| On the Nature of our Photographs and Prints: What they are and Why. |
Since the first days of photography in the early 1800's, "experts" have debated what a
photograph should be; and critics have often made very caustic comments about photographs
that fell outside their view of the acceptable. Then along comes digital photography.
Basically, we do what we do. We are aware of many if not most of the technical issues
regarding the photographic process. The fundamental issue is whether the viewer likes the
picture and nothing else. One hopes that enough viewers like the pictures so that a few sell.
But we are not dealing with a mass market.
Here are some of the things that we do that not everyone will like and some will criticise:
1. We shoot into the sun fairly often. We leave lens flare in the picture.
2. We shoot pictures with relatively slow shutter speeds when the wind is blowing and in the
Southwest, the wind blows quite a lot. This will result in a certain amount of blur,
particularly if we have combined pictures. In other words we are not trying to freeze
everything. Some of the pictures from Santa Fe nights have 60 second exposure times.
Some of the shots from Newkirk, NM have exposures of almost a second. So the blur to one
person gives a hint of the motion of the landscape and to another it is a picture that isn't
sharp enough.
3. In general a picture should look good at a normal viewing distance and while looking at
the picture straight on. If it doesn't, we trash it.
4. We have some very large pictures that can be viewed as close as eyes will focus without
loss of sharpness or detail. In some cases you can look at them with a magnifying glass
without any blurriness. But on other pictures this may not be so, particularly pictures on
canvas with multiple coatings applied by hand.
5. We have pictures that need to be looked at straight on which is of course the way that
most pictures should be viewed. Trying to make something look good at all angles of view
can involve compromising the look straight on, particularly if a canvas print has multiple
glossy coats. Glossy canvases will have more depth than matt. But what looks well straight
on may look like a flaw at a sharp angle out of a normal view. We don't have a problem with
this. We have a picture of the Rio Grande hanging on the wall that we almost threw away due
to minor imperfections in the finish. Every time we look at it, we like it more. It has multiple
clear and tinted glazings, and we just love it. But we almost pulled it off stretcher bars due
to the fact that one coating did not completely level as we wanted it to. You can't see this at
a normal viewing distance. Had this been a custom print, we would not have sold it. Now,
we think we will sell it.
6. We have canvas prints with coatings that change as you look at the picture from different
angles.
7. Sometimes, particularly in for example, the night pictures from Santa Fe, we leave noise
in the dark sky. This is a function of all the various reflected lights bouncing around (or so
we think).
8. We can change a lot of these things to the taste of the buyer. If you think I really like this
picture, but. Ask us if we can change whatever you don't like.
9. The goal of a picture is to create an interesting effect.
10. No still picture has ever been realistic. A picture exists not to replicate what you can
see but to allow you to see what you would not be able to see otherwise. And even if the
goal were to replicate what you see, a still picture cannot. It is a minuscule slice of time.
11. Keith Smith, who writes books about how to make handmade books and is a
photographer, discusses "erroneous residual concepts." (p. 21. Smith, K. Structure of the
Visual Book. 4th ed. Keith Smith Books, Rochester, NY, 2005). "When color is used in
photography, it is often only to mimic nature--the one thing it can do least. A other times it is
used to decorate, which it does better, and , to alter mood or space. But there is a myriad of
potential uses for color and few take the time to explore what these might be."
12. Keith also discusses the difference between the visual and the verbal and the pitfall of
substituting words for pictures. "I make pictures. Since the picture has never existed as
words, the results are often as baffling to me as to any other viewer." (p. 23).
photograph should be; and critics have often made very caustic comments about photographs
that fell outside their view of the acceptable. Then along comes digital photography.
Basically, we do what we do. We are aware of many if not most of the technical issues
regarding the photographic process. The fundamental issue is whether the viewer likes the
picture and nothing else. One hopes that enough viewers like the pictures so that a few sell.
But we are not dealing with a mass market.
Here are some of the things that we do that not everyone will like and some will criticise:
1. We shoot into the sun fairly often. We leave lens flare in the picture.
2. We shoot pictures with relatively slow shutter speeds when the wind is blowing and in the
Southwest, the wind blows quite a lot. This will result in a certain amount of blur,
particularly if we have combined pictures. In other words we are not trying to freeze
everything. Some of the pictures from Santa Fe nights have 60 second exposure times.
Some of the shots from Newkirk, NM have exposures of almost a second. So the blur to one
person gives a hint of the motion of the landscape and to another it is a picture that isn't
sharp enough.
3. In general a picture should look good at a normal viewing distance and while looking at
the picture straight on. If it doesn't, we trash it.
4. We have some very large pictures that can be viewed as close as eyes will focus without
loss of sharpness or detail. In some cases you can look at them with a magnifying glass
without any blurriness. But on other pictures this may not be so, particularly pictures on
canvas with multiple coatings applied by hand.
5. We have pictures that need to be looked at straight on which is of course the way that
most pictures should be viewed. Trying to make something look good at all angles of view
can involve compromising the look straight on, particularly if a canvas print has multiple
glossy coats. Glossy canvases will have more depth than matt. But what looks well straight
on may look like a flaw at a sharp angle out of a normal view. We don't have a problem with
this. We have a picture of the Rio Grande hanging on the wall that we almost threw away due
to minor imperfections in the finish. Every time we look at it, we like it more. It has multiple
clear and tinted glazings, and we just love it. But we almost pulled it off stretcher bars due
to the fact that one coating did not completely level as we wanted it to. You can't see this at
a normal viewing distance. Had this been a custom print, we would not have sold it. Now,
we think we will sell it.
6. We have canvas prints with coatings that change as you look at the picture from different
angles.
7. Sometimes, particularly in for example, the night pictures from Santa Fe, we leave noise
in the dark sky. This is a function of all the various reflected lights bouncing around (or so
we think).
8. We can change a lot of these things to the taste of the buyer. If you think I really like this
picture, but. Ask us if we can change whatever you don't like.
9. The goal of a picture is to create an interesting effect.
10. No still picture has ever been realistic. A picture exists not to replicate what you can
see but to allow you to see what you would not be able to see otherwise. And even if the
goal were to replicate what you see, a still picture cannot. It is a minuscule slice of time.
11. Keith Smith, who writes books about how to make handmade books and is a
photographer, discusses "erroneous residual concepts." (p. 21. Smith, K. Structure of the
Visual Book. 4th ed. Keith Smith Books, Rochester, NY, 2005). "When color is used in
photography, it is often only to mimic nature--the one thing it can do least. A other times it is
used to decorate, which it does better, and , to alter mood or space. But there is a myriad of
potential uses for color and few take the time to explore what these might be."
12. Keith also discusses the difference between the visual and the verbal and the pitfall of
substituting words for pictures. "I make pictures. Since the picture has never existed as
words, the results are often as baffling to me as to any other viewer." (p. 23).
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