Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/05/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> -----Original Message----- > > From: Guy Bennett <guybnt@idt.net> > Subject: Re: [Leica] [leica] streets and other... > > maybe the point is documentation. to capture on film the way life is being > lived by the inhabitants of a given place at a given time > [BOB KRAMER] I don't think so. Documentary photography is not Street Photography. Good SP transcends the physical reality of the people, place and time of the image, and taps into something more profound, more universal; something that shakes us on an unconscious "gut" level, and resonates within us right here and now, even if the image was taken 80 years ago. What makes good SP work is not JUST the people or the times, but the entire composition of the image, and how the people are expressed within the image and supported within that composition. This is where that "decisive moment" thing starts to come into play to create a zen-like essence to the entire image. A synergy where all parts of the image are placed to perfection and integral to what the photographer is trying to express. > think of how many iconic images are essentially street > photographs (eisenstadt's 'sailor kissing a girl,' for example) > [BOB KRAMER] I think this falls more under the category of Photojournalism. Eisenstadt was telling a story, or trying to sum up an historical event in an image or series of images. The image remains fixed in that place and time, and loses much of its power when viewed out of the context of that place and time. This is one reason Eisenstadt's work does not affect me as deeply as the work of HCB, Kertez, Frank, Koudelka, etc. Eisie's shot is very good, but it pales in comparison to the work of the photogs just mentioned, IMO. As an example of good SP, check out the following from our very own kyle cassidy: http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/pad/10/neighborhood.jpg What is kc trying to say about this woman? I don't know that he is trying to saying anything about her at all. But what he is saying with this photo on another level could go on for a while. Not to leave any worthy LUGGERS out here, John "Deadman" Brownlow hits the nail on the head quite often as well with his work. But there certainly are other people showing SP work on the internet who aren't very successful at all. A photo of someone, anyone, just walking down the street is a pretty lame attempt at SP. To be good, it needs to dig a whole lot deeper than that. Even the noble Leica won't help you out here! ;-) Bob Kramer Atlanta, GA >