This or That – The Photographer’s Challenge

Many wildlife photographers love pure images with minimal editing right out of the camera.  Buddy Eleazer, one of our Magnum Excursion leaders does also.

Many photographers these days see the ability to create very dynamic shots by using editing tools by software makes such as Topaz Labs, Nik, Photomatics and Redfield.  Some are taking even further by adding textured layers and borders to the images.  Buddy Eleazer, one of the Magnum Excursion leaders does also.

Are the two statements regarding Mr. Eleazer in conflict?  No, not really.  On some images, the photo needs no changes other than a simple crop or Photoshop adjustment layers using curves.  Alternatively, some shots, due to unfavorable lighting conditions or distracting background elements need more to create the desired impact.  Going a bit further, some images work well ‘straight’ as well as with strong adjustments.

Buddy has chosen to play with both styles and leave the decisions to you, the reader in his latest book “This or That – The Photographer’s Challenge”.  The book is a large format 118 page book laid out in ‘landscape’ orientation.  The book was created with Blurb’s 140 pound Pro-line Pearl paper, so image quality is great with pages that have a nice luster feel.  We highly recommend that hardbound ‘book version.  The hardcover, dust-jacketed version sells for $95.95.  If you’re on a tight budget, the deal of the century would be to download the eBook version for a limited time for only $7.99.

On the left side of each set of pages, the original image with basic editing is presented.  On the right page is a significantly processed version of the same image.  The author feels that sometimes the basic edited version is superior and on other images the post processing works best, but these opinions are not noted.  Buddy wants you, the reader to decide which you like better ‘this’ or ‘that’.

With each image, Mr. Eleazer has noted the basic tools used to process the right hand image.  The book does not get into step by step adjustments, but gives guidance in case the viewer wishes to create similar styles.

The book provocative, yet full of fantastic images captured on prior MagnumExcursion workshops.  It’s a great way to see  great wildlife photography, pick up some editing tips and get a feel for the types of images you can capture on a Magnum Excursion Southern Africa Workshop.  You can view the first 35 pages of the book at the Blurb.com website … but we think you’ll want the whole book!