Sharp Isn't The Point

The more I wade into the deep end of the digital photo pool and the ping-pong pixel rhetoric that consumes folks, I'm mystified by one simple truth about photography - sharp isn't the point - communication is. It reminds me of a conference I attended twenty years ago. The speaker, a very savvy photo agency director/owner launched this question from the podium: "What business are you in?" The stock photo business was under siege from the upstart digital (royalty free) wave that had yet to spawn the tsunamis Getty and Corbis.

The answer - you and your creators (photographers) are in the Communication Business.

The Haiti earthquake disaster, remember that? Doing some global water research I ran across the above image by Emilo for AP appeared on WorldNews.com in a story about cholera in Haiti - is it razor sharp? Who cares. It's sharp enough where it needs to be. Sharp enough, that's the point. What it really does it does exceedingly well. It does all that it is suppose to do - rip your heart out. It reeks of pain and suffering - sharply - and that's all that matters.