Re: [Leica] Some history

[Tina Manley <images@InfoAve.Net>]

Erwin -

This sounds like the "mirrors vs windows" categories of photography 
described by John Szarkowski which has always fascinated me - the "mirrors" 
reflecting the personal vision of the photographer and the "windows" 
showing unblinking realism of what the camera saw.  I had always thought 
that I was in the "windows" category since I am trying with my photographs 
to share what I see, not the reflection of my inner self; however, I do not 
agree that what I see can only be accurately portrayed with the highest 
resolution lens and slowest film on a tripod.  I do use Leicas because they 
are quiet, unobtrusive, mechanical, and reliable.  The excellent glass is a 
bonus for which I am very grateful, but I will not put the camera on a 
tripod, use slow film, and stop the lens down to maximize the quality of 
the lens if I lose the photograph in the process.

Tina

At 10:43 PM 10/25/00 +0200, you wrote:
>At the beginning of the 20th century photography was dominated by the
>socalled Pictorialist School, that insisted upon the artistic possibilities
>of camera-made imagery, giving photographs that represented a personal
>vision, by selecting subject, light and atmosphere.
>This movement brought the world the aesthetically motivated photography that
>gave photography the respect of an artform.
>These Pictorialists however deplored intensily the utilitarian banality of
>of Realist or Straight Photography.This style   gave us sharply focused
>pictures with unblinking realism. This approach yielded images full of
>details, enlarged and crisply purified of their functional context and so
>lens filling that the images border on pure design.
>This text above is a condensed abstract from the book  'A History of modern
>art'by Arnason.
>The two positions, Pictorialism and Straight Photography, are in my view at
>the heart of the current topic if one is allowed to use the image potential
>of Leica lenses and when doing so, one is still being a true photographer.
>As Pictorialists seem to despise the Straight Photographers, this emotion
>nicely summarises what is going on on this list lately.
>I have no dispute with, nor objection to photographers who wish to foster
>their personal expression by whatever means and tools.
>I do object however to the assertion that a Realist approach, that is using
>the tools to represent reality with unblinking realism, should be
>considered a banal way of using the Leica.
>I also do object to the notion that the Leica is the proper instrument for
>pictorialist photography and may only be used to reach that goal.
>So maybe the Pictorialists will allow that Realists do exist and can proceed
>with their goals without being deplored and ridiculed at every step. And
>maybe they will even accept that the Leica is a tool that can be used for
>both types of Photography and that neither type is superior in itself.
>
>
>Erwin

Tina Manley, ASMP
http://www.tinamanley.com