[Leica] Leica-Users List Digest V2 #173

[Mike Johnston <70007.3477@compuserve.com>]

 "I'm always amused by the ideas that certain people have about technique,
which translate into an immoderate taste for the sharpness of the image. Is it
a passion for detail, for perfection, or do they hope to get closer to reality
with this _trompe l'oeil_? They are, by the way, as far away from the real
issues as other generations of photographers were when they obscured their
subjects in soft-focus effects."

 --Henri Cartier-Bresson



 Good photographs to me are about _soul_, not sharpness. 


George Huczek>>>I handhold not because I get the sharpest pictures, but for
other
reasons.  Sometimes I can't use a tripod ... if it is prohibited or
impractical.  Other times the subject matter or the genre does not allow me
to do so.  For whatever reason, I accept that I am compromising some loss
of sharpness in order to achieve other more important goals, like the
spontaneity, unpredictability and other intangibles of the Leica style (if
there is such a thing).  In those circumstances when available light may be
limited, or when grabbing the shot at just the right moment are so
important, I can live with a slight loss of sharpness, because even if that
has happened it doesn't matter ... it's the photo that counts.  Lots of
unsharp pictures end up as really good photos if they say and reveal
something important that others can relate to<<<

 I would be be happy to let that be the final word on the subject. <s> I could
not  have said it better.

 --Mike