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Response to Martha, in between brain surgeries

from Josh Wand (josh@joshwand.com)

Scanned on a $45 budget flatbed. Some of the unsharp ones are due to the fact that I was using my hand as a shutter. The shutter problem is solved (this one I used a Packard), and eventually I'll get the negs scanned commercially. Also, take into account the DOF of a 300mm lens on 4x5.

With regard to captions-- some of the feedback I get is that my images don't always stand on their own-- that more information is needed. I partially disagree about images working without captions; I can think of numerous examples where the caption absolutely makes the picture (some of Avedon's American West series images come to mine).

I think that it's not just the image that speaks to the viewer, but often the entire presentation: is it large or small, in what context is the image presented (a crowded gallery or your bedroom computer screen), what images immediately precede and follow it, the frame/mat, any previous information you have about the photographer, and, indeed, the caption-- all these factor into how much and what kind of impact a photograph can have. That said, the image *is* the most important part of the equation, but it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Do you think the image above would have had the same impact had the caption not accompanied it? This is an honest question, not a rhetorical one.

(posted 8560 days ago)

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