Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At a college art gallery display, one student put a 3-foot piece of Cut Rite waxed paper on the wall, and attached a price tag of $30,000 on it. I was appalled that the gallery director allowed it to be on display. While some could say that he just hadn't progressed enough to produce good art, I thought he was just being a smart ass. Some of the people on the forums think that Alfie is just being a smart ass. I think he is trying to make uninteresting, mediocre images seem significant by attaching words like "parody", "irony", "surrealistic", etc. to them. Descriptions are fine, but most folks would say that an image of a woman putting lipstick on a cordless drill is not a parody on the invention of the steam drill. My opinion on his images is that they do nothing for me. I think we are doing a disservice if we tell him that they are even good. He is voluntarily putting them up for scrutiny. He should expect honest answers from the viewers. B.D. doesn't often pull punches, and I've been flamed by him in the past. I got over it. JLS At 09:19 AM 1/25/02 -0600, you wrote: ><<Alfie, you have to give much, much more thought to what you shoot - at >least >you do if you are planning to post the images>> > >If I have any complaints about the PAW it is summed up in this extraction >from B.D.'s post to Alfie regarding his post for the week. > >First of all, Alfie can post whatever the hell he wants. And who is B.D. to >say Alfie didn't give a heck of a lot of thought to this image even before >he posted it? Who made B.D. the judge-god-almighty of what should and >shouldn't get posted to a PAW? > >B.D. goes further in his mean-spirited (I can't help but think he thought it >might be interpreted as mean spirited since he writes << I don't want to be >mean - honest - >>) letter to say Alfie is shooting like a child with >his/her first camera in that Alfie is shooting everything in sight. So the >hell what????? How do you think a person is supposed to learn? I'm more than >certain that HCB, Eugene Atget, Walker Evans and all the others didn't start >out shooting masterpieces when they first pulled their cameras out of the >box. Photography is art and becoming good at it takes time...and practice. >Why in the world would a fellow photographer begrudge another the right to >shoot (and POST) whatever in the world he/she wants. > >I am appalled. >Lea > > > > > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> >To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> >Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 8:37 AM >Subject: RE: [Leica] Alfie's January 26th PAW > > >: But shoot what? >: >: Alfie, you have to give much, much more thought to what you shoot - at >least >: you do if you are planning to post the images. Try to remember that just >: because something looks somehow interesting to you when you see it, does >not >: mean it will necessarily translate into a photograph that is worth having >: taken. >: >: I understand that you are new to this, and I don't want to be mean - >: honest - but what you are doing is what kids often do when they get their >: first camera - shoot everything they see thinking that the fact that what >: they see is captured on film will make it a good photograph. Look at the >: image you posted this week and ask yourself 'what is interesting about >this >: and why would anyone want to look at it?' Are there striking patterns of >: some sort? Not to my eye. Is there something particularly unusual about >: either house? Not really. Is there something worth capturing in the yard? >: Not that's in the photo. >: >: Keep shooting, but THINK before you shoot. Think about why you are taking >: the particular photo, and think about what it will look like when it is >: printed. >: >: B. D. >: >: -----Original Message----- >: From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us >: [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of John Straus >: Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 9:36 PM >: To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us >: Subject: Re: [Leica] Alfie's January 26th PAW >: >: >: on 1/22/02 7:08 PM, Albert Wang at leica_phile@hotmail.com wrote: >: >: > This week my PAW is at: >http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=468422 >: >: This one doesn't say anything to me. I think you needed to go down the >: stairs into the yard and shoot :) >: -- >: John >: Chicago, IL >: http://SlideOne.com >: ==================== >: >: -- >: To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html >: >: -- >: To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html >: > >-- >To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html Jeffery Smith New Orleans, LA - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html