographer-as-artist","tag-fine-arts","tag-photography","tag-ralph-nordstrom","tag-workshop"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Nl7-l1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1303"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3990,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions\/3990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ralphnordstromphotography.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}