Editing, What Is Crossing The Line?

I recently had something come up that got me thinking about editing. I like editing and believe it is a normal and essential part of the photographic process. This is where you add your artistic vision into your photo. I’m not a believer in letting my camera process my photos, that’s why I shoot in RAW 100% of the time. That said, where do you cross the line? How much is too much?

I had a judge in a competition give me a comment that I should change the sky in the photo below. I always at least consider judge’s recommendations but this is a bit different, that isn’t something I typically do. When I do photography, I do my best to attain images that are appealing but also real representations of what I saw in the field. If I comp in a new sky every time I get a less than perfect one, is that ok? Is that image still a representation of what I saw when I was there? Not exactly.

My take away in this case? Competition judges assess your photos using criteria they have learned and I find they see things rather technically. Just because an image falls short in a competition doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad image. A technically imperfect image can at the same time be an aesthetically pleasing one. Shoot and create for yourself. It’s defeating the whole purpose of photography to try and please others. The image below resides on our wall as a canvas and we both enjoy it greatly, that makes me happy.

Photo of the Week # 222

It is said that if you don’t step out of your comfort zone, you don’t grow. I believe this to be true and I value critique in my photography a great deal, but I think that many people look for critique in places that aren’t valuable. The vast majority of people on social media don’t know a good photo, have you seen them complimenting each other on their blurry profile photos? Your friends or family likewise aren’t the people to look to for honest opinions, they like everything you do, or maybe they don’t but they aren’t going to tell you if that’s the case.

For valuable critique, look to people whose work you admire, for obvious reasons. Maybe find a friend you trust who is willing to be honest with you? I don’t wait and count social media likes but I do notice when a few certain people engage because I trust and follow those people. Those are the opinions I do value.

As usual, thoughts and comments always welcome.

Photo of the Week #214

I have said it many times over the years that you should revisit certain images as time goes by. You gain experience and know-how and so does the software we use for edits. Often you can breathe new life into an image and it is certain;y worth looking at. This particular image has been used in another form a couple of years ago but it didn’t do it for me in some ways. This re-work of the image is my final edit, I’m calling it done now, officially. “Feeling Blue”

Years In The Making

I’ve found myself frustrated many times because I was in an amazing location at the worst possible time of the day. To get good travel shots, you would like a nice light, yet we don’t necessarily have the time to wait. This location looks best late day light, in the morning it’s in shade. For me, that meant a lot of driving as our house was about 2 1/2 hours from here. This time round, according to the metadata, it was around 4:30pm (I usually forget to set the time when I go into a different time zone so who knows?). This day, everything seemed to align for me and I got this.

Photo of the Week # 189

I first went to the maritimes in 2004 and I immediately fell in love with lighthouses. So much so that I spent quite a bit of time touring around taking photos of as many lighthouses as I could. Since I was just beginning my journey in photography too, most of those photos weren’t very good. Sad really but goes with the territory I guess.

Lighthouses are woven into the very fabric of maritime Canada. They were used for many years to help people navigate safely to their destinations. They obviously exist in other countries too and as I’ve traveled a little, I still find myself attracted to their lighthouses.

Faro Castillo del Morro - Havana, Cuba