Re: [Leica] LIFE and National Geographic

[Charles Dunlap <cdunlap@es.UCSC.EDU>]

Following this thread on LIFE I'm reminded of my recent experience with
National Geographic. The overall quality is low. I let my subscription
lapse last year. There were a few interesting photos, maybe 10% of them,
but suffering through the rest wasn't worth it. One spread that sticks in
my mind in particular was an essay on eastern Oregon. Granted, it's not
neccessarily a photogenic landscape, but it they couldn't have done better
than the entirely bland images that they had then they should have just
passed on the article.

For good photography and writing I think DoubleTake is making a very strong
showing. There's a really good photo in the current issue taken by a man
who sets up a 16 foot scaffold in public places and waits all day with his
large format camera. He watches the people; their stories unfolding. When
he sees a moment of confluence he takes a picture--maybe three or four a
day. Judging from the example in DoubleTake he gets it right. (The beauty
of the large format tonal gradations also come through well in the
reproduction).

It struck me that the large format camera made him prepare and then wait
for the moment. This is a common technique with an M camera of course. It
worked for HCB on occasion.

- -Charlie