I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately.  I’ve always been enamored by large prints which reveal amazing detail upon close examination.  There are some out there.  I’m guessing there have always been photographers who appreciated this kind of detail, using 4x5 or even 8x10 view cameras to capture a scene.  I would love to see some of Stephen Johnson’s work in person ... I can only imagine the amazing detail he is able to capture with that scanning back.  I’ve got to try one of those someday.

Of course, there’s another very valid point of view to be considered as well ... if the image is viewed from an “appropriate” distance, you don’t need any more detail than the eye can resolve.  As I read on one site, a billboard with nice detail will be just a bunch of golf ball size dots if you are a couple feet away.  I first heard what those distances/resolutions are while watching the “From Camera to Print” video tutorial from the Luminous Landscape.  Jeff Schewe talks about it, and credits Bruce Fraser with the idea. I then later found it while studying “Real World Image Sharpening” (studying is the key word .. you can’t just read this book.  But study it you should).

But something keeps telling me there’s a little more to it.  At least for me.

So before reading on, remember this is just how I feel, and I’m not saying anyone else is wrong.    But the fact is, I don’t think this appropriate viewing distance thing holds true for every image.  Certainly if you don’t have the detail it’s a moot discussion.  Walk up closer, nothing new to look at, so you stop and if it’s a great image, back up a little and continue to enjoy it.  But if it does, you might get even closer, examining smaller sections.  A great portrait with eyes that pull you in ... as you get closer you might notice some character in the skin that wasn’t apparent at the normal viewing distance.  A great landscape and some intricate detail or texture not visible suddenly appears as you get a little closer, pulling you in to examine it even more closely.  And I’m not talking photographers here ... I’m talking about something anyone may choose to do.

I guess that’s my point ... some images are even better because they pull you in, letting you lose yourself in incredible detail ... experiencing the image in a multitude of ways.  Mind you, I do not believe this is what makes an image great, and just having amazing detail in a boring or uninteresting image is very possible. The opposite is also true, great images may not have that detail in the print, in fact often there may not have even been that kind of detail to capture, and they’re still great.  So to me there is no absolute here ... both can be true and valid.

If you’ve read much on my site, it’s pretty obvious I have a lot of concern about the ability to capture detail.  My philosophy is to use the best camera/lens combinations to capture the greatest pixel/detail /low noise ratio that I can actually carry with me. Yes, I’m probably over the top and no, I don’t make my living by selling this kind of work.  I’m at a point in life that I can focus on things other than making money, (called retirement), so most of what I do is because it interests me.  This website is an example of that.  So are some of my images.

The digital era has changed photography forever.  So many people taking so many pictures, most of which are never viewed on anything other than a computer monitor.  I have no problem with pushing the limits of resolution of a capture.  I guess my problem is too often the “appropriate distance” is becoming an excuse now for just not capturing enough detail.  Let’s face it, you can uprez all you want, but you can’t recover the detail you didn’t capture.

Maybe I live in a fantasy world, but I enjoy it.  I love detail, and I love really big prints.  I have a lot of images that can’t handle being big, since I’ve been shooting digital since the Kodak 560. The image on this page is a good example of this ... a cropped portion of a Canon 1Ds capture.  Anything over 11x14 and the kayaker is just too soft. 

Now that I have the means to capture the detail, I find it really hard to ignore it. 

Call me crazy ...