Re: [Leica] Today's Great Photographers {was Photo whores}

["Harrison McClary" <hmcclary@earthlink.net>]

Eric Welch wrote:

> On the National Press Photographers list, this subject has been beaten to
> death, with convincing evidence that that is not true. Good photographers
> take great pictures in their own neighborhood. And bad photographers can't
> take decent pictures anywhere, no matter how far away or exotic. The
> subjects themselves may be compelling, but the pictures are another thing
> altogether.

Eric, 

A very good friend of mine, and kind of mentor, Don Rutledge for those of you 
who may know him, traveled all over the world for the Baptist Sunday School 
Board Foreign Missions magazine.  "The Commission" magazine as it is called 
used to finish behind LIFE and Nat. Geo.  for best use of photos in the Missouri 
POY contest in the late 80's, early 90's when he was chief photog.  Under his 
tutelage Joanna Pieno learned her craft.  Anyway Don told me once over 
breakfast in the same small town we are both from that for him traveling to 
exotic places was as mundane as working the same town for a daily paper was 
for me. I was just starting out and hearing him talk about things in that regard 
really made me open my eyes and look at things differently.  

Opportunities are right in front of you, but often they are over looked because 
they are so close.  If a person can some how force himself to look at the world 
with the eyes of a child then he will see all of those great photos he over looks 
because he is worried about beating the red light so that he can make it to the 
bank ect. After all that is the charm of a foreign country/place. Having never 
seen it you are glad for the red light so that you can see the different scenes.  
Do the same on a daily basis and you will see differently because you are 
actually seeing again. 

Don had been in over 250 foreign countries at that point, 6 in the current year 
alone.

If you have ever heard of the book "Black Like Me" Don is the guy who shot it.



Harrison McClary
http://people.delphi.com/hmphoto