“RNP the Blog”

One of my all time favorite photographers is Dan Winters. He is one of the few photographers whose work is generally respected and well received by everyone in the industry. Basically he is one of the few photographers that just about everyone agrees is an amazing photographer.

I was surprised recently to see that his work for New York Magazine (specifically the 40th Anniversary edition) was generally not well received at least by the folks commenting on the work online. A slide show of the piece can be viewed here and be sure to check out the comments for some of the “backlash.” I think it is the first time I have ever scene the word awful and Dan Winters in the same sentence.

Just a couple of thoughts. I was lucky enough to do a workshop with Dan a couple years ago and don’t have a single negative thing to say about him as a person or a photographer. The man is doing what he was made to do and does it at a level that I aspire to and does it without any ego or pretense. I think highly of him so I am admitting my bias.

I have to say I was really surprised by all the negative comments. I was surprised that many people brought up the issue of retouching and how the people looked in the photographs. As if a photographer’s primary job is to make people look better than they really look. Certainly there is a time and place for that type of work but if you read the written introduction to the piece the entire work was created around the idea of “real” New York actors. The shots were obviously shot to present the actors as themselves, real people, real New Yorkers.

I would also think in this day and age of Photoshop and over retouching that people would respond in a positive matter to work that is real and not over produced and over retouched. To cut through all the glossy pretense and see real people lurking with their flaws and imperfections. Maybe it is just me that has reached that point…

I love work in this vain and remember Dan talking about his desire as a photographer to take interesting photographs. I think that explains the piece perfectly. Interesting. I know Dan would take that as a compliment.