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Out of the Dark

Several years ago there was an article in American Photographer magazine
discussing the use of computers in photo imaging. Several images
accompanied the article. The most fascinating were the portraits that had
been manipulated to give the faces a grotesque ape-like appearance, clearly
demonstrating the possibilities of image manipulation bound only by
imagination and good taste.

The article also illustrated the misuse of image manipulation using Dorothy Lange¹s photograph of a woman and her two children huddled together in their make shift shelter during America¹s depression period. The woman's face had been retouched to remove all trace of concern and worry etched on her face. Such use of the computer fails to recognize the value of the image as a meaningful statement.

Until then my use of the computer was for cosmetic purposes only.  It was an
alternative process for producing prints that needed retouching.  Otherwise
the photographs I printed came out of a photographic darkroom.  The article
piqued my interest in computer imaging.

When I first took up photography the actual act of taking the picture wasn't
very exciting.  A brief click of the camera - that seemed to be the end of
it.  I could have quite easily become bored with this activity save for my
accidentally venturing into a photographic darkroom, where I discovered the
image making process: exposing the paper, developing the print, washing,
drying, the hands on experience.  And through the years I learned and
practiced the techniques needed to produce a print.  When that was done -
the finality of a print - there was nothing more to do. The end of the road.

The computer has changed that. There appears to be no limit to what can be
done to an image.  It's as if the road can continue beyond the barrier
defined by a photograph.  The excitement and interest that first hit me 30
years ago has returned.

I'm purposely using the nude to promote and highlight digital imaging.  The
female nude has been a source of inspiration and controversy for years.  And
it's not likely to change.  It gets more attention than any other
photographic subject.  It is the perfect subject with which to illustrate
the use of digital imaging - bridging the sharp reality of a photograph and
the nebulous brush stroke of a painting.

These are new images.  Though they look painterly they started as
photographs.  Most were Polaroid SX-70's.  Some black and white photographs.
Some color.  And some digital.  So why have I made them painterly?  Because
I can.  The point being: if the end result looked like a conventional
photograph why bother with the computer?