Re: [Leica] was a picture a day!...forget it!!!

[Alan Ball <AlanBall@csi.com>]

Ted Grant wrote:
> 1/ <<<<< what is the reason of  existence of our pictures? >>>>>>
> 
> To put in your photo album, hang on the wall, throw away or whatever your
> pleasure at the end of year 1999. Primarily to illustrate what your year
> '99 was like! They are meant to satisfy your whims and whimsies for taking
> pictures because you own a camera. And maybe to motivate those who thought
> it might be fun to try it!

Ted,

Sorry to see this thread rebabtised with "forget it!". I was not trying
to demotivate people who have jumped on the '1999 PAD project', I was
sincerely trying to find out what was the common ground for that great
idea. ONE picture A DAY is easy to understand. The word 'meaningful'
added to that simple requirement was not introduced by me, but by
yourself. I think it was a wortwhile effort to try to find out what you
(and others) put behind that word. 


> 2/ <<<<< And if it should be 'meaningful', what is the definition of that
> word agreed upon around here>>>>>>
> 
> I really thought this was a simple no brainer suggestion to make some
> interesting for "oneself, pictures "not the damn world," of pictures of
> this ___THE LAST YEAR OF THE MILLENNIUM!______  Surely this is a  KISS
> idea....like "keep it simple stupid.""......However it does seem some
> people can't figure out what a "meaningful picture is for themselves."

You enounced the idea, I read it carefuly and respectfuly, and thought
it was an interesting idea. We only disagree on qualifiers. Had you
suggested to make a 'keeper' a day, or a 'nice pic' a day, I would not
have asked myself and others all those complicated questions. 

So, reading it the way I did read it, this was not as 'KISS' an issue as
you suggest now. My drawers, tables, racks are crowded by framed
pictures and packets of prints and negs. My bedroom floor is crowded
with over 200 slide trays and probably 10 times as many unmanaged slide
boxes and envelopes. A few friends show pictures I shot on their own
walls and a few of my pictures made their way to mainstream printed
media. I guess this is the situation most of us here in the LUG are in.
But does that situation automatically make those pictures 'meaningful'?
I'm not so sure...
 
> 3/  <<<<< what is the definition of that word agreed upon around here>>>>>>
> 
> There isn't any "definition committee" around here to agree on anything
> (they couldn't anyway! :) Simply because you should be taking these images
> to satisfy yourself and to hell with what anyone else thinks. After all
> this IS your year, isn't it?

This is really where I have a problem: if the final image is aimed
primarly at solitary pleasure, why do we spend so much time here
discussing pictures, and why do we make all those efforts to 'show' them
to others (like through publicized personal web sites, which seem to
have replaced local photo club exhibits)? 

No, Ted, I believe that photography, as any other form of expression, is
aimed primarly at producing a shareable item. In this case, the picture. 

The personal album is different and may in effect be compared to a
personal journal. But how many of us publish their personal journal on
the web ? 

So, I really think there is something more to the whole effort than
onanist gratification ! Even for those of us who are not included in any
publishing workflow. And I really do think a lot of us ask themselves
questions as to the real meaning (or absence of meaning) of photography
as their main leasure time or professional time activity.
 
> It seems this was much too difficult for some to comprehend and I suggest
> you just do whatever it is you do with your cameras and forget the whole
> thing!!!

Cool down Ted. Why should it be sterile to share those questions? It is
not less interesting (and not necessarily more interesting either) than
discussing whisky or to describe how I take pictures of my cat in my
backyard. I own neither a cat nor a backyard BTW, but I do like
Lagavulin. And I am not frozen by all this either: I do shoot my share
of images, with pleasure and great fun, despite my recurrent tendency to
post what sometimes look like constipated posts...

> People appear to be looking for a heavenly body meaning instead of just
> going out and shooting a picture or series during the last year of the
> millennium, as I find it hard to believe any of us will get a second chance
> to shoot the last year of the next one!

That is if the images RELATE to the fact that this is a certain moment
in time. Otherwise, shooting 1999 will produce exactly the same images
as shooting 1996 or 2002. 

That IS the potential 'meaningful' part of the project: producing images
that will be seen by others than the photographer and his/her closest
relatives as being shot in this particular year or at the closure of
this particular millenium or at the approach of the following one. I
confess I have not been able to do that in the last 5 days (except at
00:01 on the 1st day, of course). In Brussels, other very obvious and
first degree opportunities would have been pics of the Euro launch, pics
at banks monday morning, pictures of the dismantling of new-year's eve
parties decorations, etc, etc. I missed on all of those and would have
liked to share ideas as to other ways of representing this particular
moment in time.

> Actually I don't give a flying hoop if anyone does anything about it or
> not. It appears some of you would have great difficulty working on a
> newspaper when you are given the "Enterprise picture of the day"
> assignment.

Again, Ted, you posted the question on day 4 asking all of us who jumped
on the bandwagon. Was it destructive to ask a few questions as to the
dynamics of it all? I'm sure that without some common guidelines, this
great idea will just vanish. My bet is that without shareable emulation
patterns there will not be a single PAD lugger a month from now. A real
pity.
 
> I have another thought here....because it does appear to be creating a
> great deal of concern for some ......"forget it, the whole thing and just
> do your own thing ! "

It was not a 'great deal of concern'. It was an effort to understand how
to make the idea 'meaningful'. I think I've now understood your point of
view, I'm not sure I share it. That will not prevent me from going on
taking pictures :-)

Friendly regards,

Alan.