Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Rob Appleby said: Subject: Re: [Leica] re: The Decisive Moment is gone > It does of course - because who is to know whether the person in the picture > is a stranger to you or not?<<< Hi Rob, My experince and feeling is, who cares who, what, how, because the bottom line is as you say : >because who is to know whether the person in the picture is a stranger to you or not?<< And isn't the absolute bottom line to capture a basic knock 'em dead good photograph? >>Similarly, the hoohah over Doisneau's kiss photos is based on a mistaken premise, IMO.<< Again I agree with you whole heartedly because for years everyone enjoyed the photograph without thought, then some money grubbing person thinking he made zillions from the photograph wanted a piece of the action and said it was posed. Damn shame! Because what's completely missed is......"Doisneau's talent" to capture the moment that fixed it as a wonderful picture people enjoy. They forget there's the ability of the shooter involved to click at the right time.. strangers, acting or not. > Or, to take an example closer to home, my own pictures are always taken with the subjects >well aware of the fact that I'm present and taking pictures - often for days or > weeks at a time.<<< Exactly! In the case of Sandy Carter and myself shootng the book "Women in Medicine" do people think we were in the OR's sneaking pictures of doctors and nurses doing their thing? Sure they knew we were in the OR, but that didn't mean the beautiful compassionate moments we captured are any less a picture because they knew. Hell we were all strangers whether we shook hands with them or not. And only in a few cases did we became aquaintences after we shot and they cut. ;-) >I think they show slices of life as well as any others, if > that is the criterion. All talk that concentrates on method rather than the > final result is missing the point, I think.<<< Of course it does because too many people get into the "think-talk" method stuff instead "do it" stuff with the sole purpose being to capture exciting moments of "life stuff!" >Any method can only be judged by how effective it is; it must be leapfrogged over to arrive at the picture.<<< Right on! ted - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html