Elliott Erwitt – Lifetime Achievement Award 2007

In this 5 min. video interview E. Erwitt talks about his ways of work and approach towards photographing as well as photographs. It is really interesting to hear what one of the 20th century Master of Photography thinks about these subjects.

E. Erwitt is a type of man who knows what he's doing and it really comes across in my opinion, even in those few minutes. What is said about manipulating images in the digital era is especially of interest for me, as I often use 'the digital darkroom'. I agree with Erwitt's  opinion that manipulated images should be marked somehow. Even a kitemark as recently psychiatrists in Great Britain wanted to identify airbrushed ads ( www.campaignlive.com), or what National Union of Journalists ( www.londonfreelance.org)
 started a campaign on in 1996. 

It has gone out of hand in the search for best 'scoop' by journalists and documentarists, and so even Reuters Agency has a meticulous guide nowadays outlining what is acceptable within their photographers' images. And so we read in their Handbook of Journalism:

Allowed:

• Cropping
• Adjustment of Levels to histogram limits
• Minor colour correction
• Sharpening at 300%, 0.3, 0
• Careful use of lasso tool
• Subtle use of burn tool
• Adjustment of highlights and shadows
• Eye dropper to check/set gray

Not Allowed:

• Additions or deletions to image
• Cloning & Healing tool (except dust)
• Airbrush, brush, paint
• Selective area sharpening
• Excessive lightening/darkening
• Excessive colour tone change
• Auto levels
• Blurring
• Eraser tool
• Quick Mask
• In-camera sharpening
• In-camera saturation styles

(read in more detail here- Handbook of Journalism) 

These rules of course apply to proffesional journalists' work only, however I believe they are good guidelines for all photographers - a reminder of how not to get overly photoshopped.

Still - Photoshop, and all alikes, are truly useful programs, and I don't condemn using them - It's just about ethics and admitting to manipulation...

.....I'm sorry, but I'll have to close it at that- I need to get some sleep now ;) Hopefully I managed to get someone to think about it. If not- I just wasted 2 hours of sleep for needless rant and reasearch....Good night and good luck!

links:

 'If you Mac it, mark it!'- http://media.gn.apc.org/j-manip.html 

 'Psychiatrists call for mark to identify airbrushed ads'- http://www.campaignlive.com/news/985668/Psychiatrists-call-mark-identify-airbrushed-ads/