Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/12/31

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Musings on the role of photography
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 23:14:49 -0600

>I wonder how many of the old masters would succeed with todays
>competition if they (hypothetically) had to start now.  I suspect that
>the versatility of modern equipment would render their flair for
>peeling paint pictures totally obsolete.

I completely disagree with this notion. For a while I began to think this
too, but there is no way that modern equipment will ever bring the equal of
Cartier-Bresson, Kertesz, Ernst Haas, W. Eugene Smith, etc. Just like there
was not a Sebastiao Salgado, Sam Abell or Donna Ferrato back then. That's
because no two photographers are ever going to shoot the same stuff. The
masters of today might have finer grain, nicer tonality, and all that. But
the pictures themselves, that's independent of the technology. And to
assume technology makes better photographers is a notion that will never
gain popularity amongst the ones who are the best. Only amongst camera
dealers, wannabes and people exploring the notion.
- -- 

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

God is REAL, unless explicitly declared INTEGER.