There’s nothing like looking at the best images in a competition for inspiration and to get an understanding of current judging fashions.
The results of the 2018 Focus awards have been published, and in looking at the Photographer of the Year section, it seems that many images have been manipulated in a creative way, that moves them into the fine art genre. The photographic basics of great light and colour and a clearly articulated subject presented with simplicity still apply, but there are two more factors; technical excellence and creative interpretation.
Perhaps the latter is controversial for those who claim a traditional approach to photography. ‘Interpretation’ harks back to Pictorialism which was the dominant photographic style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in which images were often softened and manipulated to make them appear more painterly and more readily acceptable to the arts community of the time. But then around 1930 the f/64 Group, lead by Ansel Adams, put an emphatic end to that approach with their Modernist tradition that accepts the photographic image for what it is – a sharp, detailed and contrasty black and white rendition of a subject caught in a moment in time. Manipulation was confined to ensuring that those qualities were shown to best advantage. Most of the images we see today are in colour but are still in that mould. But with the help of powerful editing software, photographers are exploring the possibility of "making" an image, not with the motivation of the Pictorialists, but in a contemporary, interpretive way.
What does that Look like? In art, there are no limits, the possibilities are endless, but you don’t have to go beyond the six images of Photographer Of The Year, Timothy Moon, in the 2018 Focus Awards. (See link above). The images follow the values of the f/64 group, but subtle editing has imbued them with an emotive content that transcends technical excellence. This is what Les Walking was talking about in his article discussed in the Understanding Pictures post.