[Leica] Ted's wisdom...

[kcassidy at asc.upenn.edu (Kyle Cassidy)]

>Ask your self "what woud Gene Richards have done different or better?"
Not one damn thing because 
>what we see in this series is incredible photojournalism under
conditions 99.9% of the people on this site 
>wouldn't even begin to think of doing, let alone as well.

I think Ted, once again, is shining the bright light of wisdom down on
us. What's the one thing that keeps me from being a better photographer?
It's not talent, or technical expertise, or equipment, it's FEAR.
Whether it's fear of criticism from our peers, fear of approching a
subject, fear of what people on the subway will think when you pull out
a camera, fear of rejection from an editor -- fear is the one thing
that's keeping most of us from reaching our photographic potential. B.D.
succeeds here not because he focuses better than the rest of us, or he
knows more about light, but because as ted points out, he has
photographed where 99.9% of people on this list wouldn't even begin to
think of doing. So three cheers to b.d., and three more to ted for
pointing it out. I wouldn't photograph people on a subway, not because
I'm afraid of getting beaten up, but because I'm afraid of violating
some social rule that's never been completely articulated.

Next time I find myself nervous about talking to someone, I'll think of
this.