New Articles on The Luminous Landscape
Michael Reichmann
Landscape.
A comparison of Color Enhancing Filters from Lee, Sing-Ray and Tiffen can be
found at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/comparison.htm
For photographers using digital darkroom technology there are the first
results from a long-term archival inkjet print test.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/archival_test.htm
The results are very surprising! This is a must-read report for anyone using
ink-jet printers, and particularly those with Epson Photo printers. Products
tested include Epson inks, Photo Paper and Glossy Film as well as Pictorico
Hi-Gloss Film and MIS' Generations inks.
A comparison of image quality between the highly regarded LightJet 5000
commercial printer and the Epson 1200 is found at
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/lightjet_vs_inkjet.htm. The Results will
surprise you.
If you use PhotoShop then you should read the review of Four Seasons, a
must-have plug-in that fixes those boring skies that plague your landscape
photographs. It's located at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/4_seasons.htm
Finally, a portfolio of photographs taken last month in the Eastern Sierra,
Death Valley, Yosemite NP, The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and Mono Lake
is located at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/eastern_sierras.htm
Michael Reichmann
The web's most comprehensive web site devoted to the art and technique of
landscape photography. This is a 100% non-commercial site. It also features
extensive photographic travel guides as well digital image processing
information.
Norcimmus
wrote:
>If you use PhotoShop then you should read the review of Four Seasons, a
>must-have plug-in that fixes those boring skies that plague your landscape
>photographs. It's located at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/4_seasons.htm
Wow! You can make skies that weren't there. There should be programs which let
you add another mountain or two, with parameters to adjust for different
degrees of craginess, snow cappedness, etc. And how about adding a lake in the
foreground? Parameters to adjust for the degree of smoothness, ripple, color,
reflections, etc. And while we're about it, how about a few tree branches to
frame the scene?
Actually you can do all this manually with Photoshop, but it would be nice to
have it automated. <TOC>
I guess if one is a pro, any tricks which help sell pictures (and put bread on
the table) is justified. Never mind whether it's a real scene. <sigh>
In all seriousness, why assume that a fake sky is okay? Because skies are
uncooperative? Because you might have to wait and come back another day to get
it right? The sky is just as much a legitimate part of the scene at a
particular moment in time as are the mountains, trees, and shadows. Personally,
I don't mind a white or grey sky in a photograph. You see such skies all the
time in real life. Blue skies can be pretty, and we get sentimental over them,
but there's no reason a white sky can't nicely frame a subject if it is done
right.
Blue skies with fluffy white clouds are nice for the pretty pictures on
postcards and grandma's calendar, and I suppose that's the kind of commercial
crap which programs such as Four Seasons are designed for.
I suppose this could lead to a boring discussion about whether enhancing
filters and such are legitimate. I'm not talking about that. What I object to
is drastic alteration of a scene which purports to be a realistic photo: adding
features which weren't there originally. Changing a white sky to a deep blue
sky with dramatic clouds will result in a fake photo. It's fake, fake, fake.
You would probably be able to fool me into thinking that a fake photo is a real
scene, but that is deception pure and simple.
Norc
Norcimmus
illegitimate use of significant digital manipulation is passing off such as
documentary. I believe even National Geographic is guilty of this. Artistic use
of software to change certain features in photos is perfectly legitimate,
provided it is acknowledged. However, this puts the picture in the realm of art
rather than documentary.
I received an email from the author of the original post which explained his
take on this subject, and I am in perfect agreement with him.
Norc