Behind the Scenes: Edgar Martins Speaks

Behind the Scenes: Edgar Martins Speaks – Lens Blog – NYTimes.com:

Edgar Martins is a freelance photographer whose picture essay in The Times Magazine on July 5 and an accompanying slide show on NYTimes.com, “Ruins of the Second Gilded Age,” were found to include digital alterations — contrary to the stipulations of his contract and his stated, repeated assertions to the writer, editors and fact checker at the magazine. This week, Mr. Martins released an essay, “How Can I See What I See, Until I Know What I Know?” It constitutes his response to the controversy that has arisen.

He also annotated five photographs from the “Ruins” series, which encompasses more work than appeared in The Times. (Of those seen here, only the picture from Greenwich, Conn., was published.) In the quoted descriptions below, Mr. Martins discusses publicly — and more specifically than he has before — some methods he used and why he employed them.