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For some reason there are photographers who believe that photographs and the real world have more than a passing relationship to each other. When they see a photograph that has been in some visible wayaltered,modifiedormanipulatedthey cry "foul" — taking on the mantle of protectors of the sanctity of the inviolate image.

Sorry folks, but there ain't no such thing as a "real" photograph. Every photographic image that you have ever seen is but a pale reflection of reality, and a distorted one at that. Let's see what I mean by first looking at the ways in which a simple and straightforward photograph isabstractedfrom reality.

Cloud Ridges, Death Valley National Park — May, 2003Canon 1Ds with 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ ISO 100

Down The Rabbit HoleReality:Without getting too philosophical about it, let's define this as our direct experience of the outside world. All five senses are involved, not just our sense of sight. As well as seeing the sky we feel...

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Michael Reichmann
Michael Reichmann
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Michael Reichmann is the founder of the Luminous Landscape. Michael passed away in May 2016. Since its inception in 1999 LuLa has become the world's largest site devoted to the art, craft, and technology of photography. Each month more than one million people from every country on the globe visit LuLa.
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