May 10, 2005

• Wow! How are these not photoshopped? The colors are unreal.
• Wow... Amazing photos that even put Photoshop to shame.
• When I saw the title in the sidebar I immediately thought of a different Parker...
• I'm sure they're altered afterward. That doesn't mean they aren't beautiful to begin with, but I'm thinking these are altered.
• Why would they have to be altered? He's using a large format camera, so the richness of color is not unusual.
• Good stuff. Pricey though. It has always been very common for photographers (amateurs and pros alike) to tweak their pictures, most frequently by adding a little more color or contrast than they had "as shot." Before Photoshop, the use of filters, careful film selection, and various printing tricks achieved the same end. (In fact Mr. Parker's site says he uses Velvia film. Velvia is very popular for this sort of stuff because the colors are more vivid than life.) It's not entirely unjustified. Film, photo paper, CRTs and inkjets don't have the same range of colors and contrast that the real world does. In many cases, a slightly exaggerated image will convey an impression of the scene more effectively than an unaltered one. When you can't have the right color, the next best thing may be gobs of nearly the right color. None of which is to say that these are certainly altered; different photographers have different feelings on how much tweaking is acceptable. When one is asking for $350 for an unframed 11x14, though, I'd imagine one would do whatever makes them move.
• Some of the most gorgeous phots I've ever seen in my life appeared decades ago, back in the fifties and early sixties, in an American magazine called Arizona Highways. Until you became acquainted with the southwest, it was easy to assume these pictures were all touched up -- but by no means all of them were. Often, just excellent photographers doing their magical thing.
• Gorgeous pictures. Pictures like that make me want to do everything possible to protect the environment, and to save cultural artifacts. There's such beauty to be found. I can't even take a decent shot of the rhododendron blooms in my front yard, so I marvel at the artistry.
• Not to sound like an echo, but those are awesome pictures.
• I agree with beeswacky, until you see the painted canyons of Utah, you don`t realise their beauty or their grandeur. For me the pic, Ruins and Roots(Cambodia), makes this a fantastic FPP.
• Wooooow. Striking. Thanks, Gyan!
• They're beautiful! Can't be sure of post-production work of course. But as a (very) amateur photographer I've managed to capture a few wonderful images from time to time with only a modest amount of colourization/contrasting after-the-fact. They are good enough to make posters/wallhangings. I'd never pay those exorbitant prices 'though.
• You did it again, Gyan! I don't care how they came about--looking at them makes my heart skip a beat. )
• Breathtakingly beautiful - made my day. Thank you Gyan.