Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Good point, Mikiro, but grain is even more intrinsic to photographic than than Ray's notion of "brushstroke" suggests. Grain is the very stuff of photography. It is the essence of the image. It is grains of silver that form the image. Actually, of course, it's the spaces between the grains that allow light to pass and form the image on the paper. When I hear photographers hashing over schemes to get rid ofor reduce grain to the absolute minimum, I often wonder why they do photography. It's like a painter saying that they dislike pigment, or a banker saying they want to get rid of money. Obviously we want to use grain in ways that supports and adds to the image. But to always seek to reduce grain to the minimum seems to me to be undesirable and somehow contrary to the nature of the process. The existence of plugins and filters to create the apperance of grain further underscores its importance as the hallmark of the traditional photographic process. Sincerely, Joe Stephenson - -----Original Message----- From: Mikiro M <arbos@iname.com> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Date: Wednesday, February 03, 1999 5:35 PM Subject: Re: [Leica] B&W output from digital devices >At 9:49 pm +0100 3/2/99, Mark Rabiner wrote: > >>You know about Man Ray saying Grain is the brushstroke of photography? I >>know in some sense the grain particle of the digital world is the pixel >>but I know that is now what you have in mind. I am aware of the many >>Grain and Noise plug ins, many of them third party and free that are >>involved with Photoshop. Though not the intrinsic makeup of the image >>the grain and noise potential have its uses. I have fun with them and >>would work with your water color look. That's all I know. >>Mark Rabiner > >Thanks, Mark. I'll try those plug-ins. > >I sometimes look over my negs under a microscope and am surprised to see how >the grains look like. Does anyone know the size of grains that enlarger >lenses can project on paper? Am I right in assuming that when the >resolution of scanners and printers is high enough to visualise a single >grain of film, such systems are *better* than any enlargers? > >-- >Mikiro Mori >Strasbourg, Europe >http://www.members.tripod.com/arbos3/cigogne/index.html > > >