--- Keith Whaley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Well, I heartily dispute that definition of > "cropping." > > I've always regarded the virgin image captured by > your camera as the "what > is" image. Whatever steps you take to arrive at that > image, it is at 100% of > whatever was capable of being recorded, given oyour > equipment. > Cropping on he other hand, means to reduce that > image content by whatever > means you wish, to something that reduces the "total > information" (number of > pixels, grains, square inches of image, whatever) > that's contained by the > original image. > > There IS no such thing as "cropping in the > viewfinder." That's called framing. > Cropping, used as a verb in the photographic sense, > is an unambigous word. > It means to cut from something. Until you have that > 'something' there's > nothing to 'cut.' > > I selectively frame by zooming, walking toward or > back from the subject, > tilting the camera, etc. Once I see in the > viewfinder what it is I wish to > record, I press the shutter. > I got to that point by framing, not by cropping. > > I may crop later on, but I can't do that until I > have an image to work on. > > Thank you for your time! <g> >
You're welcome Keith. It's nice to see civility and good manners on The List for a change! <vbg> Now, on to the issue at hand. I was kind of pulling Tom's chain when I took issue with his "cropping in the viewfinder" comment, only because I knew it'd get a rise out of him. I tend to agree with you, Keith. Cropping is taking away from an existing negative or image. It makes the original product smaller, so by definition it lessens resolution (even if it's imperceptable) - not that resolution means squat to me... <vbg> I think that it is more accurate to call "cropping in the viewfinder" framing, or as I prefer to refer to it, "composing". Framing is, after all, what carpenters do when putting up a house. OTOH, the term "cropping in the viewfinder" has become rather pervasive, and seems to be widely used these days. I don't have a real problem when I hear it used, nor do I take offense - unless it's from Greywolf, but then I take offense from just about anything he says to me! <LOL> cheers, frank ===== "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" ******** "Of course it's all luck" -- Henri Cartier-Bresson ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
