Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/12/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Dec 26, 2004, at 11:55 PM, Slobodan Dimitrov wrote: > Odd, maybe! > I used to hear this story in my younger days, and it went like this: > Very many years back, the top management over at Kodak used to have a > summer vacation photo contest between themselves. The guy that would > win most of the time was still using his old brownie box camera. I > think it might of been a No.2, but don't quote on it. Every one else > was hell bent on the latest gadget. Of course, never spending enough > time to master them. > I carried that inspiring anecdote tucked in the back of my brain ever > since I've been able to buy my own Leica (and using not my parents). > Kind of like a whispering of levity, should hubris take hold. From yesterday's Raleigh, NC 'News and Observer' http://tinyurl.com/53ku7 which had a section on 'best of 2004' photos from the staff photographers: Five truths By G.D. GEARINO, Staff Writer 1- If you think the keys to good photos are found in things like f-stop settings, shutter speeds and lens selection -- in other words, the technical stuff -- then it's possible you also believe that good writing comes as a result of using a well-oiled typewriter or an expensive pen. 2- If you want to endear yourself to a photographer forever, learn to identify his or her visual quirks -- the things that make their photos distinctive -- and then make note of them in a conversation. He or she will eat out of your hand after that. 3- News photographers, when they're on assignment, spend more time than you'd think not taking photos. They make small talk, look around a little, think about things and fuss around with equipment that doesn't really need to be fussed with. When the person to be photographed finally becomes bored and stops paying attention to the camera -- then they shoot. 4- Being a news photographer is sometimes like being a baseball player coming up to bat in the World Series: You're paid to perform in the clutch. Life doesn't have a rewind button. Sometimes photojournalists only get one shot at something, so they'd better be good. 5- They're unsentimental about the work that goes into a photo. An ordinary picture that required a superhuman effort to get is still just ordinary. Photojournalists don't want extra credit for sweat. Only the photo counts. Staff writer G.D. Gearino can be reached at 829-4802 or dang@newsobserver.com. :) Craig Zeni Mayberry, NC