Thanks for your comments in return. They are not unlike ones I sometimes get from others. It would seem, from what you say, that you did not look at any other images of mine in my pbase galleries. You can make the picture bigger by clicking on "large" or "Original" to fill your screen, if you think what you saw was tooo small. I went back and looked at the image of the fence again (I just had it printed as well on canvas for a wedding gift). But looking at it on the screen, you can see where parts of the fence that are not in the sunset light are in fact GRAY ! And the parts in the sunlight are indeed orange. Parts of the sand are indeed blue, or a bluish green, where there is shadow and this coloring comes from the sky's reflection. Also,if you look closely, there are other parts of the sand that are GRAY/TAN.
If you feel that it is the job of the photographer to render an image exactly as the image might appear to the camera (expecially a RAW file) with the accuracy of a crime photographer who records an accident scene -then you may have a point about some of the colors. However, I was there, and first recorded the scene and then as I always do, later rendered the image "from the emulsion of my mind" - which is more emotional and artistic than perhaps factually accurate. As a result, I ended up with exactly the image I wanted - and for me, this is the only way to do what I do (IMHO)
I am reminded of paintings of Frank Vining Smith, and his works depicting 4 masted ships sailing at sea. His renditions of the water were very beautiful. If you looked closely at the brush strokes you could see that he used yellow and green and maroon and orange and red and white all to render the image of the water and waves as he saw it. Then there is my dear cousin, who feels it is wrong of me to remove a beer can from a sunset beach scene.
In the end, I am pleased that my work sells quite well and I have many repeat customers. On the other hand, if you are recording mid-day images as a record of a vacation - then that is a different goal, and just as legit a goal for your photography as well.
Fred Parsons - parsonsprints.com
