Various Photo Topics

Manipulating Photos:

Many people think that because I don't like or use programs such as Photo Shop, that I'm against manipulation or think that I'm fighting against that type of artistic expression.

Nothing could be further from the truth! Everyone has the right, indeed the obligation, to do whatever and go wherever their mind leads them to in the field of photography or photo imaging. I list them separately because I do think there is a difference between photography and imaging. They are related, but they are also different.

I also do, and have always done, photographic manipulation. Changing shutter speeds, using various apertures, various films or digital ISOs, changing lenses, the use of filters are all manipulations of a photograph being taken. And one can and often does manipulation in a chemical darkroom.

I suppose the difference is in vision. I'm more of what I would call a Traditional Photographer, wanting to take photographs of the world in its natural state or how I see it in a more traditional way. While I would call those who want to go beyond that as a New Age Photographer or Photo Imager, they being either those who are too lazy to learn the basics of photography and want to correct it in a program; or those who want to do wild manipulations, even unrealistic manipulations.

Some have called me a dinosaur, and I guess I and my type have nearly gone extinct. And I see nothing wrong with the Photo Imagers and how they go about things, but I hope Traditional Photographers, both film and digital, never go completely extinct. I think that would be a sad day, not just for photography, but also for humanity.