Images 'Made' v 'Collected'
By Alan Reinhart
19 Jun 2008
Chris - the photographer is far more than a drone, wandering around and randomly pushing the button on an image recording device. You are giving your are artistic instincts and abilities far too little credit!
Think about it: You have to see the image, the composition, you have to evaluate the light and make decisions as to which way to view the scene, what camera angle to use, crop the image and decide when to push the button. And yes - post processing is a big part of the 'making' of an image. You think Adams just popped those prints out of the back of a virtual Polaroid? No way! His 'post processing' skills were what made him - and his images.
Trite as it may be, the digital sensor is your canvas, the light is your paint, the electronics and tech of your camera the brush. YOU/the photog have to orchestrate these tools to, yes =create= an image. But the work is not done! Now you have to extract this raw grist from the camera, and get it on on-screen or on paper to be seen. Lets face it - the final print/screen image is what it is all about. Here again, the artist/photog has much say in that final aesthetic experience viewers of this image will have. You can make endless tonal, lighting, color balance changes. You can crop, emphasize or diminish portions... or even do nothing. All these decisions are part of the creative process, and for my money, are what 'making' an image is all about.
In the end, the experience the viewer has when he observes your image is all that matters. At that point, all the tech goes away, the print process goes away - it is just the image and the viewer. When you look at a fine painting, do you consider the type of oil the master may have used to paint it? Do you care if it was a feather or a red sable brush with which the paint was applied? While that kind of information is good for the technician, it does little to enhance the aesthetic experience, that 'OMG!' feeling the viewer gets as it all comes together in that final presentation of =your= artistic vision.
So review your toolset, and get out there and MAKE some images!
