RE: [Leica] Salgado/Nachtwey

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Ting - Believe me, in NO way am I knocking Nachtwey's work by making the
comments I do about Salgado. I think Nachtwey is clearly one of The greats,
perhaps, The Great antiwar photographer, which (not The Great part) is how
he describes himself. I think he is leagues beyond Capa. The photos have
incredible impact and passion.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Ting Lee
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2000 12:38 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: OT: [Leica] Salgado/Nachtwey
>
>
> Hey BD
>
> I just saw the Nachwey exhibition at the ICP this weekend.
> The quality of the prints are much better than the book.
> Some luggers had posted that his book 'Inferno' contained too much of the
> same type of shots... too much of the too unpleasent  to look at stuff.. I
> had agreed...that he's only known for his ability to shock.
>
> Well... I was wrong.. he is a great photographer/photojournalist... one of
> the best.  Most of his war pictures are no more bloody/gory than pics shot
> by famous war photographers of the Vietnam era (at least at the
> exhibition).
>
> Maybe Selgado's work might be a tad better technically, he didn't have
> bullets whizzing over his head and bombs going off.   To me,
> Selgado's work
> is more of a 'protrait session' in comparison to Nachwey's world of chaos.
>
> Ting
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2000 11:41 AM
> Subject: [Leica] Salgado/Nachtwey
>
>
> > Having finally acquired both Inferno and Migrations, and having spent a
> good
> > deal of time with both this weekend, a few thoughts -
> >
> > If one reads the essays by the two photographers one is struck by how
> > similar their outlooks and views of their own self-proclaimed
> mission - to
> > bear witness and force society  to confront the evils that beset us;
> >
> > I don't see how one can really look at Nachwey's work and come
> away saying
> > that he is removed from his subjects, somehow using or looking down on
> the,
> > trying to enhance his own reputation, etc. He is staring into
> the face of
> > misery, evil and death, and shoving it into our faces;
> >
> > I would argue that while Nachtwey is the more impassioned of the two,
> > Salgado is the better artist. This is not to say that Nachtwey isn't a
> > really terrific photographer, in terms of how he frames, etc., etc., but
> > Salgado's work is definitely more technically impressive - but
> not so much
> > so that, as some have charged, the beauty of the work detracts from its
> > impact.
> >
> > All in all, two amazing works by two of the outstanding photo
> > commentators/documentarians of our age.
> >
> > B. D.
> >
> >
>
>
>