[Leica] Re: Leica Users digest V10 #18

[Dave Yoder <leica@home.com>]

Well, OK, sorry if I came across as snooty. I get riled when people
think violence is an appropriate response to a percieved social indiscretion.

I've approached people I don't know and photographed them from up-close
countless times, and I've photographed people from afar with a telephoto
many times, almost never with any problems. The only two people offended
were photographed with a telephoto. I think it's because they thought it
was devious. When you're right there with the person, you've got nothing
to hide. 

There's no formula to make this work, and sometimes it wouldn't work
under any circumstance with some people (you apparently know who you are).
Photography is not an act of assault, or an invasion of privacy when
you're in a public place. In my experience, people who object are just
plain cantankerous people no matter what, and dealing with them takes
the fun out of it so I tend to avoid them.
It's a matter of social grace, and I'm by no means good at it yet, but
I'm learning.

For me photography and photojournalism is an extremely (positive) social
endeavor. I've made many great friends though this, and it's been a key
into doors and events I would otherwise never have witnessed. And I
don't just take, I try to give something back too (even if it's just a
smile). I've been spending a lot of time photographing a family of
Kosovar refugees the last seven weeks and it's been a gift to get to
know them, especially the kids. 

I think it's obvious nobody was suggesting a pj should walk up to an
accident victim or such and put a hand on them. 

And about Princess Di (she is very relevant to any discussion on
photojournalism because of the repercussions to her death)--she died
because she was not wearing a seatbelt. A mitigating factor was that her
driver was drunk and driving at insane speeds in a tunnel. They were in
one of the safest cars in the world, and the one person wearing a belt survived.

By strange coincidence, I've got a Spanish friend named Mary (a story
subject I photographed in Kobe after the earthquake who's now a close
friend) whos ex-husband was right behind the Mercedez when it crashed
(not an unimaginable coincidence if you know Mary). I questioned him
closely about it, and he said there were no photographers anywhere
around when it crashed. He said they were going so fast they were
momentarily airborne when they entered the tunnel, and that the
photographers happened upon them after the accident, but that they
otherwise had been left in the dust at the hotel.

He is a Limo driver for hotels like the Ritz, and the other drivers told
him Henri Paul had come out the front doors before leaving and taunted
the photographers to try to catch him. None of this is to defend any
true paparrazzi, but some of the photographers were legit press
photographers who happened upon the scene. Thought that would interest
y'all. 

Sorry, nothing on subject.


- --Yoder