[Leica] Kinder, gentler? Read my lips

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>>>pretty lassiez-faire attitude Mike. Is this the kindler, gentler,
you?<<<


Not really. It seems contradictory, to have strong personal preferences
yet also to claim "it doesn't matter." The point is that I use what I do
because I believe in it, I can make it work, and I love its look. When I
look at the work of other photographers, I look for that same strength
of purpose and commitment in their work. You can usually tell if it's
there. I'd rather look at good, committed work done on my least favorite
film than look at mediocre work done with my favorite film.

I also think it's crucial to be able to be open-minded enough to be able
to distinguish between good and bad in types of work that you hate. It's
a quality that's essential in a critic. Some work "speaks" to you
directly, emotionally, personally. You have strong feelings about it.
But you shouldn't count on that, or dismiss everything else; it's not
enough just ot love one kind of work if you want to learn what's what
with art. You also have to be able to detect quality in styles of work
that aren't "natural" for you to appreciate.

A lot of stuff out there is just in bad taste. Or it was done by people
who just don't get it. I'm not talking about that.

I can love Tri-X and hate Tech Pan yet also admit the possibility that
other photographers can do excellent work with Tech Pan. Those two
stances may seem contradictory, but they aren't. It's just that one is
about me doing my thing, and the other is about them doing their thing.

- --Mike