PedjaP's blog

It seems to me that a lot of people shooting digital either go for default high contrast that the default camera settings produce or add more contrast later in postprocessing. Most of the postprocessing advice out there seems to suggest that we should always "whack" the levels until we get the histogram which is covering the entire available dynamic range. I have been frequently doing the same thing myself. Lately I am starting to think that high contrast is not suitable for everything I shoot and that some photos may be better suited to low contrast approach. I have uploaded two photos which I believe may be used to illustrate the point and here they are. I would very much appreciate other opinions on the subjects.

For me, the basic component of a photograph is light. If light doesn't work, all other components (composition, subject, expression, tone, colour, moment, movement) lose impact. Extraordinary light, on the other hand, can make the most mundane subjects special and, for the lack of a better word, unexpected.

I appreciate photographs which go beyond abilities of my ocular sensory system to perceive the world, and present it to me in a way I couldn't see it otherwise.

I love visual puns which happen all the time around us but get to be recorded only by people who seem to have 360 degree vision, lightning-fast reflexes and rare imagination.

I don't believe in photography as documentary evidence, the reality is always warped by freezing of the moment, by the compression of three dimensions into two and by the framing. Viewing a photograph is a second-hand experience of the reality in which the photo was taken and, in terms of evidence, can be described as hear-say.

Like good literature, good photography is extremely subjective, presents completely new point of view, and at the same time is totally seductive and persuasive.

What I enjoy most is the recent democratization of the medium which allows so many people to explore it and thus raise the bar for everyone, including the well established professionals. True, living off photography has never been harder, but, on the upside, look at all the great photos on sites such as ipernity, all those amazing, unique points of view. It is like the massive mining operation which not only unearths lots of gems, but at the same time, raises our expectations of what a gem should look like.