The subject of our contemplative photography group this month was "Really Fake Photos".  When I put the topic together for our group, I had no idea that it would cause me to reflect mightily upon my own photography preferences.

Here, the focus is on "fakeness".  Or is it something else, something deeper?

Personally, I have struggled in the past with using too much "photoshopping" to create an image.  Especially  when digital camera and easy Photoshop came available not only for the professional graphic artists, but for anyone.  I've gone to many photo workshops over the years and I have had many personal interpretations of what is "fakeness" and what is going beyond.

In the beginning, I was OK with straightening horizons, adding slight color corrections, and increasing sharpness.  I was dealing with a digital image and knew that softness could be an issue.  And I wanted to make sure that my horizons were straight.

I was also uncomfortable in the world of landscape photography of altering the composition in front of me.  I felt uncomfortable finding a red leaf and placing it strategically in the composition.  I believed, in the beginning, of finding delightful landscapes and taking it as much "as is" as possible.

But my view of the world changed over time.  I started experimenting with different filters.  Nik filters at first.  I loved the variety of Nik filters from Color Efex to Silver Efex to the HDR filter.  I had them all.  And I found them to be great at enhancing images, especially landscapes.

Then I stumbled upon Topaz products, took a few webinars, and started really altering my images.  Transforming them from landscapes to something more dramatic or dreamy or whatever creative expression that I might have.

I also changed the type of photographic workshop that I would attend.  I went from going a workshop expeditions where we would concentrate solely on landscape photography and macro photography to exploring the world of creative expression.  I did composites, dreamscapes, multiple exposures, etc all inspired by Freeman Patterson and Andre Gallant.  I started attended their workshops in 2008 and have been a frequent workshop attendee since that time.  This coupled with exploring different filters on my laptop and exploring the variety of different apps on my iPads.

I started doing work on personal mission/vision using creative expression.  I found that using creative expression while creating an artistic piece that depicted your vision of your personal future to be extremely rewarding to those who took my workshops.  Not only in the States but in Italy and South America.  I found that the creative part was extremely liberating and resulting in many, many personal insights.

So, I've changed my mind about "fakeness".  I don't really view it as being "fake" rather than being a means of creatively expressing yourself.

And, I discovered that I really enjoy both aspects of photography....depicting what I see before me as well as creating something that is an artistic expression of what I envision.