Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/04/06

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Subject: RE: [Leica] I get no respect....
From: "Covington, William L." <WLCOVING@GAPAC.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 10:56:56 -0400

I am certain this same type of discussion was carried on by oil masters when
photography was first invented:  surely the advent of photography signaled
the demise of painting as an art form!  After all, with a photo you could
reproduce a scene much better and easier than with oil.  But original
paintings' popularity has grown.

Digital isn't going to replace silver, it is just another medium to play
with.  It is better for some things and not as good for others.  This
discussion reminds me of the exchange Michelangelo had with Leonardo da
Vinci. Michelangelo was convinced sculpture was the superior art form and
pointed this out to Leonardo by saying that the viewer could walk around and
see all sides of a sculpture.  The viewer was not limited to a two
dimensional canvas.  Upon receipt of Michelangelo's letter Leonardo painted
a nude standing in front of a reflecting pond. In this painting the viewer
you could see the reflection of the side of the nude facing away from the
viewer in the pond.  Leonardo then sent the painting to Michelangelo and
pointed out that painting was superior because the viewer didn't have to
walk around to see all sides of the nude.  So who was right is?

It is an exercise in futility to continue this discussion. Digital
photography is here to stay just as silver based photography was is the last
century.  See it for what it is; a different medium to be embraced or
rejected depending on each individual's method of expressing him or herself.
There is not a right or wrong way of expressing creative energy.

Bill

- -----Original Message-----
From: Jeffcoat Photography [mailto:jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 9:06 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] i get no respect....



Ted and Mark

Sounds like what folks said about the car and the telephone, nah it'll never
last.
Wake up fellas that's what they're making 20 gig hard drives for and bigger.
I don't
think film will go away anytime soon, but digi's not going anywhere-it or
some clone
of it is here to stay. There are a lot of lazy photogs out there that can't
find negs
they shot last week let alone 40 yrs ago and those that do have forty yr
old negs 1/2
of them are not printable. Not all of the rest of the world has it together
like some
of you do.
Cheers Wilber

Ted Grant wrote:

> Mark Rabiner wrote:
>
> > The best weapon against high tech digital AF idiots is a short stack of
11x14's
> > in a box. (no maple syrup)
> > This will prove to them that we are actually in our old age capable of
focusing
> > a camera lens and enlarger lens and putting two LED's in the middle and
pulling
> > out a stinky print! A short stack of prints is a necessary photographic
tool
> > like spare batteries, model releases, a lens hood. They WILL respect the
results
> > of Leica optics! They WILL have severe doubts about the
Manliness/womanliness of
> > their stinkin CPU's. Phooey I say to that!!!! :)  >>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> And Mark the best is!  No matter what they shoot on their hotshot digi
> cams, they wont have diddly squat images for printing in a week or in 24
> hours,  the way the digi files are dumped because nobody has room to
> store them for the future or  printing.
>
> Some how I have this feeling that eventually someone is going to wake-up
> to the fact that all this digi stuff isn't going to be, the be all to
> end all from an historical point.
>
> It comes to mind, as I've been printing negatives from Paris and Madrid
> from 40 years ago that if it were hot dog digi....  it wouldn't have
> been there to print!  And unfortunately the talents of many of the young
> guys who are doing all this electronic stuff will wake-up too late!
>
> ted

- --
Cheers Wilber GFE
tel. 803-469-2440

http://www.jeffcoatphotography.com