Darkroom techniques are also just tools, just like photography is a tool to get the image you want. Darkroom techniques for some photographers are what makes the image for them, for others it is the photography itself, and not the darkroom.......to me personally PS is also just a tool for my photoimages, which can be also the centerpoint, just like darkroom is for some imagemakers......just depends on the person, there are no fixed rules for all this......I know people who are drooling in front of a perfect print, but the image itself doesn't say much....the other way around also exists, in those cases I won't look at the printing techinque, I just look at the image and let i work on me (off course, better prinitng echniques may increase the image power, but as long as you are aware of that, you can see through it).mattlock said:is the art behind photography the process or is the art behind photography the image?
Do you take the viewpoint of photography more as a film or more as a material like a fabric?
One watches a film and can tell whether it's good or not depending on whether it affects them through the story, and the quality of the film stock is secondary. Star Wars on its old film stock and graininess does not make it any less a great film
A great story on 16mm film or digital is still a great story, what material its printed on is a secondary issue (still important of course but secondary)
if you take the viewpoint of a fabric then that's understandable, silk feels much lovelier than satin, there are differences in texture and colour
The post production issues of photography are not the true process of photography, you can still go out there and take a beautiful photo using your old school techniques (the way digital filmmakers still have old school film production values)
Unless you live by Ansel Adams' rules, the art of photography is in much more than the material quality of a print.
Also note that photoshop does what film does but gives you more flexibility
you choose different films based on their curves, their contrast, their colour preferences (fuji goes greener kodak goes more yellow)
All photoshop does is give you much more flexibility in your ability to control these elements. You get more variables. it is a tool. as with any tool, it does not create the image but the person behind the tool creates it.
and if you don't have a unique vision in your work using either film or photoshop will do nothing for you
Hong Sien