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Re: [OM] An actual jpeg

Subject: Re: [OM] An actual jpeg
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:20:13 -0500
> And I need to admit as well that I'm one of that small minority with
> Moose who has a dislike for the vast majority of pictures showing
> grain... whether film grain or digital noise.  It's not at all part of
> the real world.  I've been used to low noise digital for too long already.

My problem with grainless images is that in areas of no detail there
isn't anything for the eye to focus on. The subject of the image (the
part that is in focus) ends up being separated from the remainder.
This then brings up the question of why even have a background as it
is in essence another entirely different image? Just do a "cutout".

But the idea is to drive the eye to look at the subject, not the
background. Right? Wrong. We want the eye to scan the image with a
desired eye-flow. WIthout eye-flow the brain quickly loses interest in
the photograph. The hyper-processed image might grab our attention,
but within three or four seconds, everything to be gleaned from the
image has been gleaned and we're ready to move on. What grain does is
slow the eye down and give it more points to look at which gives the
mind time to catch up with the eye and study the image for the true
message.

Jim's recent photos of the Redhead are good examples of this. The
cleaned image is disturbing to me. Not only because of the artifacts,
but because once I got the message that it was a woodpecker, I was
ready to move on. There was absolutely nothing left in the photo to
keep me going.

It's a rare person that stares at a blank, cloudless sky. We will look
at airplanes, birds and clouds in the sky, but we don't stare at the
blue sky for long because there is nothing there to hold our interest.
Why should our images also contain totally worthless, blank areas?
Give something in there for the eye to look at. If nothing else, it
will keep migraine-prone people from developing a headache from
eye-strain as the eyes focus and refocus.

Grain! It's a good thing, Martha.

AG Schnozz
-- 
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
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