Photography: A nice letter in response to my recent post RIP Photoshop in 2012 & beyond.
RIP Photoshop in 2012 continues…the response.
My last post was suppose to be my last entry for 2011 but then I received this nice letter (unedited) in response to my last post RIP Photoshop in 2012, thank you Dermot for letting me share this with others. Happy New Year!
Hi GD
Loved your blog posting re: Photoshop RIP. Well said.
I’m not a photographer at all, as you well know… not even with a point and shoot..but I am amazed and in awe of beautiful images, especially yours. If I didn’t know you and or had not been with you when you took some of the images I know of…I would have a hard time not assuming that somehow Photoshop played a role. You’re right….there is a time and place for Photoshop….but in order to protect the integrity of and respect for accomplished photographers and their images, the viewer does indeed need to know / deserve to be informed if and when images are manipulated.
I recall the image you took one day with your point and shoot camera while we were sitting having a beer at Riptide overlooking Malakal Harbor, Palau…..the one with the tiki torch by the railing just before sunset. I was there. I saw the sky, I saw the tiki torch, and I saw you shoot the images. But I didn’t see what you saw until you showed me the image moments later…..no Photoshop! Just a trained and sensitive eye by the photographer. I also recall the image you shot ..with the same camera I think..in Singapore when we were sitting outside having dinner by the waterfront..with all the buildings lit up in the background. Same thing..I was there….I saw all that you saw…but not the way you saw it..until I saw your image! There are many more like that….some of the images I watched you take when we were in Siem Reap with Dirk. No flash; No Photoshop; just stunning images that were right before me but that my eyes just could not see……until I was GD’ed!
This has been an odd year for us…we’ve hardly been in touch ….not like before..but it’s also been a year in which I’ve seen the real Gunther ..the passionate photographer Gunther, re-emerge from the demands of the digital clutter that somehow seems to want to over take us and extinguish who we really are. Wish I could have been as successful in making change in 2011 as you were, and for 2012, I will look not just to your amazing images for inspiration but to how successfully you’ve managed to reshape your future by renewing your first passion…..your photography. No Photoshop needed!
Love you my friend and admire your deeply. Here’s wishing you a super successful 2012 and very Happy New Year and hope that we can cross paths and be in touch more often.
Hope to see you in Manila early Jan enroute to BOOT.
Best!
Dermot Keane
Photography: RIP Photoshop in 2012, the cruel story behind the photo...
The cruel story behind the photo... a real concern.
But first let me take this opportunity and wishing you all a fantastic & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
In a few days we’re moving into 2012 and this is my last post for 2011 with the conclusion that there is NO room for Photoshop in photographing Documentary, Nature, Journalism, Culture, Travel and in true story telling. RIP Photoshop in 2012!
I have written many articles on this subject and I am not going into details anymore but rather get to the point right away. We all know the pros and cons about Photoshop and how it has changed at least for some of us the way we look at photography today.
PS has its place in the commercial world or in graphic design, but there should be no use of any manipulation if we photographing the subjects mention above.
However if we do alter the image then it should be stated with the published work that it has been digitally altered.
Now to my concern and the story behind the photo:
The Olgas in Central Australia
More images from the Book Journey Through Color & Time
Copyright all Rights reserved. Mandatory credit with image use:
© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
The image in question above, the Olgas with a Rainbow taken in Central Australia was part of my exhibition during the Launch of my Book “Journey Through Color & Time in 2006.
It was during this exhibition that I overheard a group of people saying how wonderful and great this image was, with the exception of some comments that this could only have been done in Photoshop.
Now that is cruel if you ask me… I contained my disappointment and anger, even if I had to explain it to them they would have not believed me, as the saying goes, good photos do not need an explanation.
So here we are…or where are we? These where educated people believing great images are created partially in Photoshop and this is where the real problem lies.
The said photo was created way before Photoshop existed, even Computers where in the infant stage, a blow below the belt to the artist/photographer.
Taken on Kodachrome 25 ASA, at the right time and a little bit of luck with the weather.
Mustering Cattle Central Australia
Kodachrome 25ASA
Copyright all Rights reserved. Mandatory credit with image use:
© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Yes, of course times have changed and we do use digital cameras, but we should refrain from any manipulation. If it can’t be avoided then we should state this loud and clear and stop fooling the public, because soon or later nobody believes anything anymore.
But how much is allowed? In the digital age we have to apply a certain amount of post processing e.g. sensor dust removal, some sharpening, minor contrast increase, of course cropping and straightening.
Some adjustment of the color temperature for images taken under difficult lighting conditions plus a few minor tweaks all amounting to less then 10%, good Photographers shoot right in the first place and do not rely on PS, we done it on film so why not now.
Wild Horses Top End Australia
Kodachrome 25ASA
Copyright all Rights reserved. Mandatory credit with image use:
© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
You might think that I am old fashioned or outdated, well its rather the opposite I embrace technical advances but I don’t agree with distorting nature or telling stories with manipulated images.
Software like Aperture, Lightroom or some others allow us to make basic adjustment and more, plenty good enough for our images.
If you have only PS then use it only for the basic RAW conversion and minor adjustments as mention above.
If your creative juices start flowing and you have to manipulate beyond the norm then state so below the image, this will gain you respect and is truthful to you and the public.
Provided by nature our Eyes are the best cameras since birth, we need to learn how to see, the rest will follow.
All the above is only my Opinion, but I know I share this with many others.
As for me in 2012, I continue to create images without the use of PS like I have done for the past 30 years, so RIP Photoshop for 2012 and beyond.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
GD
Just one more without Photoshop…
Varanasi India 2011 - Digital Image
Copyright all Rights reserved. Mandatory credit with image use:
© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Olympic Cliffhangers from Coron Island, Palawan Philippines, collecting the White Gold or Bird Nest…a rare glimpse into a cave and the Swiftlet on the Nest…Natures guide to modern construction hence the Olympic Stadium in Beijing.
© Gunther Deichmann Cliffhangers...check the yellow circle
Tech info: Please keep in mind that all the images are in very low resolution and only for this Blog . They have also a full Watermark Copyright on them created in Aperture 2. The images came from my slide collection, scanned and imported into Aperture 2, some of them had to be restored since they had deteriorated some what. Now that is done I can easy find them again on my external drive since I referenced them with Aperture 2.1.1 and of course the Black and White Monochrome Mixer came in very handy also for the more personal images in the Tagbanua Village.
For more images please click this LINK or the Images, you might have to refresh your Browser to see the NEW Images.
© Gunther Deichmann - Cliffhangers
If there would be a Olympic competition in barefoot rock climbing, scaling the razor sharp limestone cliffs in Palawan then the Tagbanuas would break the world record.
These fearless natives of Palawan in the Philippines climbing these towering cliffs with such an ease they deserve a Gold medal, collecting “The White Gold” the bids nests every year.
I almost broke my neck getting this shot with the local swiftlet sitting on the nest, climbing high and crawling into a small cave to view these Birds actually on the nest.
I used strong footwear and ropes, but my barefooted local guides shot straight past me and waited at the entrance of this small cave.
For me it was an honor to go with the Tagbanuas, it is impossible to climb with them to these hidden caves, normally they never reveal the location of the birds nests.
© Gunther Deichmann - a very rare image
with the swiftlet on the nest
Scaling these limestone cliffs is a common job among the native Tagbanuas of Northern Palawan. They collect this nest and sell it to a middlemen who would, in turn, trade it to Chinese restaurants or other Traders in Manila
The nests are composed of interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement. The nests have high levels of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of these nests.In Hong Kong a bowl of Bird Nest Soup would cost US$30 to $100 . A kilogram of white nest 9hence the name “White Gold) can cost up to $2,000
Authentic bird's nest soup is made using the nests of the swiftlet, a tiny bird found throughout southeast Asia.
The edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans.
I have tried this soup and must say it taste like nothing special it is very blunt and I am not sure on the reputation of being an aphrodisiac, they say that about so many other things too.
The problem is the livelihood for the Tagbanuas if the practice and collecting these Bird Nests stopped since there is very little else besides fishing for these amazing agile people.
Unfortunately, harvesters will take a nest once it is large enough, whether or not eggs or chicks are present. Most caves have one season for harvest but thieves steal nests throughout the year. In recent years the swiftlet population has dropped, putting swiftlets on the protected species list.
© Gunther Deichmann - Tagbanua family life...
for more images click this LINK or the image
During the Harvest Season some the Tagbanuas move the whole family from the main Village to the Bird Nest area, from this makeshift camp they guard the Bird nesting area.24 hours a day from thieves. At the end of the season they move back to their Village within the Coron Bay area.
GD
