Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Each photographer brings their own point of view to a subject. That point of view is reflected in what they "see". The point of view that a middle-class American photographer brings to photography of some far-off exotic locale is no more or less valid than the photography of a local person. Each sees the same subject through the filter of their respective experiences. It is quite useful to see both points of view. Andy - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Walkden" <bob@web-options.com> To: "Guy Bennett" <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 11:54 AM Subject: Re[2]: [Leica] Re: salgado et al. > Hi, > > everything I would have said about this thread has already been said > by others - I am in favour of anybody taking pictures of any culture, > provided of course that one observes the normal courtesies. > > Most of my own photography of foreign cultures has been in Ethiopia, > and I would strongly support the paragraph quoted below. Depardon's > photographs of Ethiopia capture the country that I've been to more > accurately than any other photos of Ethiopia, including mine :o(, that > I know of. I've been to most of the Ethiopian places in his excellent > book 'Voyages', and he really has done a great job. > > --- > > Bob > > mailto:bob@web-options.com > > > > So, that the work of photojournalists such as Salgado, Natchwey et al, is > > not representative of the "big picture" of life in a given country seems > > obvious enough - Singh's pictures of India and Depardon's pictures of > > Ethopia, to give just two examples, are very different indeed from the > > endless stream of images featuring emaciated, impoverished children that > > one has come to expect from western news media. But, of couse, no picture > > of two smiling Ethopian girls amusing themselves on a streetcorner is ever > > going to make the front page of a major western newspaper. > >