Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/09/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]- -----Original Message----- From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Anthony Atkielski Sent: Sunday, September 19, 1999 8:41 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Re: [Leica] What I did today From: Robert McElwee <romcelwee@mindspring.com> Sent: Sunday, September 19, 1999 20:42 Subject: Re: [Leica] What I did today > I make a practice to ask if I may photograph a person, > have NEVER been turned down, people usually say "thank > you" ... >Never? Does this include subjects like women and >children? Interesting point... About a year ago I posted something regarding this, but it's worth repeating... While on assignment in Somalia in early 1993 I was spending most of my time with two international medical aid organizations. While at a clinic run by one, I asked if the Somalis I was shooting, who didn't speak English, minded being photographed....Oh heavens no, said the French nurses and docs, take photos of what ever you want. So I did... Later, at a refugee camp, I was warned NOT to take photos of the women, because, as Muslims, they objected violently to being photographed. Now, the women I photographed at the clinic were also Muslims - and not members of some other sect - but they were beholden to the docs who were telling me that there was no objection to photographing..... Obviously, I was there, in the middle of a famine and civil war, as a journalist, which is a far different thing from grabbing some personal shots on the street on a Sunday, but the lesson is worth considering none the less....