Re: [Leica] Pictures of the birth of our daughter

["CIS" <s_lamb@compuserve.com>]

Michael

Thank you for your comments.  I fully understand that most people on the LUG
want to look at images that can be regarded as art, as opposed to the family
snaps of an amateur, and I think most people know to avoid links to my
images if they want art.  However, I do think that the interaction of the
family and the photographing of life events within the family can be
interesting as they evoke memories that many of us have.  I could take lots
of video of my children growing up but I feel that the black and white
images will have a timeless quality and evoke stronger feelings and memories
than video films.  I also believe that the quality of the Leica lenses add
to the quality of the images.  The shallowness of the depth of field at f/1
in the image of my wife holding the baby (the first 'Mummy holding Daisy'
image on page 2) is just enough to get the baby's head in focus and
everyting else out of focus, but also enough to see the way that my wife is
looking at our new daughter.  Daisy is definitely the focus of love and
attention in more ways than one.  The same applies to the first image on
page 2 of Daisy sleeping.  She looks isolated and vulnerable, a mood
captured because of the shalowness of the Noctilux at f/1.

These may not be art, but the lens has added meaning, substance and context
to what would otherwise be simple family snaps.  I do not believe any other
medium would produce that effect.  I am glad you liked the pictures.

Regards.

Simon

Amateur images at http://www.sclamb.com

Michael Berube wrote:
>
> Congratulations Simon and family! (Wondered why you had been so quiet on
> LUG lately.)
> Very lovely photos ('Daisy has a yawn' is my favourite.)
> Someone else a week or so ago posted a very eloquent message on family
> photographs as being the most important material possessions that most
> folks prize. Despite all of the image overload in our society now, I think
> that good family photographs (like your available light and candid
variety)
> are important now and in our short lives for sentimental reasons, but are
> even more important for our posterity, when most images that still will
> probably be around will probably be advertisorial. (Is that a word?) And
> marketing images give no REAL human element story about US as individuals
> interacting with our loved ones as do you excellent images. As a hobbyist
> student of history, I find those non-professional images from the past
(the
> few that there are) to be FAR more engaging than even the excellent work
of
> Capa and Brady.
>
> Keep up the good work and keep sharing them with us.
> Carpe Lumen,
> Michael E. Berube
>