121 replies to this topic

[John Bantin]

If I had been asked to take a picture of a whaleshark when I was an advertising pro, I would have got a model of a whaleshark made by someone like Ron Corry, and shot the picture in the tank at Pinewood Studios, probably photo-comping a background or going to dye-transfer.
Yesterday, I jumped off a boat with a hoard of snorkellers and grabbed a shot of a whaleshark before they trampled me.
Both methods have their merit.

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Edited by John Bantin, 13 March 2012 - 05:45 AM.

[Tim of the Deep]

Slide gurus have been using this "in the camera" double speak forever. Even if they did get it right in the camera, they still selected Velvia for rich macro color or Kodachrome for better blues, etc. Lighting techniques varied immensely. They've been manipulating.

You don't see any of these proponents all using one certain kind of film and natural light in all circumstances to be pure as the falling snow. They have been using good composition. That's great. They should.

However, digital imaging and slide photography are two different creatures. It is really difficult to even compare the two, much less debate their various aspects. They are that much apart from one another.

Both require proper photographic composition and exposure, but after that, it's into the (now digital) darkroom. And a darkroom is a place few slide shooters even went.

I went to journalism school and the first thing they taught you as an editor was to crop to get the most out of the print. I worked mostly with B&W but when Cibachrome came out, we also made prints from slides. All of this took hours or days and was just part of the process.

Somewhere along the way, this "in the camera" nonsense popped up, probably due to the fact that people used to always show slideshows (with a slide projector), so you had to get it right to have a stunning slideshow.

But digital is a whole new format. Aside from composition and exposure, everything about it is different. It offers amazing darkroom features that take seconds, not days, to complete. And no more chemicals. Hooray!

Shoot what you want. Crop any way you damn please. It's your image and your vision. Be honest with your work and the venue in which you are presenting it. Most of all, respect the ocean and have fun.

TR