[Leica] How about this one?

[bd at bdcolenphoto.com (B. D. Colen)]

Several things:

The first thing I tell my students is that objectivity is a myth. Every time 
we approach a shoot we bring to it our entire life's history; our 
prejudices, our likes and dislikes, our fears, our preconceived notions of 
every sort, every book we've read, every course we've taken, and so on. All 
we can do is be acutely aware of all these things, and strive to be fair and 
honest in our approach to our subjects. Because the one thing we absolutely 
owe them is honesty.

As to the presence of a camera radically changing the reality - I disagree. 
Yes, when you first enter a situation people may play to the camera. But 
I've found that very quickly they ignore the camera and go about their 
lives. I think we tend to forget how ubiquitous how cameras, whether Leicas, 
iPhones, or point-and-shoots have become. 

Finally, I won't put money on this - but I don't think HCB had the guy do 
anything. He was shooting through a hole in a fence, and shot a series of 
people as they tried to get across the puddle. The best of the images he got 
was of the famous jumper. At least I believe that's correct.


Typed with big fingers on tiny keys

-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Swango <pswango at att.net>
Sender: lug-bounces+bd=bdcolenphoto.com at leica-users.org
Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2012 15:45:11 
To: LUG<lug at leica-users.org>
Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
Subject: [Leica] How about this one?

Tina Manley wrote:
I am very interested in that book and have ordered it.  The
documentary tradition that I learned and have tried to apply is that
you change absolutely nothing for a photo.
================================================

That's how I have worked too, when doing documentary things. But still, any
two photogs will have their own visual ideas, stylistic and otherwise, and
it's hard to call one neutral and the other biased.  Your familiarity with
your subjects in domestic settings allows you to notice significant details
that I would probably miss.  I bet if we worked together in the same
setting we would come up with very different "stories" in our pictures.
Both might be accurate and true, but I'm not sure I'd call either one
"neutral."

I recently had an interesting talk with a museum lecturer about a photo by
a famous southern photographer.  She was obviously having strong reactions
to elements in the picture that spoke to her own childhood memories, where
I wasn't having the same thoughts.  The same impulses (emotions and
memories) are at work when you're *taking* pictures too.

In the Muybridge book I mentioned earlier, the author uses the examples of
Muybridge and Carleton Watkins to contrast two distinct approaches to
photographing Yosemite back in the day.  Watkins looked for serene majestic
beauty and found it; Muybridge was attracted to wildness and complexity,
and he found that too.

And thank goodness we have both versions today.


-- 
Phil Swango
307 Aliso Dr SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
505-262-4085

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