Expectations

Do we expect too much from our images?  Since going digital and holding countless workshops, I wonder if we just expect too much from our pictures?  By that I mean, there seems to be a widely held belief, particularly amongst those new to digital, that every part of the resulting processed image should hold detail.  Is it really that imperative to have detail in all the dark areas, need we fret should a light part of the scene be blinking on our LCD panel on the rear of the camera?

In those far flung days of yonder when Iused film (excuse me while I look back wistfully!) exposure was a relatively simple process.  If a light subject such as a swan occupied the majority of the frame, you would expose for it and not care a hoot about the darker areas.  It was up to the film you were using as to how much detail would be produced and likewise with a dark subject.

Now it seems, many photographers, and to a small degree myself, are obsessed with masks, layers, dodge and burn tools and anything else for that matter, to bring every single bit of detail out from a scene.  Sure, processing an image is an essential part of the image making process and we have to be careful how to expose for a scene, to be mindful of those areas that may end up too light (sky for example) or too dark (this is where ND grads come into their own) but I feel very strongly that we also have to remember why we are taking pictures in the first instance.  Speaking for myself, it’s to spend as much time as possible in the field producing images of the natural world.  This I endeavour to do to the best of my ability and not to spend hour after hour staring at the computer screen!

Tags: expectations, exposure, film, puffin