But is it Art?

Near Cardiff  2009

It is an often heard tenet that says “digital manipulation software cannot save what is a crappy photograph to start with”.

With some time on my hands, I thought I might explore Nik Software’s Silver Effects Pro further. I had mostly just used the presets, and due to spending a lot of time learning to work with Adobe Camera Raw and non destructive work flows as part of my studies, I had pretty much forgotten about it.

I decided I would revisit some photographs that I took a few years ago in Wales, some of which were a bit ordinary in their original form.

I had quite a lot of fun getting to know the various settings in Silver Effects Pro which are quite extensive and, to my eye, rather sophisticated. It really is a case where what can be achieved is only limited by one’s imagination.

I do occasionally like to emulate the look of black and white film (Tri-X was always a favourite) which is what I was aiming for here.

Cardiff Castle 2009

So, I find myself asking myself ‘have I managed to save a crappy photo simply by applying some digital manipulation?’

I think the answer to this is something like, ‘well if I were shooting exactly the same scene on B&W film I would probably have ended up with something very similar.’

Of course retouching out the people in the scene would not have been anywhere near as simple.

Another question I think pertinent is, ‘what about the integrity of the image?’ (does it matter?!)

And, of course, there’s the age old dilemma (well, as old as photography anyway) “is it Art?”

Near Cardiff  2009

Near Cardiff  2009

(Some viewers may wonder why, as this is a post about Black and White, that the images within contain colour. It is because I create a B&W image in Silver Effects which becomes a layer in Photoshop which I then blend with the original colour layer.)