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Well, Eric, I think you hit it on the head with the
subtlety issue. This has been my "soapbox" theme for a long time, but I always
feel a bit guilty among my digital friends because who's to say what artistry
is. However, I really dislike the over-processed hyper-reality and
hyper-contrast look that is so popular these days, even if it's not
HDR-related...makes my teeth hurt. It's all in the subtlety...hell, some
analog/darkroom photographers have taken things to extremes as well in the past,
but I respect the hand work that's required to get there as opposed to just
applying a software filter. Does that make me a Luddite? I don't think so. The
hand made image is our connection not only to art but also a deeper calling
within us.
The first few ultra-dodge-burn-hyper local contrast
photos you see are very impressive, but now that it's commonplace (and a "look")
everyone's photographs are starting to look the same and it's numbing, which I
think is bad for photography in general.
Have you read the Richard Benson interview in the
new Lenswork? He makes sense in so many ways but then takes a detour and
contradicts himself. Most folks on this list will not like it. Although this is
another subject, he makes the case for inkjet prints over all other forms of
image-making in terms of quality, but I have a big problem with that. If
photography has always been "art's" ugly stepchild and devalued for the
repeatability of the negative, what kind of de-valuing can be ultimately
realized when a file is loaded and a button pushed, no matter how much work has
gone into the creation of that file? It takes the artist's hand one or more
steps away from the final work, and I can't see how that can be a good
thing.
I realize that the above is an oversimplification
but these thoughts have been with me for some time.
Paul
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 9:20
AM
Subject: Re: R.I.P. HDR
True
enough. In a melding of the 2, I can scan a piece of film and pull more
from it than I can in the darkroom. Maybe I'm a poopy printer, but
there's no easy way I know of that would allow me to duplicate those
results.
So I
don't have much issue w/digital, my issue w/the majority of HDR images that I
have seen is that that they look so bloody fake and affected. It's a
look, and if it's someone's look who is reading this, don't take offense.
This was the first article I'd seen that finally addressed this
out-of-control-sophmoric-use of the effect. One could counter with 'all
photographs lie' so then we'd be differentiating between a small fib and a
whopper.
Skill in HDR, heck PS in general, comes from using it with
subtlety and my issue (which was addressed nicely in the article) is that it's
use has been anything but.
On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 7:20 AM, BOB KISS
<bobkiss@caribsurf.com>
wrote:
DEAR
ERIC,
I read it and agree. I was “dissed” in the past for posting a
statement that all HDR really did was compensate for the limited dynamic
range of the digital image capture process. It was a corrective
solution to a problem that doesn’t exist for the b&w photographer who
has made a few tests and has a basic knowledge of the zone system.
Further, color neg has a dynamic range nearly as good as some b&w films
and, though it is difficult to push/pull process without risking crossed
curves, scanning the color neg can either:
1)
Capture
the large density range created in a color neg shot of a high scene
brightness scene or…
2)
Fix
the crossed curves in a color neg that has been pushed or pulled.
Sooooooooooooo,
as I said, HDR image processing is a crutch for digital capture’s limited
dynamic
range.
Of course, as western art is all about “impact”, the article makes a good
point that everyone jumped on the “saturation” band wagon and created scenes
either reminiscent of Agfa Velvia or perceptions resulting from the 70s use
of psychedelic drugs.
What ever happened to subtlety? I tremble to even mention
shibui. ;-))
CHEERS!
BOB
From: eric
nelson [mailto:emanphoto@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 2:49
AM
To: Alt
Photo
Subject: R.I.P.
HDR
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