Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/23

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Photoshop playing
From: "\(SonC\) Sonny Carter" <sonc@sonc.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 17:50:00 -0600
References: <B8C2925E.144D5%pablokolodny@mac.com>

Pablo, it amazes me that you seem to almost be angry at Photoshop.  I posted
the dog paintings as a curiosity, and  at the same time, I posted the
original again so people could see the difference.

I use Photoshop every day in my work.  I primarily use it to restore
contrast to very old photographs, in our efforts to preserve the images.
You see, the University I work at owns several thousand early 20th Century
photographs of the local area, and it is my job to scan them and save them
from the ultimate loss.

I also use Photoshop in my personal work. In fact, I don't think I have even
been inside a darkroom since I learned to use the program five years ago.

I use the crop functions, the dodge and burn and levels, and I spot my
pictures, and oh yeah, when there's a big surveyor's stake with  flourescent
ribbon flying from it, I replace it with grass.

Am I being intellectually dishonest?  I don't think so.  I'm using the
imaging tools that I have at hand.  I think of  my skills with Photoshop as
an extension of my skills with my Leicas.

Some people think that about their matting ability.  Some about their
darkroom work.  I could got to extremes with PhotoShop, I really could.
It's easy to put a third eye in someone's forehead, but I don't go that far.

When I was a young news photographer, I had the opportunity to spend some
time with one of the older guys, a photographer whose name was Charlie
Bennett.  He was a long time shooter for the New Orleans Picayune.

He told me about a guy who died, and they could not find a picture of him to
run with the \oObituary. They checked everywhere, but no pix.  So Charlie
went to the morgue, and bribed the attendent to prop the guy up at the
coroner's desk, while Charlie took a picture.

They took it back to the paper and the staff artist painted the guy's eyes
open, and they had their shot.

Whew, and you criticize a little photoshop painting?  I call it tradition.

Regards,

Sonny



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In reply to: Message from Pablo Kolodny <pablokolodny@mac.com> (Re: [Leica] Photoshop playing)