>
> I wouldn't want to say you are wrong, Ken. :-) Misguided, perhaps,
> but it is a matter of taste, and I'm merely expressing mine.
>
Obviously, your taste-buds are impaired. :)
You and I definitely disagree on the grain, but that's perfectly okay. I
knew you'd have your own perspective on this which would probably disagree
with mine. I would suggest, though, that your leaning on high-resolution,
LCE and several other post-processing tricks is a means to an end--just as
grain in an image is a means to an end. Some of us may find over-cooked,
ultra-clean digital images as bothersome as some find grain to be
bothersome. :)
Part of this is a false belief that a photograph can capture or reflect
reality. A photograph can never reflect reality, it can only represent an
interpretaton of reality. In reality, a photograph is its own reality. When
people look at a photograph on the wall, they aren't looking at original
scene, they are looking at a photograph.
Therefore, grain can be the photographic subject, compositional tool, or in
effect a surface-enhancement not unlike choosing to print the photograph on
matte vs glossy paper.
Grain can be a tool to allow the human eye to focus on the photograph as
well as a means to allow the human eye to stop roving over the photograph.
Nathan's photograph is a classic example of this. The image, in itself is a
bit soft. There are no hard edges to allow the eye to land on and get its
bearings. This is the biology of seeing (with proper credit due to Dr.
Margaret Livingstone for her extensive research). The grain in the image
gives a stipling which the eye sees and is able to get proper focus and to
define start-stop points in the visual scan of the picture.
If an image is sufficiently detailed with plenty of natural texture, there
is less need for the texture of grain. (I am using the term "grain" for both
film grain and digital" noise"). A B&W photograph of a foggy scene taken
with Tech-Pan is disconcerting, whereas the same picture on Tri-X will
usually be a winner.
AG
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