The Votes Are In - It's Art, NOT Cheating!

These photos appeared in the blog a few days ago. The photo on the left IS the photo on the right, just cropped in very tightly. I asked for opinions on whether the cropped version was cheating, and many of you wrote in with opinions. Thanks to all of you who weighed in. It was unanimous – Art!

Here are some excerpts of what people said:

“How can anything that beautiful be cheating!”  L.R.

“Love the crop! It showcases the best features of the dwarf iris. Isn’t that one of the best things about digital photography – being able to make changes easily?”  D.L.

 

“I don’t see how it can be called “cheating’ just because you crop to enhance the photo and make it more artful.”  B.B.

“Definitely not cheating in my opinion. In this case you didn’t see it in the field but so what. The image was there on your sensor.”  B.McC.

“I’m President of our local camera club. My objective is to create a beautiful image, and I don’t really care how I do it. Digital tools are no different from an artist’s application of paint/pencil/whatever. We are all using what we have to express the creativity from our own imaginations.”  P.M.

‘I don’t feel that extensive cropping is cheating. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and if extensive cropping gets me to what I am pleased with, then I do it.”  S.O.

“I believe it is art. The camera is merely a tool that allows us to capture a moment in time. Our tool box allows us to do all sorts of wonderful development of the vision we wish to display. Flexing creative muscles with those tools allows an acceptable photograph to become a beautiful piece of art.”  D.P.

“[This is] art if you want us to see the detail in the ‘heart’ of the iris. I find this to be a compelling image. I do not believe it is cheating.”  A.O’D.

“I find it rather strange that the question arises. If the objective is to create an image which conveys the feeling the photographer intends, how does this differ from the painter or sculptor working to create an emotional response?”  D.M.F.

“I don’t feel this is cheating at all. I feel that my photographs are works of art. The camera is the first step, the computer is the second.”  E.B.

“Definitely ART. I usually take many shots of the entire subject with the intent of cropping. It is sometimes not as easy as one would like to get close enough or in a certain spot to get a shot you are envisioning.”  J.N.

“Art by all means. It’s not cheating any more than any other post processing is.”  S.C.

“I learned early in my photographic pleasures, and understand more each day  -  we do this for what pleases us, not the crowd.”  D.K.

Thanks to all of you for all your thoughtful and articulate comments. I appreciate your taking the time to speak your mind, and for all the kind compliments.