Paul Stenquist replied to me as follows:
"Clone out the fence if it makes the photo better. Doesn't bother me in
the least. The objective is to make as nice a picture as possible."
In my opinion, it's a doctored image and is no longer a photograph. It's
a deception and a fake. I know it's done all the time but, again IMO,
it's not fair to deceive the viewer.
"Sometimes you can move the camera to get rid of the fence. Sometimes
you have to move the cursor. Doesn't matter. Why is the mere recording
of what happens to be in front of one sacred?"
It's sacred unless you're up front about what you did. Otherwise the
image is a fake and the person who is presenting it is a fraud.
"What should be sacred is keeping one's eye on the final objective: a
great photograph."
What should be sacred is truth. Show your doctored images by all means
but warn the viewer that they aren't real.
"From here on out Photography is going to involve a digital workflow
that will open the door to more creativity."
It opens the door to deceit unless the presenter is honest about what he
did.
"The work is ultimately judged on the basis of where you end up, not how
you got there. The image is the thing. The method is unimportant."
If you present the image as art then I agree with you. If you present it
as reality then you are being dishonest.
Tom Reese
