Amateur Photographer - UK (2021-03-06)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 23

YOUR LETTERS

a pair of binoculars, so it

was virtually unusable. So

at a very early stage of my

photographic career I was

forced into shooting from

the waist. I soon

discovered that

perspectives are often

better and more  attering

at this level and shooting

from the hip is a great

help when shooting

candids. Another

advantage is that

communication with your

subject is much improved

when half your face isn’t

hidden by your camera.

When using any lens wider

than a standard lens I

frequently shoot from

waist level – with or

without the help of an

articulated screen. I was

encouraged to go down

this path by my very  rst

camera and haven’t

looked back.

Graeme Youngson

A more honest

standard

The BBC series Age of the

Image by James Fox (on

BBC iPlayer) discussed

man’s desire to record his

world from the earliest

cave drawings to the more

sophisticated paintings,

sculptures and

photographs which

followed. The  nal episode

touched on the invention

of the digital image in

1957, followed in 1987 by

John Knoll’s holiday snap

of his partner Jennifer in

Paradise which led to his

inventing the great dream

factory which we now

know as Photoshop. It

alarmingly concluded that

virtually every image

around us is likely to be

falsi ed in some way, and

in particular the

photograph can no longer

be trusted. AP will

realistically accept that

many of the photographs

it now publishes will be

manipulated images, yet

most people still

instinctively look on the

photograph as an

accurate depiction of

reality. Do not our children,

grandchildren or others

have the right to assume

they are looking at a

faithful record of the

person photographed,

stripped of the arti ce of

the software dream

machine? Leave the

professional image

makers to do what they

must, to satisfy the

expectations of

demanding clients. We

enthusiasts can aim for a

more honest standard.

Alan Newall

Frauds

AP has published a

number of letters

re ecting on the fact that

digital pictures entered for

competitions are ‘likely’ to

be manipulated using

software – and hence be

classed as frauds. I have

to agree. Back in the day

of  lm, the same issue

was possible with prints

from negatives. Hence, for

the most ‘serious’

competitions the

organisers would stipulate

that only slides were to be

submitted; and usually

120  lm format. It would

solve the digital problem if

such a requirement was

stipulated again.

Dr Hugh Anderson

I would replace the word

‘serious’ with the word

‘pompous’. By this logic,

Ansel Adams, Edward

Weston and all the great

b&w photographers in

history who ever used a

darkroom are ‘fraudsters’,

which is just ludicrous.

Photography has been

primarily a two-stage

process since Fox Talbot

invented it in 1839.

The dishonest over-use of

image manipulation is

clearly an issue today, but

those who believe that all

pictures must come out of

the camera ‘pure’ and

 nished in order to be

valid are the Taliban of the

photography world.

Lewis by Graeme Youngson. Graeme often shoots from the hip, as it has great benefits

© ROSS HODDINOT T

© FRANS LANTING

CONTENT

FOR

NEXT

WEEK’S

ISSUE

MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Human nature

Frans Lanting speaks to AP about a

major new book on the environment

Natural selection

Tracy Calder shows you how to create

fl atlays by bringing nature indoors

Lenses and accessories

The best lenses and accessories for

nature and wildlife photography

Pro tips to improve your

shots of wild owers, animals,

birds, and invertebrates

Nature

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