Somethings you just can’t bring up without knowing there will be a discussion or argument; politics, religion, whether or not RUSH is the greatest rock band of all times…. and one more with photographers: Should images be manipulated or left alone.
I have some friends that think whatever the camera captures is final. The only manipulation allowed is what the camera or the photographer can do.
Others believe capturing a photo is nothing more than a canvas, ready to be worked on.
I believe both are right… to a point. I different in that I believe no two photos or photo opportunities are the same. Much like a snowflake or fingerprint. Some you take and say… well that’s done. Others not so much. If you look at the two photos above, the blue woods photo as you might imagine was manipulated just a bit. The original shot was boring and rather than just deleting it I decided to play with it… the finished image is somewhat a “fantasy” image and I like it. Done.
The second image is exactly what came out the camera. I did a global exposure adjustment for this site but no retouching or manipulation was done otherwise. I like it. It’s done.
I tell my students that unless the image is for a paying customer, then really the only person to please is yourself. If you like it, then you’ve achieved that goal.
And “yes” to that Rush thing.
