[Leica] Thoughts on cameras as instruments

["Mark E Davison" <Mark_E_Davison@email.msn.com>]

At a recent photo workshop taught by LUGnut David Medley, we all spent an
enjoyable evening at his house consuming pizza and listening to violin and
piano sonatas played live. His wife is a professional violinist of
considerable talent, and two of us at the seminar were sufficiently good
enough on the piano to make a passable stab at accompanying her. Anyway the
evening got me to thinking about the similarities between cameras as a tool
for artistic purposes and musical instruments. Trying to frame my thoughts
aloud, I got tangled in a discussion of the word "instrument": is it a tool,
or a device for artistic purposes?  David came down strong on the tool side
(it must be those years he spent photographing car parts for catalogs), I
came down on the artistic side.

Well I looked up "instrument"  in the dictionary, and one of the meanings of
instrument is:

"a tool or implement, especially one used for delicate work or for
scientific or artistic purposes."
Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged 2nd edition.

So an instrument is both, and I definitely think of a Leica as a fine
instrument.

Now I realize my point: using a small camera (and especially a Leica) for
artistic or dramatic purposes is definitely similar to playing a musical
instrument. The basic function of the instrument is simple, yet to create
artistic output requires years of study, lots of practice, and doses of
heavenly inspiration.

Also like a musical instrument, there is a certain level of quality required
in the instrument before you can create consistently artistic results--yet
that quality alone does not guarantee the results--you still need all the
practice and study. A beginner playing a magnificent grand piano can
certainly play one note which is beautiful in itself, but cannot play
steadily enough to make even a simple melody sing. A beginning photographer
with a new Leica M6 and lens can create an image which is beautifully
exposed and has wonderful color contrast, but the image is not likely to be
beautiful or moving. It is especially difficult to create images which are
both well framed and capture a decisive moment--a telling frozen instant
from the interplay of human expression.

Unfortunately, our harried modern lifestyles, filled with work, often leave
us with money to buy fine instruments, but not the time to master them. We
end up with the instruments, but not enough time to develop our talents.
This is a paradox of modern capitalism which is worth pondering. I wonder
how many fine cameras are bought with the intention to make fine images, but
end up filling up closet shelves. Or how many fine pianos grace rooms as
beautiful furniture, but sit silent.

(I wonder if this issue isn't really at the heart of the autofocus "debate".
Automatic cameras are sold with the marketing premise that they make it
effortless to take great photographs, usually illustrated with family
"snapshots" which are very well composed and capture one of those fleeting
heart-warming moments in family interaction. In reality it still takes a lot
of skill to get those great family snapshots, and sometimes the automation
can just get in the way.)


All for now.

Still struggling to take decent photographs,


Mark E. Davison