a digital photo with fake fading
Toronto. Digital technology brought with it many amazing changes to the photo industry. One of which is the plethora of software tools available today to improve and resurrect old photographs – along with an ethical issue.
My long time contributor and good friend, George Dunbar, asked a very good question, “Should archived images from online sources ever be subject to alteration?”
After some thought and discussion, we agreed that improvements like increased contrast and sharper focus could help one gain more information from the photograph, BUT not if the posted photo was intended to be for sale or was archived with the intent to show the impact of time. A photo for sale must be shown ‘as is’ lest the prospective buyer be fooled; while archiving demands some consistency and standards.
Click on the small icon at left to see a before and after adjustment of a faded print archived by the University of Guelph. Our thanks goes to George for his sharing of the photos and link.
Note: The post title is a riff on a line from the old Pete Seeger song, “Who Killed Norma Jean” about the death of Marilyn Monroe. Seeger’s song is reminiscent of a much older nursery rhyme, “Who killed Cock Robin” that is itself based on an even earlier rhyme.
