AIC: From Darkroom to Digital: Photographic Variations

On a recent trip to Chicago (you can see the pictures here), I went to the Art Institute of Chicago and saw one of their photography exhibits. Buried in the basement and now over, From Darkroom to Digital: Photographic Variations was an eye-opening exhibit for me. The exhibit is premised on a distinction Ansel Adams made between the print and the negative. Adams likened the differences to that between a musical score and its performance.

I have never even been in a dark room, but the analogy holds for digital dark rooms (i.e. the computer). This analogy is especially relevant for me. Being legally blind, I cannot properly frame pictures in either the viewfinder or the teeny screens that come on digital cameras. So what little worth my photos have has to be torn out of the initial images that I take. These initial images are often misaligned, crooked and generally delete button worthy. I find the fun comes from playing with the images until something worthwhile appears.