{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-blogposting-js","path":"/blog/sharpness_photography","result":{"data":{"mdx":{"body":"function _extends() { _extends = Object.assign || function (target) { for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) { var source = arguments[i]; for (var key in source) { if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(source, key)) { target[key] = source[key]; } } } return target; }; return _extends.apply(this, arguments); }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutProperties(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded); var key, i; if (Object.getOwnPropertySymbols) { var sourceSymbolKeys = Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(source); for (i = 0; i < sourceSymbolKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceSymbolKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; if (!Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable.call(source, key)) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } } return target; }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = {}; var sourceKeys = Object.keys(source); var key, i; for (i = 0; i < sourceKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } return target; }\n\n/* @jsxRuntime classic */\n\n/* @jsx mdx */\nvar _frontmatter = {\n \"date\": \"2008-04-20T19:53:00.000Z\",\n \"updated\": \"2008-04-20T19:53:00.000Z\",\n \"type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n \"title\": \"Why do photographers obsess about sharpness?\",\n \"entityId\": \"04284530-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5\",\n \"revisionId\": \"04284531-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5\",\n \"revisionNum\": 1,\n \"tags\": {\n \"arts.meta.criticism\": [{\n \"@id\": \"sharpness\",\n \"objClass\": \"tag\"\n }]\n },\n \"sidebar\": \"I should also note there are always major exceptions to any pat argument.\\n\\nYou should realize that certain styles of photography and viewing settings REQUIRE a sharp set of equipment. If you want to make beautiful landscapes like Arizona Highways, you really need a 4x5.\\n\\nOn the other hand, artistic use of blur, like pinholes and zone plates and Holgas, can be very beautiful.\\n\\nEither way, have confidence that the folks who yammer on about how your camera doesn't matter are just as dumb as the people who shoot mostly test charts. Except that most of the folks who yammer on about either side of the argument are trying to get you to link to their blogs so as to get hits for various nefarious schemes.\\n\\nIncluding this site, of course. :)\",\n \"description\": \"Why do photographers obsess so much about sharpness? Why are there millions of threads online about which lens is sharper than the other? \",\n \"srcImages\": [\"arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile\"]\n};\nvar layoutProps = {\n _frontmatter: _frontmatter\n};\nvar MDXLayout = \"wrapper\";\nreturn function MDXContent(_ref) {\n var components = _ref.components,\n props = _objectWithoutProperties(_ref, [\"components\"]);\n\n return mdx(MDXLayout, _extends({}, layoutProps, props, {\n components: components,\n mdxType: \"MDXLayout\"\n }), mdx(\"a\", {\n href: \"/blog/sharpness_photography/pinhole_norby/\"\n }, mdx(props.imgs.Img1, {\n width: \"640px\"\n })), mdx(\"p\", null, \"I know that when my life is out of order in all sorts of ways, I\\u2019ll start obsessing about keeping my place clean. Because it\\u2019s something I can control. I can actually be quite a bastard when this happens. The same things draw people to eating disorders or fancy cars or any number of other things.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"So, if you are a photographer, you cannot necessarily control inspiration or weather or your subjects or anything else. You can\\u2019t even buy these things. All of the courses in the world aren\\u2019t going to show you how to think like you are supposed to. The greatest models in the world still look bad if you don\\u2019t get them from the right angle.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"So, photographers obsess over sharpness instead, because they can control that. They can analyze and understand the sharpness of an image and quantify it. And you can agree on things.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Now, after a while you do realize that some shots are going to really look better when they are sharp and printed huge, which really does require good hardware as well as a talented photographer behind the camera. I\\u2019ve taken plenty of shots where it\\u2019s technically very sharp and high resolution, but simply lacks any sense of emotional intensity.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"This isn\\u2019t just a harmless pursuit, mind you. If you get a beginner all turned around and obsessed with taking the most sharp pictures possible, they won\\u2019t learn about composition or rapport with subjects or timing or lighting. A photographer who\\u2019s shots aren\\u2019t quite sharp enough can eventually upgrade to sharper gear, but a photographer who sucks will continue to suck regardless of their gear or sharpness.\"));\n}\n;\nMDXContent.isMDXComponent = true;","id":"d05fb372-e1db-5474-81bd-8145afe1eabf","fields":{"sidebar":"

I should also note there are always major exceptions to any pat argument.

\n

You should realize that certain styles of photography and viewing settings REQUIRE a sharp set of equipment. If you want to make beautiful landscapes like Arizona Highways, you really need a 4x5.

\n

On the other hand, artistic use of blur, like pinholes and zone plates and Holgas, can be very beautiful.

\n

Either way, have confidence that the folks who yammer on about how your camera doesn't matter are just as dumb as the people who shoot mostly test charts. Except that most of the folks who yammer on about either side of the argument are trying to get you to link to their blogs so as to get hits for various nefarious schemes.

\n

Including this site, of course. :)

\n"},"frontmatter":{"date":"April 20, 2008","title":"Why do photographers obsess about sharpness?","type":"BlogPosting","description":"Why do photographers obsess so much about sharpness? Why are there millions of threads online about which lens is sharper than the other? ","sidebar":"I should also note there are always major exceptions to any pat argument.\n\nYou should realize that certain styles of photography and viewing settings REQUIRE a sharp set of equipment. If you want to make beautiful landscapes like Arizona Highways, you really need a 4x5.\n\nOn the other hand, artistic use of blur, like pinholes and zone plates and Holgas, can be very beautiful.\n\nEither way, have confidence that the folks who yammer on about how your camera doesn't matter are just as dumb as the people who shoot mostly test charts. Except that most of the folks who yammer on about either side of the argument are trying to get you to link to their blogs so as to get hits for various nefarious schemes.\n\nIncluding this site, of course. :)"},"srcImages":[{"id":"908ec5cd-78db-5028-9942-9267fbc7dc4b","key":"81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2","maxSize":1024,"size":307671,"srcSet":"/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_t.jpg 100w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_m.jpg 240w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_n.jpg 320w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_w.jpg 400w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2.jpg 500w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_z.jpg 640w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_c.jpg 800w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_b.jpg 1024w","srcPath":"arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile","width":1024,"height":992,"sqSrcSet":"/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_s.jpg 75w,\n/b2/arts.blog.sharpness_photography.pinhole_norby-05fa1f01-f940-11e6-8d52-ffa6c436feb5-infile_81dfce65e1a38c992628a67ac85f1dc2_q.jpg 150w"}],"excerpt":"I know that when my life is out of order in all sorts of ways, I'll start obsessing about keeping my place clean. Because it's something I can control. I can actually be quite a bastard when this happens. The same things draw people to eating disorders or fancy cars or any number of other things. So…"}},"pageContext":{"id":"d05fb372-e1db-5474-81bd-8145afe1eabf","parent":"/blog","name":"sharpness_photography","depth":2,"title":"Why do photographers obsess about sharpness?","type":"BlogPosting","date":"2008-04-20T19:53:00.000Z","hidden":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"url":"/"},{"name":"blog","url":"/blog"},{"name":"Why do photographers obsess about sharpness?","url":"/blog/sharpness_photography"}],"excerpt":"Why do photographers obsess so much about sharpness? Why are there millions of threads online about which lens is sharper than the other? ","updated":"2008-04-20T19:53:00.000Z"}},"staticQueryHashes":["1062461325","1937434333","2193146810","2240196328","3649515864","815954065"]}