Moll de Gregal #3. Barcelona, 2014
Yep, I do it whenever I think it necessary.
In the case above (pixilation not seen in enlarged print, by the way), the beer bottle was close by, but not exactly right. I had to go down and place it in what I thought was just the right spot to balance out the composition I had in mind. Oh, and the rolling sea only looked like this after about a three minutes exposure using a 10-stop neutral density filter. So, elements were quite manipulated!
Does this photograph tell a story or make a commentary, after all this fiddle-fuddling around? To you, maybe…maybe not. I like it, though, so there you go.
I will also remove trash that might be in the way–it is much easier than cloning it out in Photoshop. I might even fold down a few blades of grass…move small rocks…open a door…or move a table or chair a few inches one way or the other.
I don’t really have a problem with doing such things as I figure I am creating art, not a forensic documentary photograph for CSI. If I am painting–“painting with light” in photography jargon–I get to place the elements where I want them, no?
“But that’s not what the scene looked like!” (Some might exclaim in indignant righteousness.) I don’t really care. What I do care about is how it looked to me in my mind and in my bones and in my feelings.
Another technique…when I need a human (or coffee) bean in the image but can’t find a ready volunteer (often my wife or a friend), I’ll use myself, as in the example below. I make way too many images in which I have created a stage but left it empty. A self-portrait can sometimes work to put an actor in the scene. I try not to do it too much, though…the technique can get as old and smelly as those old socks you inexplicably wore five days in a row (hope not!).
Whatever works to bring your vision to fruition is fair game, I say.
Moll de Gregal #8 (End of the World). Barcelona, 2014
Leave a reply