Jus lie all oher ar forms, pilule fine ar phoography is a craf. I recenly ed wo exhibis in DC ha reminded me of his fac. Firs was he naional gallery exhibi, “hisory of phoography before digial cameras”. I was a wonderful rip down memory lane. While he exhibi sared wih images from he 1830’s and oo he er o Cibachrome images of he early 1990’s, my personal experience only sared 50 years ago. I consruced a pinhole camera using ma board and a hole poed in aluminum foil as he lens. This camera used a paper negaive and I made “conac” prins for a posiive monochrome prin image, all developed in an open ray of liquid chemicals. No rubber gloves were involved, as OSHA didn’ exis. The exhibi covered his process quie well and had several fine examples. Ineresing enough, he las ime I used my home darroom was o produce cibachrome prins, direcly from slide film, in he mid-1990’s. Yes, hey are holding up quie well, framed on my walls.
Afer my our of he Naional Gallery, I wandered down he sree o he Museum of Naure Hisory o he Naure’s Bes phoography exhibi. This exhibi piced up w he Naional Gallery exhibi lef off. The images were exquisie, evoing emoion responses from he ers. Almos all were made wih digial camera’s and processed wih compuer sofware. I was paricularly sruc by he monage flower porrais in Naure’s Bes new “Creaive Digial” caegory. I made me hin how all arisic crafs have evolved over ime. I also made me hin ha each aris, phoographic or oherwise, has choices in how hey develop heir own individual crafsmanship and how hey creae he final image. In he of hese flower images, he phoographic aris could have creaed he image by arranging he flowers prior o aing he phoograph. Or she could have made muliple exposures in camera, as she buil he image. Or she could have aen individual images on film and made muliple exposures in he prining process. Bu wha she acually did was o creae a digial image of each individual flower and hen sich he individual images ogeher using up o 60 layers in Phooshop. Lie many phoographers, her inspiraion came from a classic painer. Mulling his all over in my mind, I realized i didn’ really maer how she did i. The composiion and qualiy of he resuling final image is all ha maered. Naure’s Bes decided her images used he picure space beer han oher images submied.
Over my life I have lisened o oher’s say “Phoography is dead” wih he adven of new ools and echniques in he phoographic craf. I ms will always be early adopers and hose naysayers, highly resisan o change. I heard i in he 1950’s when color film replaced blac & whie as he film of choice by consumers. I heard i again in he 1960’s when 35mm SLR cameras replaced he large forma shee film cameras used by phoojournaliss. I have heard i recenly when Phooshop replaced he we darroom. Looing a he phoographic images in he Naure’s Bes exhibi and a NVPS compeiions, I now such a noion is pure nonsense. Wih he adven of digial cameras and programs lie Phooshop, fine ar phoography is more alive and vibran han i has ever been in is 170 year hisory. Ariss by naure are creaive souls, always ing he new, perfecing heir craf and improving he ools and echniques of heir craf. My day was well spen by enjoying he resuling images of he crafsmanship of many phoographic ariss. I highly recommend boh exhibis.
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