Re: [Leica] How to get comfortable with my Leica?

[Ted <tedgrant@home.com>]

Ted Grant wrote:,

> The truth is, if you don't have a theme you don't concentrate, nor do you find  anything, well OK rarely
>world do you find something right away . A home town is the worst place to have to shoot,  you've seen it, >been there a dozen times, everything looks the same and it all becomes  >bbbbbbbboooooorrrrrrriiiiiingggg!<<<<<<

Nathan Wajsman responded:

> My own experience is exactly the opposite. When I look at the photos I have taken
> in the past 15 years, I almost invariably find that the best ones all are from the
> place I lived at the time, or at least a place close enough that I was able to
> return to it again and again. My travel pictures, on the other hand, are ho-hum:
> nice record shots, well exposed and all that, but really nothing special. I really
> believe that in order to take good pictures of a place, you have to be intimate
> with the environment.<<<<<<

Hi Nathan,
A couple of things come to mind from your post:

Operative words:
>"When I look at the photos I have taken in the past 15 years, I almost invariably find that the best ones all are >from the place I lived at the time,<<<<<<<<<  SNIP

But these locations are not your everyday home town of 20 or 30 years where you've shot thousands of pictures. They are a kind of new location where you can milk it for sometime before it becomes boring. So in effect you have moved to a "new home town" possibly 2-3 or 4 times during those 15 years.

Therefore, each location becomes a new home town therefore interesting!.

The other point is, if you're a working photojournalist you don't have the luxury of returning again and again. You are paid to go to a new location and "you are expected to come back with mind blowing images..... without excuses of any kind apart from being run over by a camel or a Mac truck. ;-)  Because that's what you're paid to do.

And when you are in this kind of situation,  eating, sleeping and any other necessities of life become secondary to getting the "mind blowing pictures."  There isn't time to become one with the city, country, wherever. As it's "show time" and you better deliver!

>>>>>>My travel pictures, on the other hand, are ho-hum: nice record shots, well exposed and all that, but really nothing special. I really believe that in order to take good pictures of a place, you have to be intimate
> with the environment.<<<<<<

And part of the "ho hum nice record shots" comes from usually being with family on holidays and or you're on a relaxing trip and not having to deliver. ..... "two different mind sets for producing images......."   And I come back to your point of >>>>> "be intimate with the environment" <<<<<

Yep the longer anyone has to work on an assignment usually pays off as you have better opportunities to learn when the light is at the optimum for pictures.  It's like going to Rome to shoot a particular type of situation only to find you're either 6 months too early or 6 months too late depending on your point of view. Upon finding this out a 5.30 a.m. on a shoot morning I might say you are somewhat ticked off to put it mildly. :-)

But you're there working, no excuses about the wrong time of the year, wimps make excuses, (they also don't get hired again!)   Real photographers kick ass, look for and or make some serious images to compensate for the dumb ass editor who sent you from Canada to Rome for a couple of days.

The key to all of this is, new locations should without question beget better pictures because your imagination is fired up more so than roaming the old home town.

ted