HCB and Cropping

J

jwcat

Well-known
Local time
1:11 AM
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
254
I picked up a book of some of his photos the other day. After some research I found out he never cropped anything.

My question; Did he have a perfect level built in his head or just avoid horizons most of the time? I notice that the shots I have seen would not have been improved by cropping, but did he throw away valid pictures because they were not perfectly cropped?

This is a valid question from someone that crops post shooting a lot.
 
jwcat said:
I picked up a book of some of his photos the other day. After some research I found out he never cropped anything.

My question; Did he have a perfect level built in his head or just avoid horizons most of the time? I notice that the shots I have seen would not have been improved by cropping, but did he throw away valid pictures because they were not perfectly cropped?

This is a valid question from someone that crops post shooting a lot.
Click to expand...

He has cropped. Also he used other lenses besides 50, too.
If you look at some of his photos, they have weird aspect ratio. You can achieve it by cropping.
 
Further research would have revealed that the myths of his never cropping and never using other lenses are, indeed, myths.

Cheers,

R.
 
I didn't know it until last night that Elliott Erwitt's focal length was between 50mm and 90mm... interesting finds! and here a lot of "street photographers" say shoot wide 28mm etc... which was probably brought out from the NYC street photographers such as Winogrand.
 
Most of his shots that I've seen are incredibly well composed, even out to the very edges of the frame, but show no signs of cropping. At least the shots that I like. I often wondered how he did it w/ a rangefinder camera. It would make more sense if he had cropped them, but exactly cropping a tiny 35mm neg is a very difficult thing to do. Not a lot to work w/ there, and no PS in those days.He had someone do his printing for him in France anyway, but he did his own developing, often in hotel rooms.

He was an accomplished painter and had an excellent eye for composition, so I would go w/ what he always said, that he did not crop his work. One way or the other, his photos are unique in all of photography. Legendary guy no matter how you look at it.
 
I spent many hours with the “scrapbook” photos last year, and I believe that the vast majority of those were cropped; but that doesn’t make him a bad person.
 
Benjamin said:
He took the shot, vertically, through a fence you know, the one you can see at the far end of the photograph. I'm not convinced that it was a crop..

Get it right the first time.
Click to expand...


It was cropped. Yes he took it thru a fence. But in the orig neg you can see the edges of the fence.
 
The only 2 images i know of where HE cropped the image (as opposed to a magazine or publication) is the cardinal pacheli image, and the famous behind gar st. lazare.

Cropping is a personal thing, he believed that cropping, including and excluding elements should be made at the time of capture, he was also reluctant to change his aspect ratio, as he knew the 35mm negative format holds a very close ratio to that of the golden ratio.

I hate cropping my work, street work to me has to be completed once the shutter is pushed, but i work at a newspaper, and i would never get published if i didn't let my editor crop my work.
 
given the lack of accuracy of the M8 framelines, I have no problem with a little cropping. If you end up cropping all the time (which obviously HCB did not do), the problem is probably more with your shooting technique and composition skills.
 
Well, HCB might not have cropped it himself, but he also did not print his photographs... so his printer did the printing and cropping... essentially HE did not crop. ;-)

His claim of cropping was the jumping man, but he said he already knew the original intent and framing but is unable to achieve it because of the fence... so cropping was needed. The original intention/composition was already determined before the photo was taken but was hindered due to technical issues.
 
jwcat said:
I picked up a book of some of his photos the other day. After some research I found out he never cropped anything.

My question; Did he have a perfect level built in his head or just avoid horizons most of the time? I notice that the shots I have seen would not have been improved by cropping, but did he throw away valid pictures because they were not perfectly cropped?

This is a valid question from someone that crops post shooting a lot.
Click to expand...

Light cropping is just as important when processing as framing when shooting, especially with that was the vision while shooting but timing and lack of zoom meant there was no other choice but to shoot without perfect framing.
 
HCB said that you will not turn a boring photo into an interesting one by cropping. Properly compose at the moment of taking it - is the the key he claimed. RF frame lines are not exact and sometimes unexpected stuff get included, I would totally crop it if it ruins the picture, but it actually never happen to me so far...
 
I crop on occasion but I prefer not to. Editors and art directors do a lot of cropping to fit the available space in a layout and sometimes it's a good idea to give them something shot "loose" so they can do just that. I like the 1x1.5 aspect ratio of the 35mm negative and have a pretty good idea of what'll be in the picture with various lenses. I no longer bother taking a Leicaflex SL with a 180. (I sold the rig.) Now I shoot with a 135 and frame for 180, cropping when I print.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom