Photography: A Dance of Art and Technology, edited by Stacey Hartmann

Fine art photography is a complicated dance of artistic expression and technology. In the dance, one partner is the photographer’s artistic eye. The other is the photographer’s mastery of technological tools.

Together, working as graceful partners, they can produce photographs that rise above the level of “pretty pictures” to become artistic expressions conveying emotion.

It is said that art is eternal, and truly, it is. But in the pursuit of art, it would be a missed opportunity to not embrace the fine tools offered by modern technology, as they are tools that allow the photographer to further enrich the experience of the viewer of the photograph.

The artistic eye, the composition, the light and colors and the emotion translated in the photo are still what make it a work of art. But to achieve the best quality possible, photographers must master technology.

In that regard, photographic technology is to a photographer what a paintbrush is to a painter or a typewriter is to a writer. It is a tool that should make it possible to achieve a higher quality of work. Still, it is just that: a tool. And while tools are needed in the construction of most anything, they are assistants along the journey and do not represent the destination or artistic result.

A camera, being film or digital, is never able to capture the reality and the beauty of what the eye sees. Try to shoot a bright sky landscape, and you will either have a white sky or a black foreground. That is because the camera, no matter how expensive, will not capture all the nuances absorbed by the naked eye. This is where mastery of technology helps photographers.

By pre-processing, using filters or artificial flashs, and post-processing, in the dark room or with digital computer software, the photographer is able to adjust colors, contrast and brightness so that the end result looks more like what his eye really saw and what inspired his art in the first place.

And isn’t this what art is all about? To convey what is captured in the mind’s eye?

Nadim Yared’s background in engineering continues to be a valuable asset to his journey in photography. It allows his photography to evolve naturally using the latest technology. Because Yared is a firm believer in technological advances, he is always willing to embrace new tools, knowing they will open up new possibilities and give him more control over his work.

Because he understands technology, Yared is a firm believer in taking full advantage of what it offers to the field of photography. For this reason, he welcomes and embraces new tools because they open up new possibilities and give him more control over his artwork.

The latest technologies allow Yared to maximize the potential of his photography from the initial click to the final print. To ensure the final work is as close as possible to what originally inspired him, Yared processes and prints his photos himself.

All technological tools aside, the artistic eye is and always will be the choreographer in the dance that is fine art photography.

And it is Yared’s artistic eye that guides him toward his goal of bringing back to you the wonders of the world.

Nayla Yared

nayla@Album-Of-Art.com