Elliott Erwitt: Personal Best – Exhibition – International Centre for Photography NYC

This major retrospective showcases the career of photographer and filmmaker Elliott Erwitt, the recipient of this year’s ICP Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement. Distinguished as both a documentary and commercial photographer, Erwitt has made some of the most memorable photographs of the twentieth century, including portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, and Che Guevara, as well as astonishing scenes of everyday life, filled with poetry, wit, and special sense of humor. Details of where, when etc here

There is no such thing as absolute truth in photography

“There is no such thing as absolute truth in photography. Understanding how and why photos are edited will make you a better shooter and a smarter viewer.”

I have had so many discussions with photography purists, people who believe that only what is caught in camera is valid,  that decisions or processes undertaken post camera invalidate an image and it’s worth. I have always, in the 40+ years I have been taking pictures, made decisions post camera. How I developed the film, how it was printed, whether it was toned.

This is an excellent article Written by Ben Long on the Creativepro.com site  I think I agree with everything he has to say

“Has that been Photoshopped a lot?”

“I sometimes hear that question when showing one of my photos to someone, and I have to confess that it bugs me. Not because it’s prying into my photographic process, or because it’s a technical remark rather than a response to the actual image, but because it reveals how little the viewer understands about the medium of photography.

In that question, “Photoshop” is being used to mean “edited” or “manipulated” or “altered,” and the subtext of the question is, “Has this image been edited or manipulated? I need to know because I want to know if the image is true.”

The answer to the question is always “yes” because all photos are edited and manipulated. They always have been. Even photos that are very realistic are no more an objective, “real” representation of reality than is a watercolor painting. Photography is an abstract medium, and the more you understand that, the better your shooting will be.”.….more

These 2 pictures by Ben perfectly explain his article

 

52 Cool Photography Articles, Blogs, Photos and Collections from This Week

Last time out it was only 29 articles that Toad Hollow recommended so when they say “The internet has been very active this week in terms of photography, and Toad Hollow Photography has been searching to find the best links to sites with great tutorials, blogs and just incredible photography to share with everyone.  We hope you enjoy this week’s list.” they do mean busy….more of the article and links here  By Toad Hollow Photography

Mojave Green in the Black Rock Desert by jurvetson, on Flickr

Click Here: 52 Cool Photography Articles, Blogs, Photos and Collections from This Week

How to Create More Dynamic Images Using Local Adjustments

I want to drive you over to the ever impressive Lightstalking site today for this very useful and well written article about local adjustments. Lightstalking has many tutorials and galleries worth investigating so after you get there have a good look around. This article is By Jacob Maentz

“A powerful post-processing technique I use for almost every photo is adjusting my settings locally.  I use this technique to bring emphasis to key areas of a photo that I want my viewer to focus on. I am using Adobe’s Lightroom Adjustment Brush and Adobe’s Photoshop Dodging and Burning tools to accomplish this.

I generally shoot in RAW so images right out of the camera are typically flat and dull. I first make general adjustments to my photos such as correcting for white balance and overall exposure. Then I will start making the important local adjustments. When using Lightroom’s Adjustment brush I can make the following local adjustments: Exposure, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Clarity, Sharpness and Color. Depending on the photo I may use all of these or only one. I use the Exposure, Clarity and Contrast adjustments most frequently.  In Photoshop the only local adjustments I make are dodging and burning. These techniques can also be made with other file types, but I prefer uncompressed RAW files”…..more