What Is Photography And Is Photography An Art Form Examples?
Incredibly vibrant colors dominate this small stand of bamboo in Darwin, Australia.
Over the years I've been fortunate to receive very positive feedback on my photos.
I guess it’s not unreasonable that, since the inception of digital photography, I’m often asked me if I use photoshop. Strangely, the more folks like one of my photos the less hesitant they are to ask that question.
Needless to say, when they say photoshop they're using the word generically to suggest manipulation of the image on the computer.
Actually, it's problematic to answer in the affirmative although, of course, I always do.
Back in the days of film blokes would often compliment me on my photos and then say, "you must have a really good camera".
Does it follow then that owning a Volvo makes you a better driver? Hardly!
The fact that some of us take the time to process our photos on the desktop is not something that should be derided by dubious questions about photoshop.
It simply means we take our photography very seriously and work hard to produce the best results we can.
After all, professionally crafted prints that were generated in the darkroom were always better than prints produced by Kodak or a local minilab.
The lesson is that it’s a photo, regardless of how it’s made. Nonetheless, for photographers who associate themselves with the fine print tradition, taking control of the image and ensuring it’s professionally processed is an essential step in the creative process.
And in our digital world that involves software applications such as photoshop.
Shop window at night, photographed with golden light, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Photography As Art: Opening the Proverbial Can of Worms
I worked and taught photography in darkrooms for over 25 years. But things changed once I moved onto a fully digital workflow.
Initially, the aim was to use the darkroom to find solutions to technical problems associated with exposure or dynamic range.
This might involve selective application of dodging and burning, and changing paper grade to alter image contrast at either a global or local level.
Later, as I gained some expertise, I used the printing process to enhance an image so that it better explored the unique relationship formed between subject, photographer and viewer.
Print bleaching and toning were two of the techniques I commonly employed when crafting black and white prints.
When making color prints I’d sometimes change the color of the light to alter the mood of the image, through localized exposure under the enlarger.
During my last few years working with film I starting having the original film images (i.e., transparencies and negatives) scanned and then brought onto the desktop for processing, sharing and storage.
Thankfully, that process has been greatly simplified since I started using digital cameras back in 2006.
Have no doubt there is a unique aesthetic beauty associated with film, just like there is listening to music on vinyl. But if you’re talking about image quality, film just does not compare with what’s possible in a totally digital workflow.
Needless to say, just like in the days of film-based photography, it makes a huge difference if you actually know what you’re doing.
And I’m referring here to how you go about composing and exposing your digital images, in camera; how you post processes them, on the computer; and how you print and display your photos.
Unless required to teach a particular technique, I've always approached post processing on the desktop as an extension of what I aimed to achieve with an enlarger in the darkroom.
Adjustments in exposure (i.e., brightness), contrast and color continue to be made at both a global and local level as part of my digital post processing workflow.
Even when making use of the ubiquitous 6"x4" postcard prints, for the purpose of editing, selection and sequencing, I was keen to ensure that they were processed to the highest standard possible.
You see whether the one hour photo lab's printer was on autopilot, or was in the hands of an experienced operator making decisions as to exposure and color, on a frame by frame basis, all images are altered.
Of course it’s true to say that any form of photographic image is, at its most basic level, merely a representation of what we perceive in our three dimensional world.
It's also true that all photographs are altered or manipulated in one way or another. In the world of digital photography that happens, in camera, when your camera is set to JPEG mode, without most people even being aware of it.
And it most certainly happens as part of the process of making photos with a mobile phone camera.
So why do people ask if I use photoshop? Is it simply because they've never been able to make photos of the same quality and/or with the same emotional impact?
Is it because they have a Leica and, perhaps, a Porsche (ha ha) and still can’t make a decent photo?
While having a camera might, on one level, make you a photographer then, according to that logic, having a sharp knife should make me a surgeon. Nyet!
Winter landscape, reflected in water, in Hongcun village, Anhui Province, China.
Photography Is The Art Of Intervention
Since its inception photography has been based upon the notion of intervention. And there are numerous steps in the process at which photographers are able to intervene, both technically and creatively, in the images we produce.
In fact, back in the early days of our craft, the photographer was often a manufacturer, sensitizing the film or plate onto which the image was exposed; artist; camera technician; and, quite often, salesperson.
Back then the process of having a professional portrait made was no less artificial an experience as having a portrait painted.
To get any photo onto a computer it needs to be converted into a digital file. Film and paper prints have to be scanned and then manipulated to produce a pleasing digital image.
Applications like Photoshop are employed to bring the digital image back to something resembling its original quality on film.
Whether the image is further processed doesn't change the fact that all images brought onto the desktop are digital and, in one way or another, altered.
What About JPEG For Making Photos?
When you set your digital camera to JPEG the original, unprocessed RAW data recorded by the camera is processed, in a jiffy, by your camera into a two dimensional image that approximates the three dimensional scene you’d originally photographed.
Of course there are all manner of things you can do to alter that particular recorded 'reality' through your choice of exposure, contrast, color rendition, image framing, lens focal length, viewpoint, etc.
Heck, even your height can have an effect on the way the scene is recorded.
Flooded landscape between Jabiru and Cooinda, Kakadu National Park, Australia.
Photographing in RAW for Best Image Quality
Using your camera, as I do, set to RAW simply means that all the original data recorded by the camera is retained for processing, by you, on a computer or hand-held device.
That RAW file is likely to be pretty awful to look at, no matter how good you may be as a photographer.
Just remember, it’s simply data and, once processing is complete, you’re well on your way to realizing the potential of the original digital image captured in camera.
What's Your Point, Pops?
All I'm arguing for is that, over time, folks begin to understand that, as in days gone by, all images are altered, either in camera or on the desktop.
To this end, it might be helpful to understand that terms like processed, enhanced or manipulated should, on one level, be taken to mean the same thing.
Perhaps if folks realized that their cameras, including those within their mobile devices, are acting both as a recording device and as a photo processing laboratory they might understand that, for many serious photographers, the act of making a photograph only begins in the camera.
It's true to say that processing your images on the desktop should produce better results, but that's the reward you get for the effort, the outlay and an often difficult and prolonged learning process.
Exceptions To The Rule Of Intervention In Photography
Mind you, in the world of newspaper, sports and wedding photography many photographers choose, or are instructed to adopt, JPEG rather than RAW in their usual workflow.
This decision is based around notions of a non-manipulated image somehow being more truthful in the world of the newspaper photograph, and also in response to the amount of images made and the tight deadlines under which newspaper, sport and wedding photographers often work.
Image quality is also somewhat of a moot point when today’s news is used to wrap up tomorrow nights fish and chips.
Making Great Photos: What’s The Secret?
I guess that most folks are probably just trying to understand how and why your photos are so different to their own. Is it the camera or, perhaps, a special film or filter that makes the difference?
These days photoshop, whatever folks think that might be, is a pretty easy target. By finding a point of difference I suspect there are some who, at a subconscious level, are trying to explain away why their own photos may not be up to scratch.
Forget about talent, the determining factors in the production of a successful photograph are more likely to relate to the following:
Physical effort
Passion for the craft
Genuine interest in who and what you photograph
Application of hard-earned technique
Interesting and well constructed compositions
It’s easy and fun making photos, which is one of the reasons most of us do it. But it’s important to understand that making great photos takes more than 1/250 second.
Most likely it’s 1/250 second and a decade or more of experience, not to mention a unique worldview and a desire to explore one’s own, unique place in that world.
I Have a Camera, What Now?
Having a great camera and plenty of lenses is great. But what really sets you apart and elevates your images from snapshot to art won’t be defined by the gear you use.
What separates you from the pack and, ultimately, what matters most can be summarized as follows:
Your unique worldview
Your willingness to experiment
Your ability to remain open to new techniques and new ways of thinking
A desire to strive for an ever higher standard, both in image quality and artistic endeavor
This is what determines the nature of the photos you create and, in the long run, the life you live.
And, please, don’t forget about authenticity and compassion as you head down the road on your own, unique artistic journey in photography.
You see, I believe that great photos are more about the other than they are about oneself.
While, over time, it's possible to develop a personal style, our best work has the capacity to touch the sublime by drawing attention to the simple inner beauty found in all things.
Artists Manifest Creation In What They Do
As artists we create everyday, but so many creative and hardworking folks are more concerned with concentrating their work on the negative aspects of our world.
I’m constantly concerned with the overwhelming negative approach taken to reporting news events by traditional media outlets. How is it that we don’t see more positive news stories or, at the very least, look for beauty and for hope within all the drama and chaos that we’re told surrounds us.
Long ago I determined to adopt the opposite approach. It's not a matter of turning one's back on evil, destruction or poverty.
But by concentrating our efforts on the production of beautiful, life affirming images we can help tune our audience into perceiving the world in the same way we do.
As we know, thoughts determine actions. And action brings change.
You’re A Photographer, so Give Yourself Some Credit
Beauty is not purely external. Understanding that beauty also comes from within can only help us to commune, at a deeper level, with a world both around us and beyond our normal, everyday perception.
The Way Forward For The Creative Photographer
It's okay to seek out the exotic. After all that's largely why we travel. But the search should never be at the expense of the beauty that surrounds us everyday.
And remember, because life is lived 365 days a year, the search for beauty shouldn't be limited to our holidays.
