NikoDoby said:
Oh come on! Photoshop is just a tool like a tripod or flash. Just because you use it doesn't mean you have no "photographic integrity". The same thing can be said about using a digital camera. Your not a "real" photographer unless you shoot film. Your not a "real" photographer unless you develop your own film. Your not a "real" photographer if you shoot with a Polaroid or Holga camera. Or your not a "real" photographer unless you shoot medium format, or a view camera. Blah, blah, blah.
I never understand why photographers and "camera owners" turn their noses up at others who use various equipment and techniques to make their photos. I guess its because they can't say anything bad about the photos themselves so instead they "snap" at how they were made.
When photography was in its infancy I remember when painters would also say "real" portraits were done on canvas with pigments and not by some silly box called a camera. :^)
Niko, I think you are misunderstanding me.
As I said, these are undoubtedly beautiful photos and I really enjoyed looking at them. I think they present these animals and wildlife in a way that's never really been done before, and he does so absolutely beautifully.
That being said, I absolutely don't believe that photoshop is just another tool in "photography". I think photoshop is an amazing program and can accomplish incredible things, the new content aware features are a great example of that. Integrity is not what I'm calling for. What I am calling people like Brandt out on is not making a distinction between what is real and what is fake. It would be one thing if he openly admitted that a huge portion of his work was done in photoshop, but he romanticizes his process as well, making it seem as if these pictures are nearly straight from the camera.
In life it seems that many people want "the real thing", but don't misunderstand me, the real thing doesn't have to be straight and boring and only done through the traditional means, to be the real thing it has to be what it says it is. Why lie about what you are, you know?
