Im not asking if it can be done (I know it is against the rules), Im just asking if you think it should be allowed. Look at it this way: dodging and burning can be done in the simplest darkroom with the simplest of tools. That sounds pretty basic to me and I feel it should be allowed in basic editing. Opinions?
You may create a 'background' and do anything you please to that background prior to making the final photograph of your 'subject'. So you take two photos, one of just the background and process the crap out of that image, print it as large as as possible or display it on a large monitor and place your subject in front of it for the final photo. Easily qualifies as 'basic editing' as demonstrated by the innovative Blue Ribbon winner in the Surrealism Challenge.
You may create a 'background' and do anything you please to that background prior to making the final photograph of your 'subject'.
Umm.... you can also put makeup on your model or spray varnish on food before shooting. What does that have to do with the question?
You're right, Wes- dodging and burning does seem pretty basic. I suppose it's not allowed because Basic Editing (for DPC purposes) is defined as no spot editing of any kind. That makes it a little easier for the SC to handle validation requests objectively. Some would also argue that even in the darkroom, Dodging and Burning is an advanced technique.
You may create a 'background' and do anything you please to that background prior to making the final photograph of your 'subject'.
Umm.... you can also put makeup on your model or spray varnish on food before shooting. What does that have to do with the question?
Everything. The point is that as far as the background is concerned, there are no rules and Wes may dodge and burn to heart's content so long as that background is the background for his final exposure.
Wes' question was simply to find out what others thought about appending the Basic Editing to allow Dodging and Burning- a very basic darkroom procedure. It's not about going around the rules, and what you do before the capture is completely irrelevant.
Wes' question was simply to find out what others thought about appending the Basic Editing to allow Dodging and Burning- a very basic darkroom procedure. It's not about going around the rules, and what you do before the capture is completely irrelevant.
And now Wes has some idea of how others feel on this subject. Whether or not dodging and burning is a 'basic' darkroom procedure or an advanced one is a matter of opinion. Otherwise we are in complete agreement.
I suspect it's entirely a practical question. While on the surface it might seem very "basic" to allow dodging and burning, let's look a little further: the bottom line in the Basic Editing ruleset is that no selections may be made. Dodging and burning localized areas blurs that distinction.
Let's say I have an eyeball that needs some work in an image — here's how I'd go about it: first I'd zoom in on the eyeball, then I'd draw a selection around the eyeball to isolate it, then I'd use whatever tools I need to on the selected area. Clean and simple. I can do the same thing without selecting, of course, but I have to be much more careful, so the selection is a no-brainer.
Or let's say I want to work on the sky but I don't want to work on the treeline; so I make a selection of the sky and use my tools on that, don't have to worry about dragging the tool over the treetops by accident. I can DO it without the selection, but it's a silly way to work.
From an enforcement POV, it's a hell of a lot simpler to just forbid any sort of local control whatsoever. I presume this is why the rule reads the way it does.
