it's the little things

chuasam · Dec 21, 2016

"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" - Henri Cartier-Bresson

DanOstergren · Dec 21, 2016

fmw said:
I think everybody is right. There is no right or wrong. All that matters is making an interesting image. But I don't see anything wrong with "tack sharp" images.

No one is saying theres something wrong with tack sharp images. The dialogue is about those who say that if it's not tack sharp it's garbage.

Gary A. · Dec 21, 2016

I used to think that people who took unsharp photos used Henri's remark as a shield to cover their lack of skill. But now I realize that it is harder to have a successful unsharp image, than it is to have a successful sharp image.

Derrel · Dec 21, 2016

chuasam said:
"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Gary A. said:
I used to think that people who took unsharp photos used Henri's remark as a shield to cover their lack of skill. But now I realize that it is harder to have a successful unsharp image, than it is to have a successful sharp image.

Well, when he said that, even the 6 x 6 cm 120 rollfilm (Rolleiflex TLR) format was considered to be a "miniature" camera format, and many working photogs were still shooting daily on 4x5 sheet film cameras; HCB's old 35mm B&W film was not very good, and a 35mm was considered either minature or ultra-miniature by the cognoscenti.

I think Henri was actually defending his teeny-tiny 24x36mm Leica gear and the 50mm lens he used for 99 percent of all of his photos, against press camera guys shooting BIG-negatiuve cameras that yielded SHARP images, with huge cropping potential. And also, it's a major diss at the f/64 Group and people like Edward Weston and Ansel Adams, and their utter insistence on "straight photography" and incredible DOF and sharpness.