[Leica] RE: Street Photography debate

["O'Rourke, Joel, Ctr. OASD/C3I/Y2K" <Joel.O'Rourke@osd.pentagon.mil>]

Well, folks, I've been lurking on this list for the past few weeks,
preparing to make a decision to get back to Leica (Previously: R4 & lenses,
M6 & 28/2.8, 50/1.4, 90/2 (all pre-TTL), IIIf & 50/3.5...) and I just had to
respond to this post.

Here goes: Each photographic milieu provides its own unique set of
constraints on what a photographer can do with a given subject. It seems to
me that making good street photographs will usually be more difficult than
making good salon photographs, assuming that one is judging the results by
the same set of compositional and lighting criteria. Therein lies the unique
appeal (for me, anyway) in street photography: being constrained to
photograph the "decisive moment" in a hostile environment, while paying
attention to formal constraints of composition, lighting, etc. I find much
more to admire in one of Cartier-Bresson's great street photos than in most
of Edward Weston's artfully contrived, exquisitely-lit, controlled
photographs of decomposing green peppers, driftwood or even people. It's
simply harder to do good street and candid photography. And that's why I
want to get back to Leica -- the basics appeal to me greatly, now that
photography has become so automated and digital.

Now, the question is, where to start? I've got more than enough Nikon
equipment to cover any possible contingency (F100, N90 and FM2 plus a dozen
lenses...) But I want (no, my photographic muse tells me I *must*...) to
regain my Leica skills. How did I come to this conclusion? Simple, really:
the photographs. I was looking through boxes of photographs taken over the
last ten years, and the Leica pictures were the easiest to spot, especially
when people were the subjects. I'd look at a particularly pleasing photo of,
say, my daughter -- done with my Leica. She (and, of course, others) just
opened up more in the presence of that camera. (The Nikon, with its sheer
bulk (used to have an F4 -- now, *that's* bulk!) and noise seems to really
put subjects off.) The compositions seemed more, well, natural. Fewer
distractions in background. Same for street photos, mostly taken in Europe.
Better anticipation of the best moment for exposure, thus a better
composition. But, the question is: where to start? I'm thinking of M6, 35 (2
or 1.4) to start. Then maybe a 75/1.4. I'm open to all suggestions, on-list
or off-list.

Thanks for the bandwidth, folks.

Joel O'Rourke 


 ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1999 06:49:20 +0000
> From: D Khong <dkhong@pacific.net.sg>
> Subject: [Leica] RE: Street Photography debate
> 
> Friends
> 
> During a recent discussion with a friend who takes mainly salon style
> photography, he said that street photography is not artistic 
> photography
> because it breaks too many rules of composition, lighting, etc.
> 
> I said that as long as street photography (including candid 
> and some forms
> of documentary photography) captures the essence of life and 
> the heartbeat
> of the environment and does not appear grossly badly taken in 
> terms of say
> horizon, exposure, perspective, it is an artform in itself.
> 
> Any comments?
> 
> Dan K.