Post Processing Fascist — Photography

When I took up photography as a hobby many years ago, I enjoyed the creativity required to put a good shot together. Just my camera, some glass and my ability to work out what the final shot would look like (somewhat) on paper once I got to a darkroom. Photography was very technical just as it is today.

The “art of photography” seems to be lost and replaced by a generation of computer skills rather than thinking about the shot before hand. Before I go further, I do use post processing myself, however I remove unwanted particles and touch up some colour and or shadows. That’s it. Doing my thinking before the computer saves me time in front of it, more time back in the great out doors or with clients.

With that in mind and to my dismay while talking to a wedding photographer last week, who exclaimed he spent 10–15 hours editing a wedding shoot. Now while I love to get the detail right, what does he do spending 10–15hrs of editing pictures ? Has the art of photography really disappeared that much that we spend this long infront of a PC ? I can understand an videographer taking some time….

Seems far removed from how I was taught photography by Pentax many many years ago, maybe I’m just long in the tooth or am I firmly in a quartex of shooting fiction rather than fact ?

Fascist ?

And here I think is the issue, I cant look at the over processed sunsets and sky with crazy colours any more without thinking, “lovely way to use a computer degree”. Which part of the picture is pure fictional fantasy and the other genius at work ? I can’t tell and why should I have to decide if the photographer wanted to become an artist or an artist frustrated with art decided to become a photographer. That leaves with in part admiration for the time it took someone to put the vision together and part shaking my head with “that's just not photography” — I think that makes me a photography fascist. Am I alone here ?

Check out my photography at danmleephotography.com or follow my twitter account @danmleephoto or instagram @danmleephotography