Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/04/13

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Subject: RE: [Leica]good article
From: "bdcolen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 15:18:43 -0400

Boy, Steven, if this ain't what makes for horse races! I was so appalled
by that piece that I saved it, planning to write a Letter to the Editor,
or something else in response. To me, that piece was a perfect example
of someone who knows less than nothing about a subject pontificating on
that subject. Did you notice that he said that what is so amazing about
the famous Nick Ut and Eddie Adams photos was that you look at them and
know that they are far to strong to have been shown on TV - when, in
fact, film crews were present at both scenes, and both scene DID appear
on T.V. He totally missed the point that still images have a power all
their own, a power way beyond that of video, simply because they are
STILL - we can take as much time as we want with them; the still image
sinks in and stays with us, while the video/film flits by, and memory of
it melds with all the other video/film clips.

He also didn't mention the fact that this war has produced very very few
memorable images - I've been wondering about precisely that fact. He
also didn't discuss the appalling Pentagon staged "iconic moment" of the
Sadam statue coming down with the flag over its face - turns out the
Marine who planted the flag there has admitted to a Brit reporter that
he was ordered to put the flag - a flag from the Pentagon on 9/11 -
there, and the entire incident was staged.

Also, and even more troubling,he failed to discuss the LA Times faked
photo, and what the combination of digital photo technology and the
pressure for iconic images holds for the future of war photography in
particular, and all photojournalism in general.

So bottom line - a really crappy piece...IMHO....Oh, and as for that
photo he praised so? Of the two British Marines firing a rocket from
behind a sand berm?...well, it's "dramatic," but that's about all it
is...It could have been shot on a firing range in Arizona...and maybe it
was, given all the media management of this war...:-)

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 Steven
Alexander
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2003 2:26 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica]good article


Very good IMHO article on photography, Boston Globe , Arts &
Entertainment section; Shooting War by Mark Feeney.


Happy snaps,
Steven Alexander

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Replies: Reply from "animal" <s.jessurun95@chello.nl> ([Leica] leica-gallery problem)
Reply from Jerry Lehrer <jerryleh@pacbell.net> (Re: [Leica]good article)
Reply from Slobodan Dimitrov <sld@earthlink.net> (Re: [Leica]good article)