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[OM] Galen Rowell and the moon

Subject: [OM] Galen Rowell and the moon
From: "John Hudson" <13874@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 15:27:17 -0400
Following discussion of Galen Rowell's image of the silhouette against the
moon found under Landscapes at this address

http://www.mountainlight.com/stockdept/stockportfolio.html

I wrote to Mountain Light asking whether the image had been manipulated. I
thought why not ask at the source.

Here is the reply from Mr Justin Black, General Manager of Mountain Light
Photography, and is being posted verbatim to the list with Mr Black's
permission.  Mr Black asked me for the list's site URL so it is possible
that he may correspond directly. Whether he does or not Mr Black is
certainly a credit to Mountain Light considering the time and thought he put
in responding to me, a stranger from afar.



Dear John,

Galen's long-established ethics are very clear on this point.  I can say
unequivocally that Galen never changed the content of any of his images.
While the digital photographic printing process we use gives us more control
over quality and consistency, the subject matter in all of Galen's prints
appears in exactly the same position and orientation as in the original
slide.  Galen did, of course, make subjective decisions in making his prints
(as photographers have always done in the darkroom) to make the best print
possible.  For instance, he might slightly darken a stick protruding from
the edge of the frame, in the same way that a darkroom printer would, in
order to diminish the impact of minor distracting elements.  However, he
never removed or repositioned content.

What Galen did do in this case, was to ask his companion to scramble up to
the notch to fully silhouette him against the moon.  It wasn't an
entirely spontaneous moment, but it was captured with one in-camera
exposure.  If you are ever able to visit our gallery in Bishop, California,
I'd be happy to show you the original slide. The number of questions we get
about digital manipulation are very
interesting to me.  Ansel Adams' "Moonrise, Hernandez, NM," is widely
considered to be among the great prints of the 20th Century (and rightly so)
but by any standard, the tonal values and contrast of that print are far
more manipulated using traditional darkroom techniques than any image Galen
has ever printed digitally.  In both the digital and traditional darkrooms,
the vision, ethics, and subjective choices of the photographer are the keys
to making great art.  The digital medium is simply a tool to effectively
carry out the artist's vision.

Best regards,

Justin Black
General Manager
Mountain Light Photography
106 South Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514
tel: (760)-873-7700
fax: (760)-873-3233
e-mail: jblack@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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