Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/09/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]feli said: >>And you're right, there is a general hostility to photographers, like we are all a bunch of mouth breathers looking to exploit a situation. And this hostility exists because the reputation of photographers has been dragged through the mud, by a minority of people who act like a bunch of animals.<<<< Hi feli, Ok lets pretend we're witnesses for a moment, not photographer's inside the NO stadium. Now imagine the doors open for the press to go in and do their thing. What kind of scene are we going see? A calm, compassionate half dozen photogs moving carefully through the scared, thirsty, hungry, exhausted angry people? Not bloody likely However I doubt that, as it would be a mass of camera carrying people, notice I didn't say "photojournalists" rush through the doors flashes flashing, TV camera crews lights on running around like crazy. Both types of cameras flashing at everything moving and not moving? Conservatively maybe 100 shooters of varying ability and equipment because the money in this case is "first in and first out with exposures!" And they wouldn't give a fig whether they annoyed, hurt or any other word expressing feeling other than their own at being first in and first out! First money! Sure not all of them, as there are still some regular shooters who do have feelings for those whom they photograph and do so as carefully as they can. But these days on average when there's a serious situation as Katrina there's a huge gaggle of shooters who turn-up like a battery of paparazzi and charge about like flying bugs of the worst kind, flashing everything before them without much thought other than getting exposures of the worst things they can find. And first out! And it's this gang that make it bad for all the rest of us and why quite often doors are not open for serious photojournalists. Authorities knowing this kind of rat-pack exist and how they run about is the reason they make the decision, "DOORS CLOSED!" Sure I don't doubt they didn't want the world to see how bad conditions were inside, but we as witnesses would be appalled at this gang of camera flashing idiots running amok making exposures of the worst things they could find. I don't have a problem with the policy under the conditions I described. But it should have been covered if for no other reason as the disaster it was in the historical sense. But covered by experienced photojournalists who could do it without freaking people out by flashing in their faces. However, when you have a half dozen "authority bureaucrats" running an operation of this size I'm sure it was much easier to say... "No media inside!" And live with the consequences later! ted