We get so used to the possibilities offered by technology:
to crop, to edit, to tidy up
to heighten contrast or deepen colour
to show off what is interesting, or pretty, or ‘meaningful’
The editing has an effect, I think, on those of us doing the cutting, and on the reader / viewer too.
It was a relief to be told in a photography class I’m taking just now that we were not to do any editing at all, not even the tiniest crop.
A huge great sigh of relief
Of course there are frustrations too, whole swathes of them – I expect that is where much of the teaching lies – not being able to improve or rescue, needing to let go of moments that don’t ‘work’, having to adjust the eye to images that are fresh rather than polished.
I could write more about this and am sure over time, I will.
But for now, just a few photographs of spring flowers I’ve seen recently, unedited and uncut.
