Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/03/27

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Re: Be Careful
From: Oddmund Garvik <garvik@i-t.fr>
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 97 04:08:35 -0800

At 19:23 26/03/1997 GMT, Arnold Don Abravanel wrote:
>I read in the Los Angeles Times 3/26/97 that a 
>photographer John Trotter was badly beaten when he 
>photographing children. A group of 8-12 men demanded his 
>film and began beating him. He wandered into the wrong 
>neigborhood, and is now in the hospital at UC Davis 
>Medical Center in Sacramento. He works for the Sacramento 
>Bee. He says he can't remember anything. Always be 
>careful.

When I was walking into hot Parisian suburbs, I just carried a couple of
cheap 35mm plastic cameras (there are some good ones), or a couple of Ilford
B&W film-in cameras, dressed up to run. Sometimes an old Rolleiflex TLR with
a cable release hidden in the pocket was nice by such occasions. The Rollei
is a very discreet street camera. 

I have never really believed in the Leica folklore expressed in the
brochures, and also by a member of the group the other day, saying that
<<...this is what the Leica enables because it's so easy to use, it becomes
transparent.>> 

The same member was right, of course, stating that <<if you are a thief and
are 'taking' his picture, he might as well 'take' your camera>> ...or beat you. 

There are no 'wrong' neighborhoods, just unlucky, or stupid photographers.
And the misery, of course.


Oddmund

- --------------------,,^..^,,-----------------------
I bhfad uainn go le/ir an drochrud...
Djalli qendrofte larg prej te gjithe nesh...
Far from us all be the evil thing...

Oddmund Garvik
garvik@i-t.fr