[Leica] PAW responses

[Carl Pultz <cpultz@earthlink.net>]

Thanks to several LUGers for the kind replies. Guess I am the "anti-Graham" 
usually. That desolate feeling despite the happy, sunny light was just what 
I hoped would come across in 1 and 3.

Have to admit that I wasn't really aware of the wire cutting across the sky 
in 2, Rob. But, those cables are ubiquitous, additional evidence of man's 
chaotic presence, and that is more the message intended in the composition 
than any idealized graphical effect. It would have been better if I was a 
foot taller.

It was hard to shoot into the light without a lens hood, using my left hand 
to shade the camera. (No finder flare on an M2!) I also got lucky with 4. 
The bank at the roadside was too high, so I held the camera over my head. 
That is the uncropped frame, as are the others.

There are scenes of pure, natural beauty around here, but that isn't what 
motivates me these days. The decay that Michael finds depressing I regard 
as beautiful in the way it expresses American's abuse of the land, waste of 
our money, contempt for our neighbors. And that wacky tradition of, "it's 
my land, I can do what I want, damn ya."

There are no people, as Steve points out. BD is right that I chose these 
shots as successful because they are expressive of people's presence 
without the distraction of having people there. That's what is intended, 
anyway. The first three are portraits, really, not landscapes, through the 
land is part of the meaning. Call them humanscapes.

Most of my shots are peopleless. I'm usually too embarrassed to approach a 
person or afraid of getting caught being a voyeur. Our thread months ago 
about the ethics of street shooting and confrontational, abusive practices 
expressed many of my opinions and hangups. Some photogs do develop a proper 
way of handling such things, and I'm working on that.

I'm unemployed this summer, a victim of the tech sector meltdown. It's been 
a great opportunity to practice photography as my main pursuit, shooting 
almost every day, reading and looking at other's work, thinking about what 
it means. It's a great luxury. Just glad I got the Leica before the axe fell!

Thanks, again, for helping me learn. Next week, I hope to have some people 
and animals to show.

Carl

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