Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/04/15

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Subject: [Leica] WAS : Barcelona in color
From: lluisripollquerol at gmail.com (Lluis Ripoll)
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:22:19 +0200
References: <BANLkTimw-ABFB5jc=_VAa2FJMt8Y7SHCVw@mail.gmail.com> <8B41A546BA954F64BADF8B83BDCC7733@syneticfeba505> <610505AD-EF4C-4779-8EF3-9FE0ECEE683D@frozenlight.eu>

Nathan,

I remember as well this one, is a great and superb shot, on the other  
hand I have it in your book

cheers
Lluis


El 15/04/2011, a las 9:02, Nathan Wajsman escribi?:

> Hi Ted,
>
> I wonder if you are thinking about this one, from Seville in 2003 or  
> 2004?
>
> http://www.frozenlight.eu/fotosevilla/night/content/L2004_14_12_large.html
>
> That was one of my most-commented-upon pictures ever.
>
> Cheers,
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>
> YNWA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 15, 2011, at 8:43 AM, <tedgrant at shaw.ca> <tedgrant at shaw.ca>  
> wrote:
>
>> Lawrence Zeitlin offered
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Barcelona in color
>>
>>
>>> Nathan,
>>> Not trolling at all. I was just curious. Many of the pictures that  
>>> you post
>>> in and around Alicante are about people too, yet you usually shoot  
>>> in color.<<<,
>>
>>
>> Hi Larry,
>> That may be true, however some of Nathan's more spectacular  
>> photographs over the years have been people in B&W! There is one I  
>> recall from several years ago at night with a few people on the  
>> street. I believe Madrid? Barcelona? Or some other location prior  
>> to his moving to Alicante? It was most eye catching simply because  
>> it was in  B&W!
>>
>>> I reject Dr. Ted's pat aphorism that when you photograph people in  
>>> color,
>>> you photograph their clothes but when you shoot B&W you photograph  
>>> their
>>> soul. <<<
>>
>> Be my guest and reject all you like my friend. :-) However let me  
>> give an example.:-) True incident in the UK several years ago.
>>
>> Two photographers with a portrait studio decided they'd only shoot  
>> B&W portraits. They completely renovated the studio front windows,  
>> re-opening as a B&W portraits only! In the front exhibit space they  
>> placed beautiful B&W portrait prints and advertised they only did  
>> their portraits in B&W.
>>
>> Clients who insisted on colour were offered B&W or the doorway! One  
>> would think them a bit looney given this was the beginning of a new  
>> operation and one would surely want every dollar possible.
>>
>> However? Given it being a very fine portrait studio originally with  
>> a great number of clients prior to the change over. Within the  
>> first three months they tripled the gross income shooting only B&W!  
>> Whatever it is about B&W drew a wonderful new clientele.
>>
>> Actually the difference is the "content" creates which is greater  
>> in many cases.
>>
>> Disasters generally look worse in B&W simply because the content is  
>> usually violent and death! Of course not in every case. What is the  
>> B&W photograph that comes to mind from Vietnam? I have two without  
>> question. Eddie Adams photo of the police officer shooting the VC  
>> through the head and the young girl running away from the Napalm  
>> with her clothes and body burnt. Vivid B&W both! And colour  
>> wouldn't have added anything!
>>
>>>> Imagine Matthew Brady's problem trying to photograph the US Civil  
>>>> war in color using the wet collodion process.<<
>>
>> I doubt they'd be any better! As most are "classic content" images  
>> to start with, so I doubt colour would've improved them at all.   
>> Regardless of the technical situation. Along those lines if we  
>> compare the dramatic B&W movies of the past, quite often these days  
>> we see with "colour added." Quite frankly they look quite horrid as  
>> the colour adds absolutely nothing, but almost destroys the  
>> craftsmanship of the lighting people and camera angles .
>>
>> Colour can in many cases, be a complete distraction from the  
>> content. As I understand photography, it's the content that is the  
>> most important part of the photograph.  That is unless one is  
>> dabbling strictly in colour for colour sake.
>>
>> So Larry mon ami it's basically "to each his own." I shoot colour  
>> when the assignment is to be shot in colour and B&W when the  
>> assignment is for B&W re-production. I would offer, of the 100,000  
>> images in the National Gallery of Canada collection they are all  
>> B&W documentary images. The 280,000 images in the National Archives  
>> of Canada collection? It's probably 75% B&W, 25% colour. Again  
>> simply because of the assignment and whether magazine assignments,  
>> travel or tourism or whether the client asked specifically to shoot  
>> in whatever medium.
>>
>> I suppose if you owned one of my published medical books, "This is  
>> Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler" "Doctor's Work" or  
>> "Women in Medicine. A celebration of their Work."  You might have a  
>> better understanding what I mean: "When you photograph people in  
>> colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph  
>> people in B&W, you photograph their souls!"
>>
>> And as far as digital? Quite often I use my Digilux 2 set to shoot  
>> B&W and I get some very interesting B&W images. Actually the really  
>> cool thing is, looking through the viewfinder at a B&W world and  
>> "Click!" A B&W image right out of the camera! :-)
>>
>> cheers,
>> Dr. ted :-)
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin) ([Leica] Barcelona in color)
Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca) ([Leica] WAS : Barcelona in color)
Message from photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] WAS : Barcelona in color)