Sally Mann and The Angel of Uncertainty—
https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/vide...-colldion.html
Sally Mann and The Angel of Uncertainty—
https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/vide...-colldion.html
This thread sounds like hunting for another Ivory Billed Woodpecker in an endless swamp. One man's version of "perfection" is another man's nightmare. To each his own. Yeah, I'm known for really crisp prints, especially in relatively large scale color. But there never has been and never will be a "perfect" print. If there was, it would probably be boring.
There's a famous scene in Waiting For God where Diana has taken up painting, and she is discussing her current work with Tom. It's of the gardener behind a tree, she starts explaining how the rake symbolizes the gardener or something. So Tom asks her: "So, you can't do faces, eh?"
I'm a firm believer that when you're learning your craft, you need to learn to master that craft before you set about introducing deliberate imperfections. But then rules are made to be broken. It's more important to have heart than technical perfection.
I have always told students "You have to know the rules before you can break them"... You can't bank your career on "happy accidents", so you can direct the process to give it what it needs when you need it...
We have all seen perfect results of scenes that the image is less than interesting, and I was thumbing through a book of photographs by artist Robert Rauschenberg with very interesting images, but wished the foto tech was much better... Some of the pop hipster stuff is deliberately sloppy, or maybe they are doing their best with what they have???
I heard the f64 group mindset was a reaction to the "salon movement" of the early century and against the "fuzzy-wuzzyists" who thought an imperfect view was more natural like the eye "saw"... They tried to bring precision sharpness back, despite the eye would not resolve detail on every pebble, and extend DOF better than the eye could see...
So we get to work in the range between these extremes, and our skill/experience will make us choose the rendition that works with the subject/series/mood that will convey the "married" image values to the viewer...
Steve K
that is sometimes what people expect as a photograph, maybe it's a client., you, me, maybe it's someone else, that's their interest, what they like &c im glad they like that sort of stuff because it's what sells!
I find anything that is "technically perfect, sharp every detail" to be extremely sterile, lifeless and boring, but that's me ..
"modernist photography" and "f64" were reactionary movements to try to give photography legs and make it different than painting &c when photographers were making painterly photographs, and it seems now a lot of photography made with film &c. is reactionary to the digital mega-verse where it's like f64 and fauvism and hyper reality on steroids not much has changed since the mid 1800s.
whatever .. I don't really follow trends very much, im glad people are enjoying themselves, ..
Last edited by jnantz; 29-Oct-2022 at 11:12.
...do yourself(ves) a favor - watch the Sally Mann video for which Richard W. has posted the link above. Don't skip to the end, but do pay particular attention to her parting words.
An image should be what you want it to be, and others can argue over whether you were right.
"I love my Verito lens, but I always have to sharpen everything in Photoshop..."
"Strive for perfection, settle for excellence" - Paula Chamlee
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