McMurry Photoshop Scandal...Thoughts?

7 years 10 months ago #484636 by Tyler Otis
I've seen Steve McMurry's work over the years and really enjoy it. But it seems he's in the midst of a scandal because he's "overused" Photoshop:

petapixel.com/2016/05/26/photoshopped-ph...eve-mccurry-scandal/

Now, I've just started in photography so I'm sure I'm missing something here, but I guess I'm confused about why he's in such hot water. Isn't the point of Photoshop to make manipulations/corrections that you weren't able to get in camera? Or is this a situation where he's a pro and is held to a higher standard than a schmuck like me?


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7 years 10 months ago #484724 by Sarah Ramirez
From my point of view, he's a photojournalist and should strive to present images that have journalistic truth, as the article alludes to. Altering the images in Photoshop is counter to that, which is why so many people are up in arms about it.


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7 years 10 months ago #485320 by Glenn Gee
Sarah hit the nail on the head. He's supposed to represent things as they really are, not as what he wants them to be.


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7 years 10 months ago #485644 by China White
:goodpost:


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7 years 10 months ago #485745 by Joves
Sarah is right.
There is a big difference between photojournalism, and just shooting for enjoyment. If it is for a story then the only thing that should be adjusted is to correct brightness, levels, and sharpness anything past that become manipulation. If I remember correctly Reuters or someone manipulated some war scene to add drama to it, and got caught. One is telling the truth, and the other is plain lying.


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7 years 9 months ago #486516 by bojojo
Believe it or not, the scandal McCurry is a part of is part of a debate that's been going on since the beginning of the medium. In college, I remember my professor giving a lecture about Alexander Gardener, a Civil War photographer that moved around bodies to create more dynamic images. If you're interested in the story or the logic behind people's outrage, I found a rather interesting article regarding the affair.

library.mtsu.edu/tps/Alexander_Gardners_...aphs_of_the_Dead.pdf


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