Photography Vs Reality
May. 12th, 2019 01:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanReading the Sunday papers online... blah blah Royal baby... blah blah Met Gala... blah blah Federal election... blah blah Kardashian... blah blah weekend sport controversy & commentary... blah blah Ugly Reality Of Insta-famous Tourist Hot-spots... Hmmm, hang on...
So, among young tourists/travellers, a place's 'Instagrammability' is a determining factor in going there - usually to then stick your head in the middle of the photo of the place/thing. This is after you've battled through/over the horde of other people all trying to do the same thing. Reading this article, I don't think I ever want to visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome... I'll stick with the B&W image of Anita Ekberg splashing through it, thanks all the same. And I think I'll just look at the Mona Lisa in art history books - it's not that much bigger anyway...
When I take photos, I mostly try to keep people out of the shot - like a lot of those Instagram posts of those locations... The difference is I'm, if not physically, then certainly psychologically opposed to getting up before dawn to get the shot - which is, it seems, the only way to get those people-free images of the Taj Mahal, among others. So, most often, I resort to higher camera angles, tighter cropping, or just plain Photoshop gimcrackery to keep the great unwashed out of my scenery
Exhibit A:
Sunset through the Window & Keyhole Arches at Arches National Park, in Utah. Not a person in sight... except the reality was:-
Get the hell out of my sunset!!!!!
Exhibit B:
Rattlesnake Canyon Utah/Arizona. Taken during a private guided tour specifically for photographers. Trouble is... other photographers:-
And sometimes, even after editing I find something, or someone I missed:-
Or parts of them , at least... See if you can spot it. I didn't!!!
If this is the kind of thing that happens in the middle of the desert, I can't imagine having the patience in Rome, or Agra, or the Louvre, or...
So, among young tourists/travellers, a place's 'Instagrammability' is a determining factor in going there - usually to then stick your head in the middle of the photo of the place/thing. This is after you've battled through/over the horde of other people all trying to do the same thing. Reading this article, I don't think I ever want to visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome... I'll stick with the B&W image of Anita Ekberg splashing through it, thanks all the same. And I think I'll just look at the Mona Lisa in art history books - it's not that much bigger anyway...
When I take photos, I mostly try to keep people out of the shot - like a lot of those Instagram posts of those locations... The difference is I'm, if not physically, then certainly psychologically opposed to getting up before dawn to get the shot - which is, it seems, the only way to get those people-free images of the Taj Mahal, among others. So, most often, I resort to higher camera angles, tighter cropping, or just plain Photoshop gimcrackery to keep the great unwashed out of my scenery
Exhibit A:
Sunset through the Window & Keyhole Arches at Arches National Park, in Utah. Not a person in sight... except the reality was:-
Get the hell out of my sunset!!!!!
Exhibit B:
Rattlesnake Canyon Utah/Arizona. Taken during a private guided tour specifically for photographers. Trouble is... other photographers:-
And sometimes, even after editing I find something, or someone I missed:-
Or parts of them , at least... See if you can spot it. I didn't!!!
If this is the kind of thing that happens in the middle of the desert, I can't imagine having the patience in Rome, or Agra, or the Louvre, or...
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-12 05:02 pm (UTC)Debbie saw that about a month into our relationship when we visited Fort Sumter, South Carolina. As we stepped off the tourist boat I told her "So, I'm going to be darting around rather quickly trying to get photos without any of these people in them." Which I then did. :-)
I have on a couple of occasions enlisted the help of a graphics professional to neatly photoshop people out of my photos.