Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/04/29
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Gee, Martin, what a pleasure to actually get some response to a comment
about the quality of a photographer's work, rather than the color of a
camera body..:-)...I suspect you're right. But then doesn't any "artist"
tend to have a "style," which is really another word for formula, in that I
certainly wouldn't call his work formulaic...But - and I also don't want to
detract from Salgado's work, which is both technically stunning and
emotionally powerful - Natchwey does blow him away in the impact
department...;-)
B. D.
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Martin
Howard
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 11:52 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] An evening with James Nachtwey
B. D. Colen jotted down the following:
> I made this observation a couple of days ago after spending some time with
> both Inferno and Migrations, but if any documentary photographer/PJ is an
> explorer of light, it's Salgado, whose work is technically superior to
> Natchwey's.
I don't wish to detract from Salgado's work in any way, shape, or form, but
I spent an evening with his books (minus "Migrations") some weeks ago.
Something struck me: He almost works to a formula. Wide-angle lens (28mm or
so), have a main subject close and a large vista in the background, and
shoot against the light. Many, many of his pictures follow this pattern.
It's extremely effective if you wish to create a photograph that grabs your
attention quickly, but still offers lots of stuff to linger on. I'm
guessing it's one of the components that make his photography so strong.
M.
- --
Martin Howard | There's a culture here which dictates that
Visiting Scholar, CSEL, OSU| anyone who walks more than a few paces must
email: howard.390@osu.edu | either be too poor to own [a car], clinically
www: http://mvhoward.i.am/ | insane, or British. -- David Willis, BBCWS
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