Pixel Perfect

Pascal Dangin - premier retoucher

The art that I create is based on pixels, those tiny squares at the heart of all digital imaging. I joke with people that I have used Photoshop (software to adjust pixels) for so many years that I even dream in Photoshop.

Yesterday when the New Yorker arrived the article "Pixel Perfect" caught my eye. This is a fascinating article about Pascal Dangin who is one of the worlds experts at tweaking pixels.

...His success lies ... in his ability to marry technical prowess to an aesthetic sensibility: his clients are paying for his eye, and his mind, as much as for his hand. [he can] coax possibilities, palettes, and shadings out of pictures that even the person who shot them may not have imagined...

This makes me recall many conversations I have had with others who take nature pictures. They cringe at the idea of "manipulating the image". They talk like it is immoral to alter reality. But I am simply trying to create an image that is successful. I'm creating art, not simply documenting what is in front of the camera. I want an image that works, something that "sings". That may take hours in Photoshop doing the same kind of pixel adjustments used by Pascal Dangin.

To read the article: click here