RE: [Leica] Cartier-Bresson Tete-a-Tete

["Stewart, Alistair" <AStewart@gigaweb.com>]

Ah ha Godfrey,

The early bird sucks, if one is currently incarnated as a worm. Good morning
sir.

Does George still live with his mother?

Well you are absolooodly right, about the 'happening to others' bit. That's
what I wish. De-deify HCB, get some perspective (with well-rounded bokeh, of
course) on his contribution. Let the other unsung poets of the lens be
accorded some rec$ognition. 

One of my good buddies is older than Methusalah, has been on and off the
streets, heroin, booze, the whole 27 feet, for a very long time. We have
breakfast together about monthly these days.

He has somehow held on to, and always used, his Nikon F, (usually with no
finder/prism, occasionally with no screen) and battered and scratched and
dinged and bent and dropped very old 28/3.5. I love him very much, but his
addictions and suffering and smell attract most folks adverse judgement. I
have many many of his negs in my apartment. Twice I have purchased the F
from him/for him, knowing where the money was going  - down a very dark
ladder of cold steel and sweet fire.

But, his images make my mind shudder, we can't make them if we don't live
them. HCB, smhcb. There is more decision in the moments of the images I have
been given custody of than in any upper class abstract imagery. And guess
what. HCB's education cost way less. Dave's can't be accounted for in $$$$.

Now, if only Dave was wealthy enough to get his self-promotion machine into
gear...

best of light,

Alistair


- -----Original Message-----
From: Godfrey DiGiorgi [mailto:ramarren@bayarea.net]
Sent: Monday, November 01, 1999 3:11 AM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: RE: [Leica] Cartier-Bresson Tete-a-Tete


Hmm. I like some of HCB's pictures. I prefer Robert Frank's "The 
Americans" to HCB's "America in Passing" though. And one of the finest 
street photographers of all is a man named George Forss who assembled a 
portfolio of absolutely stunning proportions in silent obscurity until 
DDD discovered him and published a merest glimpse at his work in "New 
York, New York" about a dozen or so years ago. I happened to be friendly 
with the publisher and met George, looked through the incredible 
collection of photographs he has made. He's since returned to obscurity 
and continues to make his photographs.

That HCB is canonized upsets me not at all, why should it? He did some 
good stuff and was lucky enough to be recognized and rewarded for it. So 
what? Wish it could happen to a couple of others I know who deserve it. 

Godfrey

>I get a little upset when I see all the classic stuff overpriced (HCB =
>Vincent vG minus the pain), and no homage paid to unrecognised masters of
>the medium, who advance it, and sure could use the money. now.