[Leica] The snapshot

["BT" <smpat@btinternet.com>]

Context, context, context.

Calling one of Gary Winogrand's sublime moments a snapshot is perfectly
accurate.

Calling a Karsh portrait a snapshot is wildly inaccurate.

Whether or not it is an insult depends on the perception of the
photographer. If I spent five hours in the studio and someone called the
result a snapshot, I wouldn't be offended. It says more about the observer
than the result. They are, in effect, saying "I know so little about
photography that this looks like something you could do in a few seconds."
Or, perhaps, "I'm such a good photographer I could do a similar photo in a
few seconds".

I take lots of snapshots, some of which are interesting. I also take lots of
carefully-composed photographs, most of which are boring.

I've always maintained that photography is a visual language. Some people
"write" poetry with their cameras, some journalism, some abstract art.

Me, I'm just taking notes :-)

Steve Patriquen
London