Photography is to me a 2D expression of ones thoughts, impressions etc regarding any particular subject.

It's an image.

There are no rules that I consider to be important in arriving at that image...a photographer is then an artist that uses a camera as a creative tool. Photoshop is the modern darkroom and a lot better one at that. I make no apologies for using it however I want or to what extent.

Purity with reference to 'developing and printing' ones photographs is subjective...to some it means doing as little as possible to the original exposure, and by so doing, somehow that buys a badge of elitism; to me it means pushing it however far I want to remain faithful to my interpretation...which is what happens anyway as soon as one picks up a camera.

The famous graphic designer Milton Glaser felt that in approaching any particular project, he had to meet it on it's own terms. That means that 'one style' couldn't meet the demands of every projects needs. It ought to be obvious that if one is wanting to create an ambience of for example 'The Pschedelic Sixties', one doesn't use the palette of 'The Old West'...etc. That idea however, can create what appears to be an eclectic style, but not necessarily. That is only the outward form or expression of the 'idea' behind the image, which is unique to the creator...and there are also other design keys like layout and the personality quirks of the designer / illustrator / photographer / artist that are not going to change.

Understanding that, the images that I choose to create are my own, regardless of whether I choose to use heavy processing or just present it ' straight out of the box'....and like any artist I'm almost never satisfied. I am only 'finished' with an image from the standpoint that I'm reasonably satisfied with it at that point in time...tomorrow I may feel differently about it and push it an entirely different direction.

To finish this sermon, I'd like to note that a camera is only a tool. It is only a part of the process of creating a piece of artwork whose final expression is an image, printed or digital. The difference between a snapshot taken by every person who has a camera, and a 'photograph' has far more to do with knowledge, experience, artistic vision and post processing than with the brand or cost of the camera. That being said however, it isn't easy to hammer a nail with a pair of pliers.

***** Thank you to all those who have taken the time to add their personal commentaries and encouragement, they are all read and appreciated! *****

PART 2

I have been making *art* professionally for 35 years. I have also taught it at all levels. You can assume that if I post something here, that I meant to do it the way I did it. If you would like to see my picture done a different way, please by all means go and do that for yourself, but don't suggest that I should abide by your vision for my work. I am not here to be taught, and especially not by hacks.Comments that are untoward, negative, or fall under the banner of 'assume the position and kneel before my greatness' will be deleted immediately and without notice. Continued behavior of that sort will earn the recognition of a ban....to all others....sorry about that bit of churlishness, but there are those who need to be thumped in order to gain a bit of understanding. Peace, Joy, Love.*******

PART 3

...just thinking out loud and since Flickr doesn't have the sort of blog interface to work with, I keep adding addendums as I am inclined to.

In this entry I'd like to talk about post-processing. I keep running across people with cameras who like to boast about how an image the made had 'very little' post processing, or is a SOC ( straight out of the camera ) image, as though that amounts to some sort of photographic pedigree of professional proficiency...and yet generally speaking, as artwork and as a visual image, THEY SUCK. The reason THEY SUCK is because they think that their camera is supposed to do all the work and if you know how to use it, it will. Nope, sorry....ain't how it works. It IS true that one NEEDS to KNOW how to 'use a camera' and by that I mean being proficient in the use and understanding of all those dials, rings and buttons if one wants to have a sporting chance of getting a good and usable exposure, but that is only a third of the equation. The first thing one needs to have is a CONCEPT of what one wants to do. The next thing one needs is to be an expert in the use of a piece of equipment that is far more complicated than a shutter button in order to push the exposure the direction one wants it to go, in dealing with the aspects of available lighting, and step 3 is processing the image...the darkroom part. As Ansel Adams stated:

'You don't 'take' a photograph, you 'make' a photograph'.

I suppose this little narrative is a bit redundant from my initial part one above, but I'd rather think that I am expanding upon a theme. So then my friends, though it is possible to 'take a photograph' that requires less PP ( post-processing ) than another, they ALL require it to some degree, especially if you want to create something more emotive to correspond with your initial vision. If one not running through this 3 part process and it's because they just want to make visual records, that's one one thing, but pretending to be an artist / photographer when all one is doing is aiming and pushing a button is delusional. At that point one is no different than a monkey with a magic box.

I rarely use canned effects packages because I find that to my taste, they're crude and trendy in general and always need to be tweaked individually anyway; not to mention that I really don't want to look like every other Instagram groupie on the planet....and so I plod along producing an image every one to two hours, with hundreds of steps and generally about 7 or 8 layers in Photoshop to get an image that I'm generally happy with....and the people who continue to revel in their snapshots, assuming that perhaps they are more skilled because they don't PP the images can continue on in their merry delusion like the Emperor with no clothes, thinking that their magic box is more wonderful than someone else's magic box because of their ownership of said device, while failing to notice that the image they've 'created' is actually quite mediocre at best.

I'm not an elitist, I just don't like sorting through crummy images, and I kinda enjoy bashing pretentious nitwits, even if I can only do it quietly here in my profile where only a handful of people might read it and chuckle.

: ) Have a wonderful day....and LEARN PHOTOSHOP if you haven't already....it DOES make a difference.

....and now a word from our sponsor:

ALL OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS are ALL RIGHTS RESERVED and are COPYRIGHT © solely to me. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without written permission by myself.

PLEASE DO NOT post YOUR ads or links on MY photos...it's bad manners and I WILL delete ANY comment with that sort of thing on it.

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