Dementia, My dad.

Parkerman · Feb 4, 2008

So I was working with a new photoshop technique tonight, pulled a picture of my dad and used it on it.

Whats your opinion?

I know.. Its a depressing photo =\. But I feel to me that it gives off the right feeling of dementia to it or aka Alzheimer's.

Sideburns · Feb 4, 2008

it really does look like he doesn't know where he is. I think you pulled it off perfectly.

Renair · Feb 5, 2008

A good shot. Great tones....

Helen B · Feb 5, 2008

Sorry to say this, but I think that this superficial treatment diminishes the honesty and directness that usually makes this kind of photography so powerful. I'd like to see the original photo.

Best wishes,
Helen

kidchill · Feb 5, 2008

I like how the pic came out, what technique are you trying? If you don't mind....

skieur · Feb 5, 2008

Helen B said:
Sorry to say this, but I think that this superficial treatment diminishes the honesty and directness that usually makes this kind of photography so powerful. I'd like to see the original photo.

Best wishes,
Helen

OK, I'm curious. What superficial treatment? If you are talking about Photoshopping, the reality is that in this photo most viewers would not realize that anything was done at all. If the attitude is that photoshopping is somehow not honest, well, that is certainly not shared by experienced photographers who postprocess everything.

Aside from the distractions in the background, the photo is very good with great detail in the face which suggests age and a lot of life experiences as well as the eyes and look that do make the photo powerful and effective.

skieur

Parkerman · Feb 5, 2008

kidchill said:
I like how the pic came out, what technique are you trying? If you don't mind....

I was trying to mimic the look that Dave Hill achieves in is photos.

spiffybeth · Feb 5, 2008

im sorry your dad has dementia

i think the picture is quite nice and the glossy eyes are always sad to see. nicely captured!

Parkerman · Feb 5, 2008

spiffybeth said:
im sorry your dad has dementia

i think the picture is quite nice and the glossy eyes are always sad to see. nicely captured!

Ah its cool, not looking for pitty, just had to throw it in to give a better meaning to the photo.

The original is a lot warmer photo... The edit makes him look more aged and gives the overall sharper image.

zendianah · Feb 5, 2008

I love the technique and the photo! Nice job!

Helen B · Feb 5, 2008

skieur said:
OK, I'm curious. What superficial treatment? If you are talking about Photoshopping, the reality is that in this photo most viewers would not realize that anything was done at all. If the attitude is that photoshopping is somehow not honest, well, that is certainly not shared by experienced photographers who postprocess everything.
...

I don't want to hijack the thread, but please remember that I merely gave my opinion. I believe that this kind of subject comes over more powerfully when the drama doesn't come from a Photoshop technique but directly from the human in front of the camera. Dorothea Lange had Francis Bacon's words up on her wall: "The contemplation of things as they are, without error or confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention." I may be in the minority, but that doesn't make my opinion any less valid, surely? I find the idea that 'most viewers would not realize that anything was done at all' rather disheartening if it were true.

Regarding the attitude of other experienced photographers: well they are likely to know that this is a much debated topic among documentary photographers and photojournalists, with many nuances and much left to the individual's personal judgement and values. It is not a facile 'postprocessing or no postprocessing' dividing line.

In Parkerman's own words: "The edit makes him look more aged..."

I'll reiterate - I am only giving my opinion on how this photo could be improved, not making rules or criticizing Parkerman. He's free to do whatever he wants.

Best,
Helen

Shibby! · Feb 5, 2008

Remove some saturation and take a picture of coffee stained paper and blend it in. There you have it. Joey L photography =)

Kidding, The guy has more skills with PS then I can ever dream of.

I like what you did. My goal in the coming months is to improve my post processing and photo touch-up abilities. I like looking at what people have done and think of ways of replicating or doing things with my own flair.

jols · Feb 5, 2008

I find the idea that 'most viewers would not realize that anything was done at all' rather disheartening if it were true.

i totally disagree with this.

if i see a photo that has been ps and it is obvious i think they are good in ps.

if i see a pic like the above one and it is not obvious that ps has been used, i say he is a good photographer.

i know which id rather be

Parkerman · Feb 5, 2008

Helen B said:
I don't want to hijack the thread, but please remember that I merely gave my opinion. I believe that this kind of subject comes over more powerfully when the drama doesn't come from a Photoshop technique but directly from the human in front of the camera. Dorothea Lange had Francis Bacon's words up on her wall: "The contemplation of things as they are, without error or confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention." I may be in the minority, but that doesn't make my opinion any less valid, surely? I find the idea that 'most viewers would not realize that anything was done at all' rather disheartening if it were true.

Regarding the attitude of other experienced photographers: well they are likely to know that this is a much debated topic among documentary photographers and photojournalists, with many nuances and much left to the individual's personal judgement and values. It is not a facile 'postprocessing or no postprocessing' dividing line.

In Parkerman's own words: "The edit makes him look more aged..."

I'll reiterate - I am only giving my opinion on how this photo could be improved, not making rules or criticizing Parkerman. He's free to do whatever he wants.

Best,
Helen

Photobucket is down at the moment.. So I can't load up the original photo. But, I will defend some of what i said.

The reason the way I did it makes him look more aged because it brings out the wrinkles in his face. Mainly what i did was bring out more of the highlights on the image, drop the overall saturation of the image, and sharpen it up. There is slightly more to it than that.

The processing gave the image a little bit of a colder feel to it and just gave a bit more emphasis on the wrinkles on his face. I didnt add anything that wasn't there already, I just brought the existing ones out more.

I think thats all im going to say for now. I like the way it came out, I just need to post up the original when i can.