User ID

BS !

Wherever there's a body of still water,
there IS a horizon, even if everything
in view is less than 3 miles away.

Also, when it was suggested that you
"level the horizon", that in no way is
meaning that the far horizon is really
in view. "Level the horizon" is simply
the way we say that the picture has
an uneasy tilt on at least one axis.

User ID

Thanks, SRT ! Now you got me thinking
of the Beatles dressed in nun's habit

Toment Loc: FL, IL

Out of focus is a deal breaker; otherwise, most any story photo will work if it’s possible to see it clearly.
IMHO

Keen

Is there such a thing as a technically flawed photo? How do you tell a technically flawed photo unskillfully focused, lit, etc, from an intentionally 'abstract' work of art skillfully under lit, purposely un-focused, etc, as a photographic equivalent of 'impressionism'? If you achieve the look you set out to achieve, it is well done. If you failed to get the image you sought, then it is a failure. Only you can tell what you intended. Don't worry about what others think of your work...unless you are shooting it for someone else, and need to please a customer / editor.

rcarol

I think that pretty much answers the question, doesn't it?

Nicholas DeSciose

Content is everything, Study the history of photography.

Nicholas DeSciose

Sharpness is considered a Middle class concept.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Speaking strictly of posting to UHH, if someone questions or criticizes a technical element such as exposure or the level of saturation of colors, then I usually think the creator (often myself ) did not present their vision adequately. This is a generalization, of course. Photos posted in FYC or PP Forum for feedback (including composites and use of textures or overlays) will be viewed differently than something posted to Gallery without explanation. And again, the pov of the viewer is key: are they of the sooc/documentary religion, or are they into creativity - photography as art.

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Not mistakes, but how do you know?

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Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

That is an excellent question, and you presented it very well.

How important is content relative to the technical merit of a photograph? Content is everything, in my opinion. Technical merit only has value to the degree which it supports the portrayal of the content. Strong content, however is not necessarily dependent upon technical merit.

Mike

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Water can be used to locate the horizon only if you can see the horizon on the water, or you are low enough to see the top of still water - otherwise you have to use a plumb line - a vertical line known to actually be straight. In that case, I got the left antenna to be as close to vertical as I could - perhaps I should have used a line farther right in the image, but that is the artistic decision I made. That Yashica lens was far from distortion-free. I also chose to preserve the Tri-X “grainy” look.

But that is beside the point. The premise of this thread is about imperfect photos..

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Screens will be preferred over paper, even for high end viewing at some point. Once we get to 8K with HDR...

I love a good print. Having spent three decades in a major photo lab environment, I know that high end inkjet printers using 8 or more inks produce the best color prints. It’s ironic that we can make better prints digitally than with analog means, yet the print market is still shrinking.

Bill P

Go to a museum that displays photography. If you are fortunate enough to live close to Kansas City, The Nelson has recently added a wing that has among other things a gallery devoted to photography. Nearby there is the Kemper museum of contemporary art, where photography is often seen.

Look at the photos. Note how many are perfect in focus, are shot with high resolution cameras and critically sharp, That's right not that many. I have been fortunate to see some of Cartier-Bresson's photos, and I can tell you that critical sharpness, fine grain, and all that other technical stuff was not his strong suit and the photos look fabulous. I was in Santa Fe and happened into a gallery that was displaying Ansel Adams prints, printer not identified, but I can tell you they were the obligatory silver-gelatin air dried gloss fine prints, and they included such things as valued on this forum like critical sharpness, high resolution, and fine or no visible grain and were obviously shot on a tripod and perfectly exposed. I found them to be as cold as the snow on the mountain tops.

Folks here will tell you that these technical attributes are important, but I think they are just tinkerers and will give you poor advice.

Mr Bill 2011 Loc: southern Indiana

I took a quick glance through the "100 photos;" none of them showed a perfectly photographed eagle in flight, hummingbird or flower. But I'd bet that a grab shot of Sasquatch deplaning from a UFO would be there, even if the horizon were tilted and some highlights blown out! That leads me to believe that content is of ultimate importance regardless of technical perfection.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

CHG Canon has some excellent information. You mention other aspects of photography. If the content is fabulous but the focus is so bad that it is uncomfortable to look at;if the exposure is so bright that it is hard to look at or so dark that you don't know what you are looking at, then what difference does the contnt make.

It should be a good combination of exposure, sharpness, composition, content etc.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Nobody will believe it if it isn’t SOOC - or you at least have an SOOC version.