How is a Digital Image Like a Scupture?

South Orange Station; Color enhanced through post-processing.

It is often said that within a virgin block of stone is a sculpture waiting to emerge; the artist’s challenge is therefore to remove the part of the stone that is not the sculpture.


So it is with digital photography. More often than not, within even a mediocre photo lies a work of art waiting to be revealed through the “art” of post-processing. The original image had subtle indications of a complementary color scheme caused by the UV of the early evening light juxtaposed against the yellow-green of sodium vapor street lamps. Two different temperature light sources, brought together in one image, and worth exploring. Back in the day, this would most likely be achieved in the printing process by adjust the color head in the enlarger. But in digital post-processing, we can access the colors within the image directly, even before we pull a single print.