David Hockney: Photoshop is boring

Comment

Comment by James MacMahon on December 7, 2014 at 8:44pm

I just purchased a canon 5D mk3 digital camera. I hope I can make peace with the pixel's.

Comment by James MacMahon on December 6, 2014 at 8:41pm

Digital cameras do not make photographs another term is required for this medium.

Comment by Joseph Deiss on December 6, 2014 at 7:16pm

Hmmm... interesting video...

However, the title given to the video is a bit misleading; Hockney does not say Photoshop is boring; rather, he states that images in magazines have become boring because of the use of Photoshop. And there is one other misleading statement (by Hockney); Kodak has not discontinued the manufacture of fixer, though I and many others make our own fix by purchasing constituent chemicals and making our own fixer to "match" the emulsion we're using. Students, who visit my studio, often remark that my darkroom (with shelves of chemicals, fire proof safe, scales of many types, beakers, graduates, fume hood, and so much other stuff) looks like a chemistry lab.

I know I'm repeating myself (from earlier missives) but Photshop is just another tool to make images, and now an almost essential tool because of the lack of quality photographic film and paper - and, quite frankly, digital prints surpass the quality of available commercial photo papers (my humble opinion). I not only make my own film (wet-plate negatives) and print emulsions - I also have two digital printers... 

And green... I have to again disagree with Hockney... Though green is not my favorite color, I can (and do) make beautiful greens on color film - though I do have to say that I do my own C-41 processing, I scan my own negatives, and do any color balancing (if needed) in Photshop.

Photography has often suffered at the hands of "traditional" art media, and now does so in the digital age.

One antidote before I end my little diatribe... I have on one of my walls, a beautiful drawing by Jack Potter of Mimi Monet; both of whom were well-known fashion illustrators (Mimi's work is now in the Boston Museum of Fine Art). Mimi, often, in a  light hearted manner, complained of photographers taking work away from her and doing a bad job of it, and that after they had done so, she would, once again, be asked to make drawings of fashion articles so that sales would be picked up.

So now it's Photoshop (and digital capture) against "real" photography. I don't see the conflict - I like both capturing with analogue, and printing with alternative techniques, as well as using digital processes for output... all are simply tools for us to use

And now we have digital capture on cell phones and other hand held devices (other than the ubiquitous digital camera). How interesting to have lived through a time when capturing images on a large format view camera was de rigeur, to a time where there is a such a plethora of image capture devices...