Photographers are a strange lot. They would complain if they detect any deviation from the original subject in the photograph. They criticized Edward Weston for placing a sea shell in one of his famous oceanscape photographs. They did not count one of the finest photographic legends, Jerry Uelsmann,  as a legitimate photographic artist. The reason? Jerry would not confine himself with a single exposure of photograph. He would use his creative ingenuity to explore an even deeper truth by making composites from many different negatives.

No one blames a novelist for departing  from the actual story the novel is based upon, or the painter to use the color palette of her choice, then why the photographer is judged   with so much rigidity? I believe the reasons are manifold. First, photography is perhaps one of the easiest crafts to learn. It takes a beginner pianist many years of practice to  perform even at an acceptable level. But, photography is different. One buys a camera, reads the user manual, clicks the shutter and he is a photographer. There is a joke prevalent in the art circle , “If you have a violin, you just have a violin, but if you have a camera, you are a photographer”.

Notice, that I said, photography is an easy craft to learn. I did not say photography is an easy art to learn. Most photographers are preoccupied with the craft of photography, only a few transcend to the art form. Majority of the above mentioned criticisms come from this former group of photographers, whose vision is limited by their narrow world-view. Ansel Adams used to say, it takes ten years of practice to forget about the equipment. The creation of art is possible only after that.

Moreover, photography is used for a variety of reasons. Photojournalists use photographs  to document a story. Naturalists photograph the world for scientific accuracy. In both these cases veracity is of utmost importance. But, in fine art photography, the artists expresses his vision through the lenses of his camera. Like any other artistic medium, he should be allowed to use his artistic freedom in the creation of his art. But, people forget this distinction and judge the fine art photography with the same standards.

Let’s take a look at the most famous photograph by Ansel Adams, Moonrise. A total of over thirteen hundred prints were sold of this photograph. Though this image was taken after sundown, there were enough light remaining. But, Ansel chose to make the sky completely dark by burning the sky  area. Did he compromise with veracity? I don’t think so. I think by deviating from the physical reality, he expressed his vision and revealed a much deeper truth, his feelings.

In my personal photographic practice, I mostly confine myself to selective dodging and burning techniques to lighten and darken selected parts of the image to make a compelling     photograph. Not because I fear the criticism, but I feel those adjustments are adequate to express my vision. But, there are situations where the photograph requires a special handling. I present my recently captured photograph “Spring in the air” as a case in point. After applying all the traditional methods I came up with the following version of the photograph.

The photograph did not represent the soft and tranquil feeling I had when I captured the photograph, It looked too harsh and was devoid of any emotion. I remembered a special technique called “Polaroid Transfer”, film photographers used. It was a complex process to transfer the image on an alternative surface such as textile. The result was a softer, yellowish rendition of the original image. I applied the digital “polaroid transfer” on my image. Following is the final version of the image.

This is much closer to the feeling I had when I captured the scene. Please let me know which version you like. Also, this photograph, along with another photograph of mine, is currently on display as part the ongoing show “Oceanscapes and other views of nature” at the Main gallery. The reception is Saturday, June 2nd, 6-8 pm. You are welcome to join me and other artists during the reception.