Basket

[roguewave]

Digilux3 50lux

[jaapv]

Very nice, Ben, the colour harmony and the witch looking at that basket - makes me think of a Grimm fairy tale.

[delander]

A leading question Ben. Is this a significant crop or did you visualize this image in camera? If you go over to Barnack's Bar you will see why I am interested.

Hope you dont mind me asking,

Jeff

[roguewave]

Originally Posted by delander

A leading question Ben. Is this a significant crop or did you visualize this image in camera? If you go over to Barnack's Bar you will see why I am interested.

Hope you dont mind me asking,

Jeff

Jeff, thanks for the pointer to this thread. First, let me answer your question & then I'll give my nickel about what I think people are speaking to in the overall thread you mentioned.

This image is not cropped. The Digilux 3 gives the option of 3 different images and a chose a different size image than the M's or R's 35 frame. I like this 4/3 because some objects just occupy a different kind of space. In some ways, it's closer to how medium format images are shaped & framed.

Do I crop? Yes. Most of my images are full frame. I work very hard at visualizing what I want before I touch the shutter button. I'm not a born artist like others. I need to study my environment before I shoot, to separate what's important to me & how to not only frame it, but to light it and contextualize it with content & emotion.

When I crop, I think it's obvious. I don't try to crop into the 35 framelines. I think that's not in the service of the imagery. Azzo (Ivan) is a master of this art. If you look back at his catalog of images, he is free to shape his subjects at will. There just isn't another way, that's as satisfying.

The larger question that is implied in the thread goes back to the provenance of the image & it's meaning. For me, I'm desperate to express what I'm experiencing in the images I craft. That's all I have. I know little about the "reality" I'm capturing, except by using my own awareness of how I'm experiencing & feeling, while composing or trying to shape what's around me. Increasingly, I find the need to invent some new way to formalize this expression, within a format others can enter, but in a way that let's them leave their life at home and take a trip with me. That means all bets are off. Leave your check list in the drawer at home.

One last item about cropping. Because I have spent so much time with my DMR these last 7 months, I "see" the crop in the frame, because my R8 viewfinder shows it to me. I have to work hard, because I want to use the whole lens, but I can't. This forced discipline, I believe, has made me get more serious about understanding the tools. When I shoot full frame with my R8 & M film cameras, it's like water running free for me. I think those images look & feel different.

Hope I've answered both your questions.

[delander]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Ben. I hesitated to ask such a question but I feel it is an important area for discussion. I like your image and the fact that you saw the composition in camera.

Jeff

[stuny]

Ben -

Very lovely light and color.